This is not meant as a rant thread, but as an opportunity to reflect upon your dislikes and maybe come up with constructive or insightful ideas, but of course, if anyone prefers to rant instead, I guess I can't prevent them from doing it.

Anyway, I just read on indiegames.com about Fuck This Jam, a challenge for developers to make a game in a genre they hate: And I asked myself: If I was going to make a game according to these rules, of which genre would it have to be? Which game genres are my least favorite and why is that? And I thought this is an interesting question to ponder even for players:

Which genres do you usually enjoy least and/or avoid altogether, and what are the reasons for it? Can you imagine how they would become more fun for you?

Do sports games count?

I hate the boring ones that aim to be realistic, ditch the realism and make them arcadey. Like Mutant League Hockey or Mutant League Football. NBA Jam also comes to mind.

Hidden object games. There is nothing more pointless than them.

Simulation games. Could never get into them, no matter the genre (combat sims, sports sims, flight sims, space sims, The Sims, you get the idea).

EDIT: I think the only exception for me was Rollercoaster Tycoon, and Dungeon Keeper if that counts (I think of that more as an RTS)

I know what you did. Now I can't erase the images from my mind.

There's nothing to be ashamed about. I like donkeys fucking midgets too.

Racing and Casino/Gambling

List of the GOG genres in order from least to most favorite:
Racing and Sports
Shooter
Indie
Action
Adventure
Simulation
Strategy
RPG

However, I can find almost any good game fun, it's just my least favorite genres have no staying power. I never feel compelled to replay them after I've finished.

And Professional Sports is the most useless genre imaginable. There's at least 3 games about NBA Basketball and a new one comes out each year, not to mention American Football, proper Football, Hockey, even golf or Nascar. Some morons actually buy them like collectors items. EA is just sitting on this gold mine and milking it for all it's worth.

I dislike RTS because I find it makes me anxious and stressed, which is not why I play games.

I dislike racing games because they're boring as shit to me.

I dislike MMOs because they are designed for grinding and wasting time and generally lack good stories or presentation.

I dislike Diablo style action games because I don't care about loot and leveling and that is the whole point of them, usually. They lack good exploration or story, usually.

I dislike multiplayer because fuck other people. I play games to get time away from other people.

I dislike all sports games because fuck sports except baseball and fuck baseball games because I could watch 180 games a year if I wanted, I don't need more of it.

I think those are all the ones I completely disregard. The only ones I could imagine being something I could enjoy are MMOs and Diablo style games, they would simply have to add good stories and good gamplay, butttttt... yeah, then they would be something else, so no, not really I guess.

casino games

I don't hate genres because I will miss out on great games and right now I need learn how to play RTSes, Sports/Racing, and MMOs :)

I hate everything that prioritizes storytelling or atmosphere over gameplay. Interactive fiction, interactive movies, many so called "art games".

Also, hardcore militaristic games, be it simulations or strategy titles, creep me out a little.

Oh, and MMOs aren't for me. Those tend to feel like obligations to me, through subscription costs, responsibilities towards other players or the fact that my character may fall behind when I'm not logging in on a regular basis.

FPS games. I don't hate them, but I dislike them and rarely play them. Mainly because I do hate the First Person perspective in gaming (soo I guess it's not just FPS, but any game that only offers FP perspective). It always makes me feel like I'm looking through a tiny window with blinders on and I have a huge problem getting myself oriented.

As for myself, the first games that come to my mind when I think about genres I have the least interest in are RTS/Strategy, Business Sims, MMORPGs, Sports games and certain kinds of 3D Shooters.

When I think about the reasons, I guess one could group them as follows:

- Abstract thinking: Maybe "abstract" is the wrong word, but in RL I have trouble wrapping my head around economical problems and I don't enjoy juggling with figures as much as being creative with words and images. I also prefer to jump straight into the game without having to read and learn a lot first. And I'm intimidated by having to keep an eye on all kinds of figures and options that I don't know about yet right from the beginning.

- Time investment vs. entertainment: I generally prefer shorter games and games with an ending. My interest in them is being entertained by story progression and twists or by experiencing lots of variety and diversion. I seldom like replaying and repeating stuff, and the game needs to be rewarding enough that I can justify my investment of time with it. That's probably why I'm not so fond of more open-ended games with not so clear or more abstract goals (leveling, loot, economical progression) and that require me to invest a lot of time in repetitive actions without rewarding me with an engrossing story or lots of variety and humor. With MMORPGs, Strategy and Business sims I'm bound to ask myself after a few hours: Why am I doing this, what did I achieve that was really worth it?

- Themes: I often find the themes of business sims and strategy games too prosaic and too close to all that doesn't interest me in RL. I also don't like to watch Sports on TV and engage in it myself less than I probably should. And I have zero interest in military themes and war.

That being said, I could imagine enjoying slightly dumb-downed Strategy games with good in-game tutorials or learning curves, if they'd have more fanciful or funny themes and if they'd be more linear and story-oriented. Even though it's not my favorite game, I had some fun with Warcraft 3, and I liked the blend of RTS/RPG that was Rage of Mages. I also enjoy Tower Defense games occasionally.

I also like the mechanics and atmosphere of 3D shooters on principle; in that case a change of theme might be all that is required for me to enjoy it (less realistic, less gratuituos violence, more style and story). I actually loved Outlaws, for example, so it can't be the genre that I dislike.