Typing game
You play by typing on the keyboard: every letter, word or phrase you type correctly fires, strikes or moves you, and mistakes or slowness are punished. The challenge is typing fast without looking at the keys while the game's pressure builds.
Also known as: typing video game, type 'em up
This is a basic entry: it has the definition and the classification. Full entries add history, games and a demo.
History
- 1981OriginMasterType
Bruce Zweig's MasterType, published by Broderbund for the Apple II, had you press the right key in time to shoot down attackers. The genre began as an educational game for learning touch typing.
Typing game (Wikipedia) - 1999The Typing of the Dead
The Typing of the Dead swaps The House of the Dead 2's gun for a keyboard: you type words to stop the zombies. It takes the genre beyond education.
The Typing of the Dead (Wikipedia) - 2016
Fishing Cactus's Epistory – Typing Chronicles is an action-adventure played by typing: every word you type strikes an enemy or opens the way.
Epistory – Typing Chronicles (Wikipedia)
Reference games
1981
MasterType
A game for learning to type in the style of a shooter: to bring down each attacker you have to press the right key or word in time.
1999
The Typing of the Dead
A version of The House of the Dead 2 in which the gun is swapped for a keyboard: the zombies advance along a fixed path and you stop them by quickly typing letters, words and phrases.
2011
Z-Type
A shoot 'em up where you type instead of shooting: each enemy ship carries a word and you destroy it by typing it. The fewer mistakes you make, the higher your score.