This type of game seems to be the new hotness right now, and there are now enough that I feel like they’ll need their own genre identifier.

Is there a broadly accepted one? If so, is it good?

And, if not, what do you think games of that type should be called?

I’ve see a few suggestions here and there, but none of them have felt right to me. I’m interested in almost theorycrafting the optimal genre identifier (in the vein of “procedural death labyrinth”). What are the unifying traits of games of these types, how do we best identify them without simply stringing together other genres (e.g. “reverse bullet hell idle action roguelike”), and what can we use that has “stickiness” as a term?

There were a few years when RTS was a popular genre with games like Total Annihilation, Age of Empires, Command and Conquer, and Starcraft being very popular examples.

But these games have mostly died out, and I was wondering if maybe I'm just not aware of modern RTS variants, or if there are good reasons why these games died off.

Like, are Tower Defence games a form of RTS?

Are there any RTS games where teams play against each other, so 2v2 rather than 1v1?

(Inspired by this conversation thread)

Any and all thoughts on visual novels are welcome. Some potential questions for jumping off points:

What are your thoughts on the VN genre/format?

What are some of the best VNs you’ve played/read?

What would you recommend to someone who’s new to VNs and wants to try one out?

How do you think VNs compare to games, literature, and other interactive fiction?

A cursory search found only comedic, light-hearted, fantastical options.

I want something set in the late Pleistocene or early Holocene, roughly 50,000-8,000 years BCE. At least somewhat (pre-)historically accurate (no dinosaurs or wizards, only 2001-esque aliens, at most), incorporating at least the basics of what we now know of that era.

Either a single character or a small group (I'm envisioning something like Skyrim, or a Baldur's Gate style, or some kind of community-planner, like RimWorld or Dwarf Fortress).

Alternately, if anyone still remembers the The Clan of the Cave Bear (novel or movie), I want that, in game form.

Bonus points if it runs on Linux w/o Wine.

Does anything like this exist, or should I just sit down and make it? Danke

Just wanted to preface this by saying that I don't know much about self-help lit and do not mean to offend anyone who enjoys it as a genre.

I've been talking to a friend of mine who primarily reads self-help literature (a genre I've never really delved into), and what struck me was the highly materialistic/individualistic focus that a number of these books seem to have (most being focused on becoming an entrepreneur who drives a Lamborghini and retires by 40 living off of their crypto/stocks/real estate investments). The failure of the individual to achieve these goals can apparently be overcome through positive thinking, changing one's mindset, etc, and the focus seems to be largely on material goods and the general definition of "American-style" success. My general feeling is that a large part of self-help as a genre is focused on the failings of the individual rather than societal ills (or, the Jordan Peterson style of motivational thinking), and that got me wondering if anybody had some books that differ from the mold somewhat, possibly talking about improving yourself not only as an individual but also as part of the community, perhaps offering some sort of a leftist perspective that touches upon commodity fetishism, etc.

If anyone had any suggestions, I'd love to take a look at them.

I've been thinking, and it seems like most genres are a love/hate thing (metal and punk are highly controversial for example, they have super hardcore fans but are largely disliked by the majority of people, pop is the opposite, most people like it but there's a very vocal minority that absolutely deplores it and wants to watch it burn, electronic music as a whole also tends to gather mixed reception, etc), but out of all music I pretty much never see any dislike aimed at r&b, funk, soul and jazz (except for smooth jazz, although a lot of people don't consider it actual jazz).

Is there some truth behind this? I personally don't like these genres (and neither do the people around me) and I've always had the feeling we were pretty alone in that sense.

While the latest hype-trains and the guaranteed oldies give me a reading list a few thousand books long, I like to read things which are left by the wayside. This list here is a good example. The author gives a list of genre classics. Books which aren't good enough to make the top 1000 books of all time, but are classics in their own genre and influenced a lot of future authors. The Princess and the Goblin is a good example. Everyone interested in Tolkien and the Inklings has read it, as well as those who like modern fairy tales, but it doesn't crop up much in recommendations lists. These are books which aren't quite as commonly discussed, but still good and important for people interested in the genre.

So, if you have a favorite genre or sub-genre I would love to read your 'genre classics' list, with maybe a sentence about why I should enjoy it. Not quite as comprehensive as a class on books, more than a bullet point.

Edit:
I just realized I didn't change the title. By the 'gap', I originally meant the gap between the books everyone suggests from the past and the mountain of dredged pulp you find in libraries and bookstores: books which are worth still reading, even if they aren't one of the 'Classics'. More like underrated recommendations.

This submission showed up on /r/listentothis a couple of weeks ago. I'm reposting it here because it is the finest and most on-point collection of music I have ever encountered. The original post from /u/theamazingsounds is included below.

Hello again fellow music enthusiasts!

1 year ago, I made a post about my ongoing project to create a collection with as many genres as possible, aiming to give listeners a convenient way to discover new music. It got many interested and since then more than 50 genres have been added, as well as descriptions for every genre.

I'm making this post to thank those following already, and am once again open for suggestions and ideas. I also made a subreddit called r/TheAmazingSounds where you can post about music that you want to share with others. It is currently empty but I will try to keep it active and reply often.

You can find everything on Spotify. It is synced with other services but doesn't convert all songs.

Spotify | Deezer | Soundcloud | YouTube

I've just finished The Sirens of Titan from 1959 (after seeing it recommended here, actually) and something struck me compared to more recent books. A lot of the more technical stuff is kind of hand-waved away. It's not a criticism, just something that stuck out as I was reading. Is this a trend? Do readers demand more details these days? I've read a bunch of sci fi from the 60s until the present day, but I've only really gotten back into it more recently with Sirens.

Perhaps I've read too much Neal Stephenson, who has likely never hand-waved anything away! The Martian also springs to mind, but that's very deliberately focused on the details and keeping it realistic, IIRC.

start rant

First, my personal definition of the term: melodrama is a narrative that appeals to our stronger emotions in a lengthy, recurrent, unjustified and exaggerated fashion. Unlike drama, which plays to your sentiments in a more contained and psychologically realistic manner, melodrama overwhelms us with every trick in the book to elicit a powerful emotional reaction by any means necessary.

You can tell from my phrasing that I'm not a fan of the genre, but that's beside the point. Melodrama has its place: operas and soap-operas wouldn't exist without it, and, in moderation, it's a practical way to inject emotion in plots that would be otherwise hermetic and dry.

But even sweetness in excess will make you vomit, and many interesting productions exaggerate it to the point of nausea. Arrival is awesome, but did Amy Adams character (which was basically one the smartest persons on Earth) really need to spend so much time as a freaking wife? We had the coolest movie aliens in the last 20 years, did she really need to marry a boring physicist? And what about the whole parenting conundrum in Interstellar? You're in fucking space, I couldn't care less about your failings as a father! No one could save 1998s Armageddon, but the struggle to explode the giant asteroid heading towards the Earth was way more interesting than Liv Tyler saying goodbye to Bruce Willis over some corny Aerosmith song. The TV show The Killing was particularly annoying... what would prefer, awesome investigation scenes with constant new developments or 30 versions of "look how the same family is grieving in a slightly different way"?

But credit where credit is due: some moviemakers know a thing or two about concision. So my props to Fernando Meirelles (City of God), José Padilha (Elite Squad), Alfred Hitchcock, David Fincher, Sidney Lumet, Martin Scorsese, Chad Stahelski (from John Wick!!!!) and many others. Thank you for not wasting my time!

EDIT1: And just make things perfectly clear: my issue is not with the presence of drama or melodrama, but with its amount...
EDIT2: to be even more clear: this does not mean that I wish for all movies to be sterile, dry or devoid of emotional content...
EDIT3: a lot of answers seem to ignore the differences between drama and melodrama, the previous edits and the nuance of the post. Ahh... what can I do? :P

end rant