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Scrolling shooters are a type of video game, a subgenre of shoot 'em up . Shoot 'em ups, moreover, are sub-types of shooting games. The term "shmup" is used particularly in English-speaking portions of Europe. The term is less common (and even held in disregard) elsewhere. A computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ...
Radiant Silvergun Sega Saturn - ©1998 Treasure A shoot-em-up (shmup for short in some areas, and also known as arcade shooter, twitch shooter, space shooter, or sometimes simply just shooter, with shoot em ups being the most popular subgenre of shooter), is a computer and video game genre where...
Shooter games cover a fairly broad spectrum of sub-genres that have the commonality of controlling a character who is usually armed with a firearm that can be freely aimed. ...
Description
A scrolling shooter is, as the name suggests, a shoot 'em up that takes place against a scrolling background. Radiant Silvergun Sega Saturn - ©1998 Treasure A shoot-em-up (shmup for short in some areas, and also known as arcade shooter, twitch shooter, space shooter, or sometimes simply just shooter, with shoot em ups being the most popular subgenre of shooter), is a computer and video game genre where...
There are several subclasses of this genre. For example:
- 'Complex' scrollers (in which the player's orientation might change throughout the game (e.g. Axelay, Salamander)
- Multidirectional scrollers (in which the scrolling follows the player's movement, e.g. Desert Strike, Thrust, Sinistar)
Horizontal and vertical scrollers are the most common, and have become well-defined subgenres in their own right. They have come to typify the definition of a shooter. The shooter's perspective defines whether a shooter is horizontal or vertical, rather than the direction of scroll. It is becoming increasingly common for shooters not to follow a linear path. R-Type is a horizontally-scrolling shoot-em-up arcade game produced by Irem in 1987. ...
Gradius (EU:Nemesis) is a horizontally-scrolling shooter arcade game developed by Konami in 1985. ...
Darius is a series of horizontally scrolling shoot em up computer games produced by Taito. ...
A side-scrolling shooter is a video game in which a player controls an object (such as an airplane or a spaceship) and fires at enemies. ...
For other meanings of the name Raiden, see Raiden (disambiguation). ...
Xevious was an arcade video game by Namco, released in 1982. ...
1942 is a vertically scrolling shoot em up made by Capcom that was released for the arcade in 1984. ...
Grand Theft Auto A top-down shooter (sometimes shortened to TDS, and also known as a top-view shooter) is a genre of computer and video games in which the player is displayed from above, or a top-down perspective. ...
Axelay is a 2D shooter game developed by Konami of Japan for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). ...
Salamander ) is a scrolling shooter arcade game developed by Konami in 1986. ...
Strike is the common name of a series of video games created by Mike Posehn released originally between 1991 and 1997 by Electronic Arts for a number of systems, but most notably for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis where the first three titles were released with great success. ...
Sinistar is an arcade game released by Williams in 1982. ...
Horizontal scrollers
R-Type II, a horizontally-scrolling shooter. Almost all horizontal scrollers view the player's avatar from the side, and present the level in cross-section, such that the player appears to be flying 'through' something, such as a landscape or a mothership. Screenshot of the arcade game R-Type II. This is a screenshot of a copyrighted computer game or video game. ...
R-Type is a horizontally-scrolling shoot-em-up arcade game produced by Irem in 1987. ...
A mothership is a vessel or aircraft that carries a smaller vessel or aircraft that operates independently from it. ...
The first horizontal scroller was arguably Defender, released in 1980, although it shares few features with other horizontal scrollers. This page is about the arcade game Defender. ...
1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...
Typically, the scrolling in these games is continuous, such that the player is led through a level by the game. There is also sometimes a degree of vertical freedom, in which the player can move up or down on a playing area which is taller than the screen itself. (Thunder Force IV and Dragon Breed are two games which take this to extremes). Thunder Force (also spelled Thunderforce) is a series of scrolling shooter type video games developed by the Japanese software company Technosoft (a. ...
Dragon Breed is a horizontally-scrolling shoot-em-up arcade game produced by Irem in 1989. ...
As well as battling enemies, some of the challenge in horizontal scrollers tends to come from navigating the environment, as invariably contact with the level results in the death of or damage to the player's character.
Vertical scrollers
 Raiden, a vertically-scrolling shooter. Vertical scrollers are largely similar to horizontal scrollers, but the direction of scroll tends to force a different viewpoint on the game: vertical scrollers are nearly always viewed from above. This means that it is less common to have solid obstacles in these games, as the player is usually above them. Screenshot of Raiden (arcade game) by User:Tyan23. ...
For other meanings of the name Raiden, see Raiden (disambiguation). ...
Perhaps because of this difference, vertical scrollers tend to be more intense, focusing on shooting and dodging projectiles.
The first vertical scroller was Xevious, released in 1982. This game introduced many concepts that are standard in scrolling shooters today, such as an episodic level structure, and bosses. Xevious was an arcade video game by Namco, released in 1982. ...
1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Flag Ship from the video game Gorf In video games, a boss (sometimes called a guardian or master) is a particularly large or difficult computer-controlled character that must be defeated at the end of a segment of a game, whether it be for a level, an episode, or the...
It can be argued that very early games like Galaxian can be considered vertical scrollers, as they are set against a constantly scrolling starfield. However, they are generally classed as fixed shooters along with Space Invaders, as the stars are purely for visual effect and add nothing to the gameplay. Galaxian is an arcade game that was released by Namco in 1979. ...
Space Invaders is an arcade video game designed by Toshihiro Nishikado in 1978. ...
When the "top-down" or "overhead" names are used, the line becomes blurrier. By this definition, Space Invaders would likely be the first game of the type -- and indeed, many consider it the first true top-down shooter. Space Invaders is an arcade video game designed by Toshihiro Nishikado in 1978. ...
As with their horizontal counterparts, some vertical shooters may allow a degree of free horizontal movement.
Scrolling shooter concepts
Weapons Being shooters, weapons are one of the most important aspects of these games, and most feature a huge array for the player to use.
Traditionally, the player starts off with only a weak, single-shot, forward-firing gun which is sometimes informally referred to as a 'peashooter'. This gun can usually be improved or replaced by collecting power-ups. The Boeing P-26, nicknamed the Peashooter, was the first all-metal production fighter aircraft and the first pursuit monoplane used by the United States Army Air Corps. ...
Power Up, the Professional Organization of Women in Entertainment Reaching Up is an organization with the stated mission to promote the visibility and integration of gay women in entertainment, the arts, and all forms of media. Power Up provided funding and assistance to the 2003 short film . ...
Common weapons in scrolling shooters are:
- Three-way shots (also sometimes called 'spread shots'; other numbers are seen but three is the most common)
- Side shots
- Rear shots
- Homing missiles
- Bombs
- Lasers (or any kind of powerful beam weapon)
- Autonomous entities (things which are separate from the player character but accompany it in some way, usually by floating alongside it. Often these provide supporting firepower and sometimes can protect the player by blocking enemy projectiles)
- A limited supply of "smart bombs" (which damage or destroy every enemy on the screen, or in a large area)
Enemies The majority of enemies faced in scrolling shooters are comparable in size to the player character, are quite mobile, and are armed with a small projectile weapon that can fire in any direction; usually at the player's current position. These are basically 'cannon fodder'. They are weak, but usually their numbers present a problem. Cannon Fodder is an expression used to denote the treatment of armed forces as a worthless commodity to be expended. ...
Larger, but mobile enemies tend to have either more guns or more powerful weapons, or both.
Some enemies adhere to surfaces, either by gravity or by clinging to them. These occur in horizontal and vertical scrollers; in the latter, however, there is usually little difference between them and airborne enemies. For example, Raiden features tanks that travel along the ground, but they are destroyed in the same way as other enemies. However other games such as Xevious and Deimos Rising have separate weapon systems to destroy ground targets, usually striking a specific point ahead of the player (to simulate a real-life bomb trajectory). For other meanings of the name Raiden, see Raiden (disambiguation). ...
Deimos Rising is a computer game by Ambrosia Software, similar to many top-scrolling arcade shooters. ...
The Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb, produced in the United States. ...
In horizontal scrollers, ground-based enemies present more of a challenge, as they are usually in a difficult position for the player to shoot at, but still fire back.
Simplified physics Except in Thrust-style games, which are intentionally based on real physics, most scrollers ignore physical effects for simplicity (although they may invoke real physics for graphical effect, such as for missiles). In horizontal scrollers, for example, gravity is usually completely ignored. A Superconductor demonstrating the Meissner Effect. ...
Acceleration and drag are also often disregarded, allowing the player to move with a constant speed, even through denser media such as water. The horizontal scrollers Project X and Whip Rush have been noted for not ignoring the effects of acceleration, which gives them distinctive style and feel. Acceleration is the time rate of change of velocity, and at any point on a v-t graph, it is given by the slope of the tangent to that point In physics, acceleration (symbol: a) is defined as the rate of change (or time derivative) of velocity. ...
For a solid object moving through a fluid or gas, drag is the sum of all the aerodynamic or hydrodynamic forces in the direction of the external fluid flow. ...
A girl in a swimming pool full of water Water (from the Old English waeter; c. ...
Project X could refer to: a military project by Nazi Germanys Aviation Ministry to develop a rocket-powered interceptor aircraft. ...
Insurmountable odds
 Dobkeratops, the first R-Type boss. It is often pointed out that sending one single ship to fight thousands of enemies is a somewhat implausible and unrealistic tactic. Nonetheless, this invariably ends up being the case in scrolling shooters. Screenshot of the Doppelganger boss from R-Type. ...
R-Type is a horizontally-scrolling shoot-em-up arcade game produced by Irem in 1987. ...
Commonly, groups of enemies attack in ordered formations or patterns, known as attack waves.
It is very common for scrolling shooters to feature bosses at the end of every level. This may be an attempt to break up the inherent linearity of these games, or it might simply be tradition. Generally the scrolling stops when the player reaches a boss. Flag Ship from the video game Gorf In video games, a boss (sometimes called a guardian or master) is a particularly large or difficult computer-controlled character that must be defeated at the end of a segment of a game, whether it be for a level, an episode, or the...
Some shooters also feature 'minibosses' - powerful, but lesser bosses - which appear at some intermediate point in the level.
Power-ups Power-ups are an integral feature of most shoot 'em ups. They are enhancements for the player's character that can be gained during the course of the game, usually as a reward for destroying enemies. Power-ups can include speed or armour enhancements, new weapons, weapon upgrades, or autonomous devices that can protect the player and/or add to its firepower. Power-up systems vary from game to game. Power Up, the Professional Organization of Women in Entertainment Reaching Up is an organization with the stated mission to promote the visibility and integration of gay women in entertainment, the arts, and all forms of media. Power Up provided funding and assistance to the 2003 short film . ...
A notable example of a scrolling shooter without power-ups is Radiant Silvergun. This is not due to primitive design (the game was released in 1998) - the player has three buttons which can be pressed in different combinations to access any of seven different weapons at any time. The weapons are improved in power and range by destroying enemies, not unlike an RPG. Radiant Silvergun is a vertically-scrolling shooter video game, developed by Treasure Co. ...
1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...
Computer role-playing games (CRPGs), often shortened to simply role-playing games (RPGs), are a type of video or computer game that traditionally use gameplay elements found in paper-and-pencil role-playing games. ...
Common non-weapon power-ups include speed boosts and shields.
Collision Zones Collision Zones defines areas in which a ship gets hit by weapons released from opposing sides or stage obstacles. As the collision area on the ship (or other player avatar) determines where the player can be "hit," it is often referred to as the "hitbox." Before pixel perfect collision detection was feasible, programmers approximated collision zones by using predefined rectangular areas. As computing power increased, pixel perfect collision zones could be calculated automatically, diminishing the need for manually mapped zones.
Some games use a smaller collision zone than the area occupied by the ship's graphics, where a player's ship is destroyed only when an enemy's attacks hits the reduced zone, usually located at the cockpit of the ship. This system allows more enemies and shots to fill the screen without making the game impossible to complete. Some shooters even include smaller collision zone for enemy projectiles.
Taking the concept of smaller collision further, some games incorporate a two-collision zone system, where hitting only non-critical portions of the player's ship becomes beneficial to player. This introduces a whole new way to design and play shooters. This system was taken to extreme in Psyvariar, where taking hits from bullets is essential for high scores, and improves firepower. Some variant of such games have been designed so that it becomes possible to complete the game in a pacifist manner. In other words, you may be able to finish the game without firing a single shot, or at least using only the limited supply weapons. Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence as a means of settling disputes. ...
Barrages No shooter is complete without dodging enemy fire. Barrages come in all shapes and sizes, but the amount of bullets has increased substantially when shooters started using smaller collision zones. This sub-genre of scrolling shooter is sometimes known as a “bullet hell,” or a manic shoot-em-up. As barrage patterns become more complicated, game engines began to use interpreters to generate patterns from hardware independent script files. A screenshot from the bullet hell game Mushihimesama. ...
Interpreter can mean one of the following: In communication, an interpreter is a person whose role is to facilitate dialogue between two parties that do not use the same language. ...
An open source implementation called BulletML creates barrage patterns by using XML-based scripts. Open source refers to projects that are open to the public and which draw on other projects that are freely available to the general public. ...
The Extensible Markup Language (EML) is a W3C-recommended general-purpose markup language for creating special-purpose markup languages, capable of describing many different kinds of data. ...
See also - Category:Scrolling shooters - burgeoning list of games that are scrolling shooters.
- Shoot 'em up - More general arcade shooter Wikipedia page.
- ABA Games, designer of freeware shooters, notably TUMIKI Fighters and Gunroar
Radiant Silvergun Sega Saturn - ©1998 Treasure A shoot-em-up (shmup for short in some areas, and also known as arcade shooter, twitch shooter, space shooter, or sometimes simply just shooter, with shoot em ups being the most popular subgenre of shooter), is a computer and video game genre where...
ABA Games is a Japanese creator of freeware video games. ...
Tumiki Fighters is an abstract scrolling shooter game created by Kenta Cho. ...
Gunroar is an abstract scrolling shooter game created by Kenta Cho. ...
External links - A feature on Homebrew Shmup's by NTSC-uk.com featuring interviews with ABA Games and Omega
- Shmups.com, large dedicated site with extensive information about shooters and an active forum community.
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