The conversion of game genres refers to the elements that are associated with a particular game genre been used in a different type of game. A good example of this would be the elder scrolls games, they use a first person view by default which is associated with FPS titles but is an RPG game. I think this adds to the accessibility to this title as people who usually only play FPS titles will feel familiar in this new setting and can even equip a bow and arrow to have that FPS experience. FPS games like Borderlands use skill trees as a way to level up and gain new abilities, skill trees are usually associated with RPG games witch contain a class system. This helps someone who may come from an RPG background feel like there is enough depth in the levelling system to sink their teeth into and allow them to customise the class as they like.
As well as helping with the movement between game genres, having a conversion between games can also add to make the experience more dynamic. A good example of this would be Final Fantasy Crisis Core in this game your character no longer stays in one spot till you give a command, you are free to move round the battle field and evade attacks with a doge button this system seems to have taken elements from platform games like god of war or even more action orientated RPGs like Kingdom Hearts or Star Ocean.
Conversion of game genres can also ruin the atmosphere and suspense of a game. The first example that comes to mind is quick time events; these have shown up in survival horror games like Resident Evil (four onwards) and completely take you out of the immersion of the game by flashing button commands on screen. Quick time events have also been used in boss fights which are anti-climactic and seem like a waist if all your skill at playing the game no longer matters only your timing at pushing a button an example of this would be at the end of Resident evil five were the final boss fight keeps swapping between game play and quick time which is really annoying and can mean you get a game over by failing to get one button input right.
Is the conversion of game genres a good thing? Yes and no it’s good because it can make a player cross over from one game type to another quickly and comfortable but can also be deceptive. For example if someone bought a game based on the screen shots they had seen it could be a completely different game type than they had expected which would lead to disappointment and possibly getting rid of the game. So it is very important for there to be clear indication of what game type it is. Some games that do this are Fall out 3 and Far Cry 3 were they clearly market themselves of a hybrid between an FPS and an RPG and they are both successful games.
Mark Shaw Games Design 