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What genre requires the most skill?

I would put FPS (CS for the most part) ahead of RTS for two reasons. The first being that most RTS matches come down to who can spend their resources the best/take control of the most resources. The second is that many RTS games have one or two tactics that will work in 90% of matches. (early rush, commando units, etc...)

But to me, nothing beats having to try and kill 5 or 6 people when you're the last one alive...and pulling it off. Amongst other crazy scenarios, FPS is more unpredictable than most any genre.
 
Monroeski said:
RTS, and I don't think it's even close.
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so you dress up the old rock-paper-scissors system as units incomprehensible to the outside observer and suddenly it becomes the most skill-based game ever? no
 
Why no mention of racing games? I find that in almost all racing games, even arcade racers, the best racers always come out on top, and luck hardly plays a role.
 
BrokenSymmetry said:
Why no mention of racing games? I find that in almost all racing games, even arcade racers, the best racers always come out on top, and luck hardly plays a role.
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Mario Kart...
 
The Faceless Master said:
how are pray-n-spray and mashing even remotely effective techniques in fps and fighters?

that totally depends on the individual game.

that's like saying randomly picking the right unit to counter your enemy is effective in an rts!
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they're not effective...i was talking about the varying elements of luck across the genres
 
A genre that requires this:
03-05_SteelBattalionController.jpg
 
Point and Click Adventure games. Seriously, I can't beat any of these without looking at GameFAQs.

Any balanced fast paced multiplayer game is going to come out on top as needing the most "skill", and honestly arguing if RTS or FPS is the one won't get anywhere.
 
i am kinda of torn on this. you could go up to 2 high level players one who is fps based and the other who is rts based. if the other play coached the other i think the fps player would fare better of the two. telling an inexperienced person to jump crouch zoom head shot a guy is a lot easier said than done. telling a person to click here leisurely and press all the hot keys is more manageable.

fps uses mental and physical skill, whilst rts is much more reliant on mental.
 
Baha said:
I think it's subjective atm, so many genre's have games that can be so hardcore that the skill of a player is quite evident. 2D/3D fighters, shumps, platformers, puzzle games, music/rhythm games, fps, tps....the list goes on and on. It's hard for me to say which requires skill when after seeing some insane shit from all kinds of genres.

Some famous examples:

Amazing Tetris skills

Infamous Ken vs Chun Li video

Ikaruga, 1 player, 2 player mode

Super Mario 3 skills

Guiter Hero 3 Dragonforce record holder
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Needs more Super Monkey Ball Master stages.

Like, say, these.

_dementia said:
memorization through repetition is a skill now?
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It is. But I prefer games that require a lot less memorization and a lot more reaction to unpredictable situations... Fighting games, say. (VFers: remember the days of downloading videos of Akira no 4?)

TheExodu5 said:
Many of the top players execute hundreds of actions per minute, and a lesser player could never keep up.
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It's precisely the need for micromanagement that puts me off Warcraft/Starcraft compared to Total Annihilation... (I realize Supreme Commander has come out since then... I'm way behind on PC gaming.)
 
No Means Nomad said:
Point and Click Adventure games. Seriously, I can't beat any of these without looking at GameFAQs.
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Yeah, this is what I came here to write. You need to be skilled in MAGICLOGIC to beat adventure games.. sadly I possess no magiclogic, and my magiclogic training is progressing extremely slowly. :'(
 
Hardcore sims played online, expecially played in team; it takes the skills of a skill based game and the thinking of a thinking based game.
 
Every genre requires different kinds of skill, not different degrees of skill.

A fighting game, a first person shooter, an RPG, all require the same ammount of skill, just different ones.
 
2d or/and 3d fighting games.

gotta remember a whole shit load of moves for many characters, gotta learn to pull of combos, then when you actualy start fighting you gotta have great reflexes and be able to react to a constantly and randomly changing situation. Of course the more you know your opponent's characters moves the better.

so to recap, there are the following skills involved: reflexes, memory, strategy and improvisation. not to say that other games do not involve these skills :P
 
I would say deathmatch fps but most specifically the ones with more advanced movement and tiered armors like CPM and Warsow. Quake World would be in that set as well but it isn't as refined.

Slower Vanilla Quake 3 causing more effective tactical use can be debated about which is more skilled. I give the nod to Pro Mode skill-wise even though it isn't played for big money. The spread in scores is very harsh with small differences in skill.


I would also mention 2d fighters because the mind games can develop a lot in a map and resource agnostic environment.
 
a Master Ninja said:
Classic arcade games. Donkey Kong/Pac-Man/etc. Incredibly demanding on your concentration and reflexes. Hesitate for even a second and it's game over. No pausing, no breaks. Insanity compared to modern gaming.
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I'm going to have to agree with this. Beating Pac-Man completely? Not a feat many will ever do.
 
In terms of pure reflexes and ability to process lots of information quickly, Beatmania IIDX games. I simply can not handle the harder songs in those games, they overwhelm me so easily.
 
Concept17 said:
I would put FPS (CS for the most part) ahead of RTS for two reasons. The first being that most RTS matches come down to who can spend their resources the best/take control of the most resources. The second is that many RTS games have one or two tactics that will work in 90% of matches. (early rush, commando units, etc...)

But to me, nothing beats having to try and kill 5 or 6 people when you're the last one alive...and pulling it off. Amongst other crazy scenarios, FPS is more unpredictable than most any genre.
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You're not very familiar with RTSs are you. That's like saying "In FPSs people always use the same weapons to kill people."

I'd say

RTS, FPS, then everything else.
 
TheExodu5 said:
...
So what genre do you think requires the most skill?
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For vs./ multi-player games: Playing the *best* in the world would take the most skill, no?

For single player games: Trying to beat a measurable *World Record* would take the most skill, no?

I'd say what genre you have the *least* skill in is the answer you're looking for, no?
 
Big 3 for me is RTS, Fighting, and FPS.

All three has need for a lot of memorization, fast reflexes, micro strategy, macro strategy, mind games, ability to recognize patterns, zoning, timing and accurate movements and distancing.

How you rank them depends on how much you value each element.

I love watching high level matches of these especially when you can see their hands move. I'm amazed at how fast people can move hands while at all times keeping them accurate to the point of single frames.
 
RTS? Come on isnt it all about who makes the most units fastest and attacks first wins?

i would say Virtua Fighter 4 lol not a genre but needs some uber skills for top tier playing.
Also shumps.
 
Kinda impossible to say. Theres physical skill and mental skill. Most genres seem to favor one at a time.

So with that said i can tell you which ones require no skill.

Fuckin' MMORPGs thats what.


and i can tell ya which ones have the best mix of both

Fuckin' Fighters.
 
a Master Ninja said:
Classic arcade games. Donkey Kong/Pac-Man/etc. Incredibly demanding on your concentration and reflexes. Hesitate for even a second and it's game over. No pausing, no breaks. Insanity compared to modern gaming.
Click to expand...

Yep. These games don't hold your hand at all. They were designed to be brutal quarter munchers in their day. You either adapted and got better at them or were left looking like a chump while digging in your pocket for another quarter.:lol

Some say theyre too simplistic by design. Maybe,but that was the dawn of gaming. Attracting a crowd means making the games simplistic yet addicting. Something that you don't see in todays games too much. Basically,if you have to spend more than 5 minutes reading a manual something is wrong with the game. having to read more than a few minutes on how to play a game just takes away my enthusiasm. Maybe I'm not hardcore enough. Am I just a casual gamer now? I dunno. But for years I've read those manuals and I can do without reading another. The games seem to be getting more complex but less fun to me. Keep it simple and please by all means don't extend your game by giving us the worst cars to drive with,the weakest fighters to play with,I shouldn't have to unlock that shit. Give me games like Doom,Pac-man,Asteroids,Hang On,etc. Balls to the wall fun. Simple and to the point,just the way I like it. :)
 
My definition of skill? Depends on if it is VERSUS/MULTIPLAYER or SINGLE PLAYER.

Single Player Skill:

Classic Arcade Games
Rhythm games
Puzzle Games
Fighting Games
Racing Games
Action/Adventure
RTS
...Several NES games

Versus/Multiplayer:

RTS
Fighter
FPS
 
Skill is not genre-specific, never has been. You can't say one genre requires more or less skill than any other. After all, a "skilled" opponent can be found in any game that features multiplayer, regardless of genre.

When it comes to comp-stomping it is usually 99% memorization and 1% skill, if that.

If you really want to try to evaluate skill requirements for a game you have to be specific about what one is trying to do with that game. There is winning by the skin of your teeth and then there is obliterating your opponent.
 
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