#bullet dive
#bullet dive
by Omar (@neo_graphyte)
Bullet Dive is a series deconstructing the craft of the scrolling shoot-em-up genre. They were originally published on medium.com and have been edited for the clarity and format. You can find the originals and keep up to date here.
There’s a method I’ve noticed in the SHMUP genre that’s been bothering me. I’ve dubbed it “creating a lane”.
Simply put, creating lanes in shoot-em-ups means having enemies fire bullets with timing that forces you into an area for a period of time, limiting your maneuverability. It’s a kind of nebulous concept, something that you know when you see but is difficult to define.