This document provides instructions and content for a lesson on video game genres. It includes activities for students to reflect on their early gaming experiences, play retro games from different eras, analyze how games are categorized, and identify common genres. The objectives are to investigate how the gaming industry has evolved over time and to learn how to classify games by genre based on factors like narrative, characters, setting, and gameplay style. Students are asked to organize games by genre, explain their reasoning, and keep track of what genres they play over the coming week.

1. Starter
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Draw a picture of yourself playing your first
ever video game
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Then, drawn a picture of yourself playing the
most recent video game

4. Reflection
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How old were you when you first played a
video game?
What device did you play on?
Where did you play video games?
What type of games did you play?
What type of games do you play
Where are you most likely to play video games
now?

5. Objectives
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To investigate early video-game consoles and
consider how the games industry has changed
To explore video game genres
To know the formula for exploring genre

6. Word Bingo
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Watch this clip and cross off any key words or
terms that you hear

7. Word Bingo
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Were there any institutions that you
recognised?
Were there any video games you recognised?
Who has played Mario Kart?
Who has played Sonic the Hedgehog?
Has anyone ever played Pong?

8. Over to you!
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www.ponggame.org
www.atari.com/arcade
http://www.webworksllc.com/games/ (the
arcade games)
Spend some time playing these games
Select one to write a brief review for

9. Video Games Genre
You won’t see a ‘science fiction’ section featuring Halo 4 (for
Xbox 360) and StarCraft (for PC), despite the similar settings
and style of these games.
Instead, you will find games categorised by platform (e.g.
PlayStation, Xbox, PC) and gameplay (racing, first-person
shooter, puzzle).
This can be seen clearly where there are games based on films:
The Lord of the Rings is clearly a fantasy film series.
However, the numerous games based on it span different
gameplay genres, from action-adventure ‘Lego’ games to roleplaying and strategy games.

10. Identifying genre
How to identify a film genre
Narrative – the story being told
Iconography – props and identifiable objects
Characters – stereotypes
Setting – typical location

11. Genre
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Organise the pack of video games into type or
genre
Look at the poster or cover art for the game
and explain why you believe it to belong to this
genre
Then, look at the trailer and explore how the
genre is communicated

12. Homework
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Keep a diary of your gameplay over the next
week
Using a pencil and ruler create a chart like this
on one page in your exercise book

13. Plenary
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Can you identify one other genre of video
game?
What examples of games can you think of?

14. Video Game Genres
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FPS (First-Person Shooter)
RPG (Role-Playing Game)
Simulation
Strategy
Racing
Puzzle
Platform
Sports
Trivia
Rhythm/Exercise
Music
Education