16 articles
How virtual pet games grew from Bandai's 1996 Tamagotchi through Digital Monster, Nintendogs, and My Talking Tom, and how the genre is designed around time, care loops, and attachment.
What battle royale games are, where the name comes from, and how the genre grew from Minecraft and Arma mods into PUBG, Fortnite, and Apex Legends.
Ten classic defense games that shaped and expanded the tower defense genre, in release order, with the new idea each one added, based on verified facts.
From 1970s boxing games and Karate Champ to Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat, Tekken, Smash Bros., and Street Fighter 6: fighting game history and design.
The history and design of first-person shooters, from Maze War and Battlezone through Doom and Half-Life to Overwatch, PUBG and Valorant.
Definitions, origins, landmark titles and subgenres of the major game genres—action, RPG, strategy, puzzle, simulation, adventure and roguelike.
From 1910s mini golf to early Atari and Nintendo golf, Everybody's Golf and Wii Sports, and physics puzzle golf like Desert Golfing and What the Golf?
How the jigsaw puzzle went from a 1760s London map lesson to a Depression-era craze, die-cut mass production, and digital apps, plus tips to solve faster.
What "Metroidvania" means, how Metroid, Super Metroid, and Symphony of the Night built the formula, and how indies like Hollow Knight revived the genre.
What MOBA and AOS mean and how the genre grew from the StarCraft map Aeon of Strife to DotA, League of Legends, Dota 2, and mobile, plus key design traits.
The history and design of open-world games, from Elite and The Legend of Zelda to GTA III, The Elder Scrolls, Breath of the Wild, and Elden Ring.
From Sokoban, Tetris, Lemmings and Minesweeper to Bejeweled, match-3, Portal and The Witness: how puzzle games evolved through logic and physics puzzles.
What roguelikes and roguelites are, how they differ, and how the genre grew from 1980's Rogue to NetHack, Mystery Dungeon, Spelunky and Hades.
How RPGs evolved from Dungeons & Dragons through Ultima, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Diablo and World of Warcraft, plus the genre's core design traits.
From kids' magazine hidden pictures, Where's Wally?, and bar touchscreens to mobile apps: the history of seek puzzles, why we miss differences, and tips.
Tower defense history from Rampart and StarCraft custom maps to Plants vs. Zombies, Kingdom Rush, and Bloons TD, plus how paths, upgrades, and waves work.