Simple games per genre

[Pifanjr]

This thread got me thinking about examples of games that are great for trying out different genres quickly. Games that are very simple to learn, with simplified mechanics, to quickly get a feel of a genre.

For example, I think Age of Empires is a pretty good entry into RTS games as it has an expansive tutorial and it's pretty slow so you can take your time getting used to the mechanics. However, it's not really a simple game with several ages and multiple resources to manage and getting through the tutorial will take a bit.

So what are some simple, easy to get into games to get into different genres?

 

[ZedClampet]

I think For the King might be a good intro to turn-based cRPG's. You have to do a lot of the basic cRPG things, like creating a party, managing loot and character builds as you advance, managing battles that include initiative and different types of attacks/buffs/debuffs/heals. Yet it is extremely simple to get started and learn the game. Plus there are endless dungeon crawling modes you can choose if you want to practice without doing the story or messing with the map. These tend to emphasize resource management quite a bit, too.

 

[Pifanjr]

I think Creeper World is a good, simple RTS, but it's also pretty unique as far as I know. So while I think it is easy to pick up and learn, it doesn't really prepare you well for RTS games in general.

 

[ZedClampet]

I think Creeper World is a good, simple RTS, but it's also pretty unique as far as I know. So while I think it is easy to pick up and learn, it doesn't really prepare you well for RTS games in general.

I might try one of these RTS games. I've honestly never played an RTS unless you count Total War games, which are also turn-based and pausable. They just don't seem like they would go well with my one-track brain.

 

[Pifanjr]

I've been thinking about this for a bit more and I was wondering: do most new games just assume you have a basic knowledge of how games work? I don't think I've seen a tutorial about how to move the camera around in any games within the last decade. Or maybe I just skip through those explanations and therefore don't remember seeing them.

I might try one of these RTS games. I've honestly never played an RTS unless you count Total War games, which are also turn-based and pausable. They just don't seem like they would go well with my one-track brain.

In most levels it's possible to make a defensive perimeter that will hold even if you walk away for an hour, so in that respect it's probably a pretty good way to get started.

 

[RicoDude]

"XCOM enemny unknown" if you like futuristic and shooting alien. its a turn-based strategy game (TBS)

 

[Colif]

Creeper world may start simple...

I feel i need to put Journey in here somewhere, I guess its a platformer but its not obvious

 

[Pifanjr]

Creeper world may start simple...

I haven't played any of the official releases, I've only played a browser version, which doesn't quite go this far.

I feel i need to put Journey in here somewhere, I guess its a platformer but its not obvious

I haven't played Journey, but from what I know about it it seems a good fit for if you're looking for a simple game to learn to navigate through 3D environments. For 2D platforming I'd probably recommend Super Mario Bros, but I'm not a big platformer fan so there might be newer platformer games that work as well.

 

[ZedClampet]

I don't think I've seen a tutorial about how to move the camera around in any games within the last decade.

They are still there. Solasta explains how to move the camera in pretty good detail, for instance. Horizon New Dawn explained how to move and look around with the mouse, but that's getting rarer and rarer in that type of game (or maybe it's still common on Playstation, dunno), but top-down games generally explain camera movement. At least the ones I play do, like Parkitect and Total War Warhammer 2 (depending on how you have your tutorial set, maybe only on "Full" or whatever it's called). Maybe RTS games don't, though. I was invited to a beta of an RTS right before it launched and it told me absolutely nothing at all about anything (and I gave up in about 10 minutes). I assumed it was because it was a Beta test, but maybe not.

 

[Pifanjr]

They are still there. Solasta explains how to move the camera in pretty good detail, for instance. Horizon New Dawn explained how to move and look around with the mouse, but that's getting rarer and rarer in that type of game (or maybe it's still common on Playstation, dunno), but top-down games generally explain camera movement. At least the ones I play do, like Parkitect and Total War Warhammer 2 (depending on how you have your tutorial set, maybe only on "Full" or whatever it's called). Maybe RTS games don't, though. I was invited to a beta of an RTS right before it launched and it told me absolutely nothing at all about anything (and I gave up in about 10 minutes). I assumed it was because it was a Beta test, but maybe not.

Now that you mention it, I do remember the camera control tutorial from Warhammer 2. I never completed the tutorial though because it took so long and I knew most of it already. So I suppose I was right when I said it might just be that I have been skipping (through) tutorials.

 

[ZedClampet]

Now that you mention it, I do remember the camera control tutorial from Warhammer 2. I never completed the tutorial though because it took so long and I knew most of it already. So I suppose I was right when I said it might just be that I have been skipping (through) tutorials.

Yeah, and it's hard to even remember they happened a lot of times, particularly the camera control. After I've done something 1000 times, I just kind of sleepwalk through it. It's like when a singleplayer shooter starts off telling you how to run, jump, hurdle, and look around. It's so common I don't pay attention to it, and 30 seconds later I don't even remember doing it. Part of it may be that developers have gotten much better at making basic tutorials. Only the people who need them really notice?

 

[mainer]

I think for isometric ARPGs with real time combat, Diablo 2 Resurrected is easy to get into. There's no tutorial, but you pick a character based on combat style, talk to a couple people, then wander outside the camp bashing little demons. The first few maps are easy, and the difficulty increases as you progress further into the game, but you level up quickly at first, gaining stats and skills and learning how your character fights. Also, the skill trees aren't overly complex by todays standards.

For real time w/ pause RPGs, I think Baldur's Gate's beginning is still one of the easiest. Character creation isn't overly complex, and you spend the first few hours of the game wandering around Candle Keep learning all the basic mechanics before being thrust out into the Sword Coast.

First person perspective RPGS, I'd say any of the Fallout games; 3, 4, & New Vegas all had pretty easy beginnings. Straight forward character creation, a tutorial area where you learned all the mechanics of game play; from conversation choices to killing rats or geckos.

I've haven't played a lot of turn based games, outside of the Divinity OS games, but I wouldn't really consider those easy introductions, though they do have a lengthy tutorial area. I have played a lot of 3rd person RPGs, but I can't think of any that I would consider to be a simple or easy beginning.

 

[ZedClampet]

I think something like @Colif 's suggestion about Journey would be great for absolute beginners. My kids and I talked my wife into playing Left for Dead 2. The only games she had ever played before were casual games like Tetris, Candy Crush, etc. Nothing that wasn't top-down where you had to move a character on the screen (she was quite good at top-down Gauntlet with a controller). But she was completely flabbergasted by mouse/keyboard controls. She had trouble doing anything, spent half of her time looking mostly at the ground, struggled to get through doors, etc. My son had to intervene and get her up a ladder. Needless to say, she didn't have a whole lot of fun. I don't know anything about Journey. She's not a gamer and probably wouldn't have liked it, but it would have been a great way to teach her to control a character (from my memory of videos of the game it was in third-person, but not top-down).

 

[Pifanjr]

First person perspective RPGS, I'd say any of the Fallout games; 3, 4, & New Vegas all had pretty easy beginnings. Straight forward character creation, a tutorial area where you learned all the mechanics of game play; from conversation choices to killing rats or geckos.

I agree that the Fallout games do a pretty good job of introducing game mechanics, but I wouldn't call them simple games. For someone who has no experience with games, I think they would be quite overwhelming once the tutorial is over.

I've haven't played a lot of turn based games, outside of the Divinity OS games, but I wouldn't really consider those easy introductions, though they do have a lengthy tutorial area. I have played a lot of 3rd person RPGs, but I can't think of any that I would consider to be a simple or easy beginning.

The first TBS that comes to mind that's pretty simple is the Advanced Wars series. The campaign explains every mechanic pretty well and though it becomes pretty hard, it doesn't become very complicated.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Its hard to find a game that in a quick tutorial does what a childhood of playing TT RPG's and war games, choose your own adventure books, and of course playing video games with friends and family, and so on does for understanding basic concepts like hit points, RNG, movement, spells etc etc.

I think some games explain the basics of their rules in tutorials but even then they still assume a certain level of understanding from the player. Even if some action game tutorials tells us to press w to go forwards or whatever, games assume that once theyve introduced that youll pick it up in a second and quickly progress to throwing enemies at you. That doesnt work for someone who never touched a mouse in anger before. Let alone throwing someone who never touched a game before infront of an RPG or strategy game. I guess that might be possible if the person in question had played board games before and there were a LOT of tooltips, which some games are getting really good at to be fair..

For 3d/action games as well as a Journey I guess anything open world with a safe zone would work, and just let them run around to get used to it.. Learning the co-ordination needed to control a camera on one stick and movement with another while also considering jumping etc is actually really hard to someone whos never done it before. I think controlling camera and movement with a controller would be a good first step to understanding control of the camera with a mouse. It's also be easier to co-ordinate and less intimidating then having M+K with 100 buttons to press infront of you.

 

[Colif]

The amount of training needed to be done to get users to understand how to navigate the software has moved from showing the basics to assuming people know them, has gradually dwindled to nothing in the last 20 years.

People are expected to know that stuff now. No Intro to mouse courses being run anymore. Unless in Libraries for old people. Schools probably assume kids played with parents PC before they ever hit schools... I don't know for sure. I am neither a parent or a kid. I didn't see my first computer until I was 17 so there is that.

 

[Zloth]

Yeah @Colif, that's what I was starting to realize trying to answer in that other topic.

Maybe start out with something simple like Portal or Talos Principle. Both of those start out easy to let a person figure out how to move around and get used to it enough. The former has much more engaging story telling, the latter is better for anyone you know is going to be good at spatial puzzles. They don't have anything about hit points, leveling up skills, or anything else that's really complex. Of course, people who aren't so great at (or just don't like) spatial puzzles is going to get bored, but not before they get comfortable moving around and learning how to save/load games.

After that, then start looking at the more specialized stuff - preferably ones with difficulty choices so they might actually win a game. Most shooters set on "easy" should work. Lighter weight RPGs like Fable (and maybe Outer Worlds?) can work. Outer Wilds if they want a puzzle that isn't spatial. Lots of action games like Saints Row, rebooted Tomb Raider, and so on. The South Park games if they like that show.

After that, they're trained enough to take on anything.

I wish there was a try-the-genres game. Spore kinda sorta does some of that with its different phases.

 

[Brian Boru]

someone who never touched a mouse in anger before

There's a reason Microsoft included Solitaire with early Windows—a fun way to teach basic mouse usage. So I recommend that for very first mouse experience.

Maybe then a Match 3 game like Bejeweled, which speeds gameplay up, followed by Tetris. Other possibilities would be digital board games like Othello or Scrabble.

Those should give a good grounding in mouse handling to the extent it becomes second nature. Then advance into the suggestions y'all have given.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

There's a reason Microsoft included Solitaire with early Windows—a fun way to teach basic mouse usage. So I recommend that for very first mouse experience.

Maybe then a Match 3 game like Bejeweled, which speeds gameplay up, followed by Tetris. Other possibilities would be digital board games like Othello or Scrabble.

Those should give a good grounding in mouse handling to the extent it becomes second nature. Then advance into the suggestions y'all have given.

I hadnt really thought about it like that, very good point. I assumed that someone would at least know how to click and move a mouse on a desktop but if the whole thing is new, progressing to playing a 3d game is going to take some time.

 

[Pifanjr]

I hadnt really thought about it like that, very good point. I assumed that someone would at least know how to click and move a mouse on a desktop but if the whole thing is new, progressing to playing a 3d game is going to take some time.

I tried to play Putt Putt with my 3.5 year old daughter, but she couldn't quite figure out how to use the mouse yet. She kept occasionally trying to put the mouse against the screen to click, because she's more used to a phone's touchscreen.

She doesn't quite understand a controller yet either. We've been trying A Short Hike for little bits at a time, but she mostly runs in one direction.

 

[Frindis]

Hack&slash: Diablo 3, Torchlight 2.
Action/Adventure: Tomb Raider 2013
RTS: Command&Conquer: Red Alert
Shooter: Half-Life, Team Fortress 2

 

[Pifanjr]

Hack&slash: Diablo 3, Torchlight 2.
Action/Adventure: Tomb Raider 2013
RTS: Command&Conquer: Red Alert
Shooter: Half-Life, Team Fortress 2

I'm not sure I'd call Diablo 3 simple. Torchlight 2 at least has skill trees where you can just pick one and stick with it and be okay and being able to send your pet back to sell loot makes inventory management a bit easier.

I wasn't quite sure which Hack & Slash game I'd pick as a "simple" game, but after a bit of googling I think Minecraft Dungeons might be a good option. It's pretty short and a lot more basic compared to major Hack & Slash titles.

I also wouldn't call Half-Life or Team Fortress 2 simple. Half-Life includes a bunch of platforming as well and head crabs seem like an awful first enemy to encounter in a shooter. And Team Fortress 2 has 9 classes all with different play styles and can get very hectic. In my opinion a simple shooter would be one of the WW2 Call of Duty games, like World at War. It has a good tutorial, an easy difficulty setting and the campaign always makes it clear where to go and who to shoot.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

I tried to play Putt Putt with my 3.5 year old daughter, but she couldn't quite figure out how to use the mouse yet. She kept occasionally trying to put the mouse against the screen to click, because she's more used to a phone's touchscreen.

She doesn't quite understand a controller yet either. We've been trying A Short Hike for little bits at a time, but she mostly runs in one direction.

Mine is more into pretending the mouse is a phone than using it to do anything on screen. She can kind of use a controller to move around where she wants, took a while though and she mostly just asks me to take over after a few minutes. A Short Hike looks cute, I'll have to try it out with her. I recommend Donut County if you see it on sale, its super simple only uses one stick on a controller and has a lot of silly animal characters and goofy stuff that might keep them interested long enough to figure something out.

 

[Frindis]

@Pifanjr I can't say I agree with Diablo 3 not being simple, as you basically can play the game on the easiest difficulty and beat the game without really having much understanding of the game mechanics. I do agree that the skills trees could be a little confusing for a newcomer, but it's not really rocket science either, as you can just press on random skills and it would be sufficient enough to progress. The difficulty is scaling in both games, so I would think a newcomer would just kill stuff for a while, try on different stuff and learn what hits harder. The different colors should also be an easy indicator of what is good and what is not good.

Half-Life after thinking about it, I do agree. It starts out pretty simple, but yeah, there are definitely some elements in the game that would be very hard for a newcomer. Team Fortress is basically a kids game, so I don't really see it being much difficult for anyone to learn, regardless of experience. You will just die a lot at the beginning. WW2 Call of Duty games are pretty easy, at least while playing campaigns.

Another factor would be the age, as a teenager would be much more suited for learning computer games that need good eye-hand coordination, than an adult. Some puzzles would also be easier for older kids/teenagers as they are often much better at thinking outside of the box and trying out stuff that often adults would find to be not logical. This is why often older people need a little more time to get adjusted to learning video games, as they often don't understand why you should do this and that, like: "Why do I need to walk right when I can walk left." or "Why do I need to find a platform to open the door when I have a gun I could use to shoot it with".

 

[Brian Boru]

I assumed that someone would at least know how to click and move a mouse on a desktop

I learned a long time ago that we all seriously underestimate how much knowledge and experience we bring to bear on this kind of stuff—it's all ingrained now so we're not even aware of it—like how an experienced driver no longer thinks about pedals or levers.

This can make teaching a complete newbie a frustrating experience for both.