"High score" games?

[monco]

What is the name for the genre of games without a finite amount of discreet levels, like Asteroids? You know, games you just play until you run out of life/ships, but that don't have an ending. Arcade? High Score?

Do games like this sell anymore or are they considered too simplistic?

[soniCron]

What is the name for the genre of games without a finite amount of discreet levels, like Asteroids? You know, games you just play until you run out of life/ships, but that don't have an ending. Arcade? High Score?

Probably "Arcade," though the gaming industry has done an absolutely fantastic job of bastardizing genre names. (In addition to other things, like budgets. "AAA" is a bastardization of what the movie industry calls "A" for example.) Either way, not having an end or relying solely on high-scores isn't really a "genre" anyway, just like "Games with plumbers with mustaches" isn't a genre.

Do games like this sell anymore or are they considered too simplistic?

Cas should certainly be able to tell you that, though I think most would agree that the bar for competitive entry into this business is being raised all the time.

[princec]

Selling fine here. I think it might help to complement the hiscore stuff with other progression though as part of the upsell (progress bar, bosses, shops, medals, etc).

Cas

[monco]

Selling fine here. I think it might help to complement the hiscore stuff with other progression though as part of the upsell (progress bar, bosses, shops, medals, etc).

Cas

Thanks. I'll try some of your games when I get home. One of the most addictive games I ever played was Odyssey II's UFO (late 70s, early 80s Asteroids-like game). Bastards only gave you one ship and the randomly appearing UFO was deadly accurate with its laser, all of which added to the tension.

[monco]

Cas -

Actually, after reading more about your games on your website, it appears that they do have levels. What happens when you get to the end? Is there a maximum score you can achieve?

[princec]

Alien Flux starts generating random levels after level 20 but never ends - some people have gotten to level 60 or something.

Ultratron likewise just carries on getting more and more mental past level 40. Eventually they both get too hard even for superhumans.

Cas