LoggoGR

I grew up in Athens, Greece.

Studied "European Civilization" at HOU University.

I love association football, basketball, cinema, philosophy, indie music, science fiction, video games and Panathinaikos :P.

Types of shoot 'em ups (Work in Progress)

Shoot 'em ups are categorized by design elements, particularly viewpoint and movement:

Scrolling shooters The action in scrolling shooters takes place across a linear, point-A-to-point-B, route in which the player must shoot and dodge various types of enemy waves and obstacles that, typically, appear in predetermined locations and formations as the player progresses through the level. Unlike fixed shooters, movement utilizes both the X and Y axis of the screen, with the player's orientation being (almost always) fixed to that of the primary scrolling axis. There is, however, a small number of scrolling shooters, like Forgotten Worlds (1988) and Zero Gunner (1997), that allow the player to adjust their character's aim and fire in a multi-directional fashion. Scrolling shooters may use side-scrolling, vertical scrolling or isometric viewpoints. As such, they are usually categorized in:

• Vertical shooters: In a vertically-scrolling shoot 'em up the action is viewed from above and scrolls up or, very occasionally, down the screen. Key games include Xevious (1983), Star Soldier (1986), Flying Shark (1987), Aleste (1988), Raiden (1990) and RayForce (1994).
• Horizontal shooters: These games use side-scrolling, the action is viewed side-on and scrolls horizontally. Notable horizontal shooters include Gradius (1985), R-Type (1987), Darius (1987), Thunder Force IV (1992), Einhänder (1997) and Border Down (2003)
• Isometric shooters: A small number of scrolling shooters, such as Sega's Zaxxon (1982), KID's Isolated Warrior (1991) and Aicom's Viewpoint (1992), feature an isometric point of view.
• Hybrids: On very rare occasions, scrolling shooters may feature both horizontal and vertically scrolling stages. Notable cases include Salamander (1986), Abadox (1989) and Axelay (1992).

Arena shooters is a type of shoot 'em up in which the player must survive in confined "rooms" where the screen is filled with obstacles and swarms of enemies that spawn around the grid in incrementally larger groups. Arena shooters often (but not necessarily) take place on rectangular playfields and feature 360 degree movement that allows the protagonist to rotate and, thus, move and shoot in any direction. As such, they are one of the most classic examples of multi-directional shooters. Notable games include Robotron: 2084 (1982), Smash TV (1990), Geometry Wars (2005), Super Stardust HD (2007), Assault Android Cactus (2015) and Nex Machina (2017). Arena shooters are often called "twin-stick shooters", due to Robotron: 2084 popularizing that type of control scheme among shoot 'em up games. However, a "twin-stick shooter" isn't necessarily an "arena shooter".

Bullet hell Japanese: 弾幕, danmaku (literally "barrage" or "bullet curtain"), is a shoot 'em up in which the entire screen is often almost completely filled with enemy bullets. This type is also known as "curtain fire", "manic shooters" or "maniac shooters" and is an offshoot of scrolling shooters that originated in the mid-1990s.. This sub-genre places a higher emphasis on dodging and players are tasked with navigating their way through various types of "bullet mazes". Due to the highly restricted amount of safe space for the players to move around in, bullet hell games almost always feature relatively small hitboxes, usually located near the very center of the player’s craft. This type of shoot 'em up includes games such as Battle Garegga (1996), DoDonPachi (1997), Mars Matrix (2000), Ikaruga (2001), Ketsui (2003) and Mushihimesama (2004).

Cabal shooters describes a type of shoot 'em up in which the action is viewed from behind and the players control both an on-screen avatar and an aiming crosshair that can be moved over the whole screen. Much like fixed shooters, the gameplay restricts the protagonist to a single axis of motion, perhaps with the ability to jump or duck. The players must shoot at enemies by aiming with the crosshair and dodge enemy bullets by using evasive maneuvers and moving left or right along the bottom of the screen. Games in this style include Cabal (1988), Dynamite Duke (1989), Blood Bros. (1990), NAM-1975 (1990), Wild Guns (1994) and Gamshara (2002). Shooting galleries, includng Light gun games, which don't feature an on-screen avatar and players have no control over movement and dodging, fall out of the shoot 'em up category.

Cute 'em ups refers to shoot 'em ups that feature brightly colored graphics depicting surreal settings and enemies. Cute 'em ups tend to have unusual, oftentimes completely bizarre opponents for the player to fight, with key examples including Twinbee (1985), Fantasy Zone (1986), Parodius (1988), Cotton (1991), Star Parodier (1992) and Harmful Park (1997). Some cute 'em ups may employ overtly sexual characters and innuendo.

Fixed shooters describes a type of shoot 'em up that restricts the protagonist to a single axis of motion, enemies attack in a single direction (such as descending from the top of the screen), and each level is contained within a single screen. Typically, in fixed shooters the players face wave after wave of enemies and the next wave will not show up until the previous one has been defeated. Examples include games like Space Invaders (1978), Galaxian (1979) and Galaga (1981). Nintendo's Heli Fire (1980), Atari's Centipede (1981) and Midway's Gorf (1981) are hybrids, in that the player can move freely, but that movement is constrained to a small area at the bottom of the screen. Otherwise, the games meet the fixed shooter definition.

Free-roam shooters describes a type of scrolling shoot 'em up which features stages that do not force the players across a linear, point-A-to-point-B, route. The action takes place in open-ended, sandbox-style, areas allowing free movement within each level. The players can change directions as desired, roam freely around the map and approach targets however they wish. Games of this type that require to "seek-and-destroy" specific targets in order to progress, often include a radar to assist the players in finding and/or counting their remaining targets.

• Side-scrolling examples include Defender (1981), Choplifter (1982), Dropzone (1984), Fantasy Zone (1986), Uridium (1986) and Resogun (2013).
• Multi-scrolling examples include Bosconian (1981), Sinistar (1983), Granada (1990), Metal Stoker (1991), Bangai-O (1999) and Galak-Z (2015).

Gravity shooters, also known as "Cave-flyers", "Thrust-types", "Gravitors", is a type of shoot 'em up in which the player pilots a rotatable craft with thrusters while being subject to gravity and, often, the craft's inertia. Gravity shooters feature multi-directional, 360 degree, movement and shooting in multi-scrolling levels where the player is free to wander in all directions The action is presented in a side-view and usually takes place in enclosed, cavernous, environments filled with various types of enemies and hazards. Using the ship's "rotate & thrust" capabilities, the players must aim, shoot, dodge and carefully maneuver their way through the hazardous landscape while constantly taking gravity and (usually) fuel refill needs into account. Key games include Gravitar (1982), Thrust (1986), Oids (1987), Gravity Force (1989), Solar Jetman (1990) and Sub-Terrania (1993).

Maze shooters describes a type of shoot 'em up in which the player must shoot at enemies in a maze-like playfield (similar to Pac-Man), with walls and corridors in various formations. The action is presented in a top-down perspective and is contained within a single screen. In maze shooters the player is able to move and shoot in at least four directions or even diagonally. Examples include games like Berzerk (1980), Tank Battalion (1980), Wizard of Wor (1980), Pulsar (1981), Frenzy (1982) and Grobda (1984).

Rail shooters limit the player to moving around the screen while the game follows a specific route with various types of enemy waves and obstacles that appear in predetermined locations and formations as the player progresses through the level. These games often feature an "into the screen" viewpoint, with which the action is seen from behind the player character, and moves "into the screen", while the player retains control over dodging. Examples include Space Harrier (1985), Galaxy Force (1988), Star Fox (1993), Panzer Dragoon (1995), Sin and Punishment (2000) and Rez (2001). Light gun games, that are "on-rails" are not in the shoot-em-up category but the FPS category, and the term has also been applied to scripted events in first-person shooters such as Call of Duty.

Run and gun (or "run 'n' gun"), describes a shoot 'em up in which the protagonist fights on foot, perhaps with the ability to jump, along a linear path without the use of auto-scrolling. Run and gun games may feature multi-directional movement and shooting as well as a variety of different viewpoints like:

• Side view, such as Contra (1987), Sunset Riders (1991), Gunstar Heroes (1993), Mystic Warriors (1993), GunForce II (1994) and Metal Slug (1996).
• Top-down perspective, like Commando (1985), Ikari Warriors, (1986), Jackal (1986), Guerrilla War (1987), Out Zone (1990) and Shock Troopers (1997).
• Or, in rare cases, Isometric viewpoints, like Marchen Maze (1988), SteamGear Mash (1995), Purikura Daisakusen (1996) and Neo Contra (2004).

Tube shooters feature crafts flying through an abstract tube where the action is viewed from behind. Each level is contained within a single screen and there is still a single axis of motion, making these a subset of fixed shooters. This type of shoot 'em up includes games such as Tempest (1981), Gyruss (1983) and Space Giraffe (2007).

Multidirectional shooters feature 360 degree movement where the protagonist may rotate and move in any direction. Multidirectional shooters with one joystick for movement and one joystick for firing in any direction independent of movement are called "twin-stick shooters". Many of the above types of shoot 'em ups include games that can be classified as "multidirectional shooters".