#shmups
#shmups
by Amr (@siegarettes)
[TRANSCRIPT]
Do you like cute-em-ups? Scratch that–do you like *cats*? Because I got a game for you and it is called Neko Navy.
by Omar (@siegarettes)
It’s hard to know where to start with CAVE shooters. Each version of their games come with so many revisions, arrangements, and alternate modes it’s difficult to work out exactly what each version is bringing in. While the rare physical versions contain manuals that give you at least a preliminary idea, these are almost always absent from the digital versions, including this one. The ritual of finding changelogs in forum discussions might be familiar to the fanatical, but it’s a confusing mess to the more casual players. DoDonPachi Resurrection is no less complicated.
by Omar (@siegarettes)
Even among the recent revival of SHMUPs, DOGOS, by developers OPQAM, immediately makes an impression. Rather than looking to immitate the more commonly mined arcade titles, DOGOS builds itself in the tradition of European PC shooters. Instead of being led down a tunnel of enemies, you’ll move between mazes, canyons, and open arenas, taking on a variety of objectives as you progress. There’s a focus on detailed graphics and environments, and an overall more open approach to a genre that’s often driven by a perpetual forward momentum. DOGOS, if nothing else, attempts to shake up the common formulas of the genre. How successful it is, that’s a bit more complicated.
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.
By Omar (@siegarettes)
—
The PSX was undoubtedly a milestone for games. While the Saturn dominated the sprite based scene, and Nintendo set the format for 3D adventure games with Super Mario 64, the Playstation undoubtedly led the charge for 3D videogames. In addition, Sony’s debut console had a huge variety of games in every genre. While I didn’t experience it firsthand, a lot of the titles from that era would go on to become some of my favorites. Here are my top five: