I remember once playing a game where you had to look after an island of people that had crash landed and they would work and build and grow in real time (i.e. you would have to say "collect wood for fire" then come back in a couple of hours and there would be a pile of wood). They would also make more little island people who would grow up over time.
I was wondering if that style of game had a specific genre or category so I could look it up and read more about it.
Games where you control a group of characters, and have to consider what to do with them, what tasks to assign, etc. come under "Strategy". From here it splits off into "Real Time Strategy" and "Turn Based Strategy" based off the structure of time in the game.
When you control a more dynamic, artificial group, where you do not have as much control over their actions, it classifies as a "God Simulation".
In general, games where it is trying to replicate a certain environment using a deliberate realism are often classified as "Simulations".
I would classify Virtual Villagers as a God Simulation. While there is strategy to it, and you have control over the characters, there is still a loose sense of simulated realism and artificial intelligence to it.
