Poll on shmups

[MadMarc]

Hi,

I'm coding currently a little shoot'em up for myself and I would like to know what is your opinion on this kind of games thanks to some questions:


1) What are your favorite shoot'em up and why ?
2) What are your favorite power up systems? (get power up on dead enemies, capture an enemy...)
3) Among horizontal shoot'em ups (Gradius, Darius, R-Type, UN Squadron...) which ones are your favorites?
4) Why are you playing this kind of game (score, enjoying browsing levels, enjoying playing with the different weapons, power-ups...) or why you don't play it (difficult, not easy to find or to buy...)?
5) Do you like having a score and a ranking (Rank A, B, C....) of your performance in this kind of game?


Thanks,

Have a nice day !

[Neon Ignition]

For me I'd say its quite far from my fave genre, sometimes I get tempted when one that looks good appears butgenerally not so much. Ikaruga is an easy reference point as it looks good and has a simple gameplay mechanic that is easy to understand but directly affects the gameplay and differentiates it from many other shooters. As far as power ups go I prefer the old school dead enemies leaving them behind as it often involves manuevering carefully but without distracting me from the main action. Given how short these games are I feel ranking is important. The main areas I think shmups go wrong with are firstly difficulty and then ambition. I get that fans love pixel perfect accurate action but by not accommodating newcomers appropriately its instantly turning off a potential audience who are eithet new or rusty and need to reacclimatise. Ambition wise its an awkward genre but theres a mass of old school alternatives and indies to choose from, any using a 3D engine should probably look to playing with perspectives and foreground and background space.

[eastyy]

think the shooter i have been most addicted to was psyvariar 2 a really great scoring hook and when you got better the game would actually get harder encouraging you to get better still and it was only if your good enough you would fight the true final boss

Also the risk/reward system is what i really liked about it

[rmoxon]

1) What are your favorite shoot'em up and why ?

Dodonpachi. I think this is a game that balances the hardcore aspects of bullet hell shooters with being accessible enough for someone who isn't some kind of god like being to actually enjoy the game. I love everything about it really, the music is fantastic, I think the Donpachi games are Caves best stuff, they just got everything right with the series.

2) What are your favorite power up systems? (get power up on dead enemies, capture an enemy...)

I really prefer just collecting things to power up my ship, I don't like managing loads of options at once, Shmups are Relex based challenges, they are usually difficult enough as it is without adding some tactical weapon swapping elements to complicate matters. I like some more complicated Shmups, but the best ones have very simple mechanics that simply require a lot of effort to perfect, like Ikaruga for instance, which doesn't have power ups.

3) Among horizontal shoot'em ups (Gradius, Darius, R-Type, UN Squadron...) which ones are your favorites?

Progear and Gradius V

4) Why are you playing this kind of game (score, enjoying browsing levels, enjoying playing with the different weapons, power-ups...) or why you don't play it (difficult, not easy to find or to buy...)?

I think most people would say they play to get a high score. I just want to complete the game though.

5) Do you like having a score and a ranking (Rank A, B, C....) of your performance in this kind of game?

Again I don't actually care about a score. However I would say a score and ranking is expected from the genre really. I'm sure loads would complain if you didn't include one.

[MadMarc]

I have a playable version here:

http://madmarc52.free.fr/Games/Shootius020-Win.rar

- Arrows to move
- Spacebar to shoot
- z,x,c to switch weapons
- Escape to exit

It's more a pre-alpha demo than a game. You can mess up with the images and levels if you want.

[kingmobster]

1) What are your favorite shoot'em up and why ?

Zero Gunner 2 - because it does the rotating ship thing and really uses it for to create fun levels. The game isn't as insanely hard as some others, but never becomes boring.
Mushihimesama Futari - because the level design and the scoring system works insanely well in both Original & Maniac modes.

2) What are your favorite power up systems? (get power up on dead enemies, capture an enemy...)

Default power up pods.

3) Among horizontal shoot'em ups (Gradius, Darius, R-Type, UN Squadron...) which ones are your favorites?

Gradius Gaiden & Blazing Star.

4) Why are you playing this kind of game (score, enjoying browsing levels, enjoying playing with the different weapons, power-ups...) or why you don't play it (difficult, not easy to find or to buy...)?

Scoring & the challenge. Would never use a continue.

5) Do you like having a score and a ranking (Rank A, B, C....) of your performance in this kind of game?

It doesn't hurt, but is not a requirement. The score is enough.

[MadMarc]

Thanks for your feedback guys.


Here is a new version of my game (which was difficult to code)

http://madmarc52.free.fr/Games/Shootius021-Win.rar

Please tell me what you think of it.

[MadMarc]

You can now follow updates of my game on: http://debuggingworld.wordpress.com/
I'm also talking about science and computer science.

[charlesr]

I didn't see your post back in Feb. Is there a more recent version we can have a nose at or is that link still the best one?

[MadMarc]

http://madmarc52.free.fr/Games/Shootius023-Win.rar this is the most recent online version.
There will be a post about this version on my blog in few weeks.

I'm working on the 0.24 right now which should deliver a lot of improvements.

[Atticus]

1) What are your favorite shoot'em up and why ?

Battle Garegga. Ticks all the right boxes for me. Love the dirty, military visuals, the sheer amount of stuff exploding on the screen sending shrapnel flying everywhere, the soundtrack, everything. A 10/10 game for me.


2) What are your favorite power up systems? (get power up on dead enemies, capture an enemy...)

Simple ones. And ones that don't overpower me. I still like to feel like the little guy taking on something huge.


3) Among horizontal shoot'em ups (Gradius, Darius, R-Type, UN Squadron...) which ones are your favorites?

Pulstar.


4) Why are you playing this kind of game (score, enjoying browsing levels, enjoying playing with the different weapons, power-ups...) or why you don't play it (difficult, not easy to find or to buy...)?

I play all shooters the same; I give myself 1 credit and play for survival. It's nice to beat a high score of my own anytime, but my main objective is to see how far I can get (without over-using bombs).


5) Do you like having a score and a ranking (Rank A, B, C....) of your performance in this kind of game?

I think it's essential, though not top of the priority list for me.

[MadMarc]

Thanks. I don't need more answers to my poll.
Does anyone work on their own game on this forum?

[Family Fry]

May be worth PM'ing Chopemon, he coded Wonton 51 for iOS.

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/wonton-51/id441833153?mt=8

[charlesr]

On this forum:

Wonton by Chopemon: http://www.bordersdown.net/content/3...-51-iOS-Review
Puzzlestones by Duncan: http://www.bordersdown.net/content/6...-Review-Mobile