You have heard that video games that were just for kids are long gone. The industry has changed a lot in the twenty-first century. So, such claims are no longer possible.
It has grown to be one of the world economy’s largest sectors. It is a big source of income. Many factors led to this achievement. They include the growth of mobile technology, internet connectivity, and technical progress. For this reason, gaming has become a central point and now prefers to play video games. They prefer them to other entertainment.
This led to another change in the gaming industry. It evolved around creating many unique gaming niches. eSports leagues and Twitch channels get most of the attention and headlines. But, many gamers also join small and unique gaming communities. These could be specific to metaverses like Fortnite. They might also be unique to indie hits like Papers, Please.
With gaming spreading to every corner of the globe, its subcultures are growing increasingly distinct. If you’ve connected with any of these gaming communities, you’re aware that its members are frequently quite engaged and fervent about their favorite game or games. In 2024, let’s examine some of the most distinctive gaming cultures around.
The OG: Poker
Reports said about 100 million players use virtual platforms. They use them for table games and tournaments worldwide. This achievement is not bad for poker. It was the first arcade game to go digital. Texas Hold’em Poker is known to be the most popular variation of the Poker game with Three-Card Stud and Omaha coming second and third respectively.
In the 1990s, alongside the slot machines, the poker platforms were some of the very first to go online. Players could join and qualify for major tournaments and events through virtual qualifiers. The qualifiers happen all over the world. Poker has also managed to create famous players like Phil Hellmuth and Phil Ivey.
Roguelikes
Roguelikes are not very popular in gaming. But, you should have heard of games like Hades and Spelunky. Roguelikes are famous for always being set in dungeons. They have procedurally generated levels. This means you never play the same level twice.
In most games, players restart at checkpoints after dying. However, in this game, if you die you start from the beginning.
As known Roguelike games were first introduced in the 1980s. The name of the genre was inspired by the first game, Rogue. Over the years, this genre has inspired diversity. Indie developers have helped it move into new themes far from high fantasy. They’re also limiting the permadeath restraints. This new type of roguelike is usually dubbed a rogue-lite.
Fighting Games
Fighting games have been around for a long time, as far back as the 80s just like the Roguelike games. Many first global gaming tournaments were based on fighting games like Street Fighter II.
This game was released in 1991, and it brought about a change to the Fighting genre. It introduced mechanics that allowed gamers to string together lethal combinations, adding a bit of order to the button-smashing habits of yore.
In the 2000s era, fighting games saw a drop in popularity due to the emergence of the FPS genre. But this only lasted a while. Then, the genre made its comeback. This was due to the arrival of many leagues and events. Now, there are even fighting games that have been created for mobile devices.
Gaming Adjacent: Twitch Influencers
Ever since Amazon released the game Twitch in 2014 for $1 billion, the streaming platform has grown. It has become the top community for gamers across the globe. Back then, its focus was on popular titles like League of Legends and Fortnite.
That’s not the case anymore as the streaming platform has broadened its horizon, massively, to include all types of niches, including non-gaming channels.
In 2023, the platform made the headlines for adding a new chatting feature that changed how streamers interact with the viewers. This platform lets streamers connect with subs about any content they like. It can be anything from pretending to be a cat to watching someone nap and debating when they’ll wake up.
Oddly enough, though not quite gaming-related, the Just Chatting live stream features are similar to the OG Twitch, Justin.tv. Before Twitch was bought out by Amazon, it was started as a non-stop livestream of Justin Kan—which was designed to be a type of performance art.