In video gaming there are plenty of genres. The industry will never run out of ideas and, in my opinion, will only continue to grow and innovate. It is not an industry without landmarks though--from Pong all the way up to the current and well-known games in the industry.

     First, consider the retro games. These include Pong, Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, etc. All were older low bit games (bit meaning data. See more here for 8-bit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bit). Pong was a landmark because it was one of the earliest major arcade games. It was also one of the most popular and established the roots of the video game industry along with the Magnavox Odyssey.      

    In the fantasy genre, The Legend Of Zelda was a simple adventure game which helped launch Nintendo. Although it contained RPG (Role Playing Game) elements within the system it was not an RPG. Link, the protagonist, could have his max health increased, but it was not due to experience points. 

     Final Fantasy was one of the very first well-established full RPG's. It introduced new features such as a class system and a large, fairly open world. Final Fantasy was actually supposed to be Square Enix's last game, hence the name. Square Enix was about to go bankrupt and disappear as a company until this saving grace. The series sold over 110 million copies and is one of the best selling series of all time. It is known for innovation, stories, music, and gameplay. Although the first in the series was a major hit, the series did not have another landmark until Final Fantasy VII.

Final Fantasy VII was a landmark for two reasons. It emotionally immersed the player. The second reason was the original script became Xenogears spawning the Xeno game series. Xenogears did not become Final Fantasy VII because the story was supposedly too dark for the Final Fantasy series. 

     Although RPG's have always been a main part of the video game industry many different genres have become major successes. In most recent years First Person Shooters (FPS) have been making a rise. The three most successful of these are Halo, Medal of Honor, and Call of Duty.

     Another major genre within video-gaming is Survival/Horror. These terms go together very fluidly. Two of the major series for this are Resident Evil and Silent Hill. Silent Hill is a dark and sinister pyschological horror, and Resident Evil is a survival horror, often pitting protagonist against monsters created by science.

     The Silent Hill series makes horror realistic and atmospheric. Many of the games focus on the world switching from the "Real" world to the "Otherworld" which is very hell-like. In the first game that was a very rare occurrence, but the world was otherworldly. Silent Hill is a scary, yet amazing, experience due to the design and story of the series.

      Resident Evil's emphasis is not placed as much on the atmosphere as it is on the actual monsters. In the series, the first 3 numbered titles largely featured zombies. The fourth title focused on parasitic entities injected into people as part of a cult. It was not until 6 when zombies were re-introduced into the main story line. There were split-off stories which had the main monsters as zombies, but they usually never got as much recognition as the numbered series. Resident Evil made zombies one of the most popular enemies in the gaming industry and it is rare to not see a zombie game come out in the list of games coming out in a year.

 Sylvester Valentine for Passed Time. ©Delaware, 2015