Meryl's Notes Blog

While working on my review of The Apprentice: Los Angeles, I couldn’t figure out how to describe the game’s genre. Many sites refer to this particular genre as Action or Arcade. I think Action is too broad and Arcade is wrong. I see Arcade games like Galaga, Asteroids Pac-Man (is my age showing?), Donkey Kong, 1942, Tetris and so on. These games don’t have a story going and tend to do the same thing over and over only increasing in challenge and bonuses.

Other games of the same genre as The Apprentice: Los Angeles include Diner Dash, Fairy Godmother Tycoon, Belle’s Beauty Boutique, and Flower Shop: Big City Break. I guess some call these “Diner” style games because of the popularity of the Diner Dash series. I doubt Diner Dash is the first one since many “Tycoon” style games came along and they resemble them. But not everyone has heard of Diner Dash and some of these games have nothing to do with food.

Some Tycoon games work like SimCity and Civilization — more strategic. So Tycoon wouldn’t be the right name, I don’t think.

So should it be “entrepreneur” or “fastpreneur?” After all, these have one thing in common — you’re starting and building a business. The themes vary. For the most part, they involve customers and serving them quickly and efficiently. They have an arcade element in that it’s fast action. Some, not all, have a strategic element and usually on a lighter scale than the average strategic game.

Along these lines of thinking, Tycoon games like Fairy Godmother Tycoon would go under “entrepreneur” while those like Zoo Tycoon can go under “strategic.” “Fastpreneur” helps separate the Tycoon games since most involve trying to build a business. Strategic games tend to move slower and involve more planning and less action. What do you think?