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Mordar
2013-08-08, 05:22 PM
Hi all -

Nostalgia has me thinking about games I've played and/or always wanted to play and haven't. These led me to thinking about categorizations. This led me to the following question:

What do you think are the main genres of RPGs (and or sub-genres)?

Not looking for design styles except as they relate to genre...so for instance, my list starts with the following, organized by primary time period (along with an example):

Long, Long Ago
Full Fantasy (D&D)
"Re-creation" Fantasy (Pendragon)
Empire Building (Birthright?)

Historic
Alternate/Fantastical History (Deadlands)
"Re-creation" Historic (Boot Hill)
Investigation (Gumshoe)
The Terror Beneath Our Eyes (Call of C'thulhu - various time periods)
Pulp (Hollow Earth Expedition)

Modern
Super Heroes (Champions)
Urban Fantasy (Vampire and WoD friends)
Spy (Top Secret)

Near Future
Cyber Dystopia, without Magic (Cyberpunk)
Cyber Dystopia, Now With More Magic! (Shadowrun)

Far Future
Space Exploration (Star Trek/Star Wars RPGs)
Space Fantasy (Star Frontiers)
Space War (the WH40k line)

Now, I've got tons of questions about my own categories (Like is Cyberpunk in a distinct genre from Shadowrun, or are they just different flavors of hi-tech near future?) but I'd also love to read the ones I plain missed...so please share away!

- M

The Rose Dragon
2013-08-08, 05:29 PM
Fantasy, sci-fi and non-speculative fiction.