Index of Developer-friendly Topics

A place for people with an interest in developing new shmups.
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BPzeBanshee
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Index of Developer-friendly Topics

Post by BPzeBanshee »

Here are links to threads from other parts of Shmups Forum (and other websites) that pertain partly to development and/or shmup design, which may be of assistance to shmup developers. New links will be added periodically, as I find them or people inform me of them.

Considerations when designing a game with TATE - a helpful guide regarding the logic behind developing screen rotation for your game, with considerations to most development environments

Avoiding Gimmicks - a very well-done discussion on how not to over-elaborate your shmup with non-fun gimmicks

Strategy Board Index - in-depth explanations for professional/hardcore shmup scoring/gameplay systems

2010 Winners / '09 / '08 / '07 / '06 / '05 / '04 / '03 / '02 - voting results for annual Top 25 most popular shmups of all time

What does "stage design" mean to you? - neat discussion on STG stage design

Q&A on Bullet Scripting - some raw programming discussion regarding bullet scripts

Tyrian Art Resources - references for freeware art for rapid prototyping purposes

Common mistakes of new developers - large list of developer mistakes, take what's in here with a pinch of salt

Full Extent Of The Jam - Playing Shmups Competitively - a good guide on how to play good shmups, can be handy for developers to understand player's perspective

A more psychological take on shmup design - can be useful for those who are completely lost about how the genre works

Your ideal first level in a shmup - level design

The Unofficial Shmup Glossary (Ver. 2.5) Returns! - technical shmup terminology

Do's and don'ts of a good shmup -- debate on general design

Market Research / More Market Research - player buying habits and misc design

"Non-Shooting" Shmups - special gameplay mechanics

Comparing/contrasting Cave's scoring systems - score chaining systems

Which shooter theme do you like best? - poll on preferred art style

Favorite Scoring Systems - more scoring discussion

New PC-Engine vertical shmup from MindRec! - sprite art design and misc

Difference between "Challenging" and "Punishing" games - a video covering some very good points about old-gen game design, take with a grain of salt also

Making Good Bosses (according to Giest118) - a somewhat brash discussion on designing boss battles that brings up a lot of good points

Please continue to use this subforum for all dedicated shmup development discussions, rather than the general chat forum. This helps to keep all dev-related information together in one place.

If you see a scattered thread with content that has helped you as a developer, which isn't indexed here yet, let me know preferably via PM!
Last edited by BPzeBanshee on Sat Feb 04, 2017 11:35 am, edited 10 times in total.
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n0rtygames
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Re: Index of Developer-friendly Topics

Post by n0rtygames »

Thanks for compiling this list dude. Will make for some interesting bedtime reading!

You know what'd be a really interesting topic to add alongside this? Something that we as developers have experienced during the development process where we're laying in bed or walking around the house and a "great idea" pops in to our head for a mechanic and it turns out to be more of an annoying gimmick after a few playtests.

It'd allow us to throw our ideas out there and more importantly - our REASONING for taking these mechanics out. Hopefully with enough discussion we can start moulding some of our more crackpot ideas in to working game mechanics for future titles to really offer some unique games that still feel like they don't deviate too much from the "Blow shit up and dodge bullets" nature of a good shmup.

Cheers,
- Steve
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BPzeBanshee
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Re: Index of Developer-friendly Topics

Post by BPzeBanshee »

This was originally Thunder Force (the member)'s topic but he relinquished a whole bunch of his stickies to people. I just added a couple of additions - if you have any good links around the place let me know!

That is a pretty neat idea, and while I'm a bit busy with school stuff to compile a nice informative post at the moment you're certainly welcome to do so, and if it takes off we might be able to get it stickied too. :D
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n0rtygames
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Re: Index of Developer-friendly Topics

Post by n0rtygames »

BPzeBanshee wrote:That is a pretty neat idea, and while I'm a bit busy with school stuff to compile a nice informative post at the moment you're certainly welcome to do so, and if it takes off we might be able to get it stickied too. :D
Done... a bit "wall of text" I'm afraid.. I'll format it better at some point :P

http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.ph ... 64#p841064
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n0rtygames
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Re: Index of Developer-friendly Topics

Post by n0rtygames »

Adding this - this is very similar to my 'common mistakes' thread and to be honest, Giests words have been the required slap to the back of the head that I needed to see some of my own blindness.

Highly recommended for beginning devs:

Giests guide to boss battles (and how to not be shit in general)
http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=44816
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RipperRoo
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Re: Index of Developer-friendly Topics

Post by RipperRoo »

Be respectful of other developers' time and effort. Treat others fairly and you will be treated fairly in return [...] Keep in mind not all shmup fans share the same tastes. There is room for much more than one kind of shmup in the world.
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BPzeBanshee
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Re: Index of Developer-friendly Topics

Post by BPzeBanshee »

Make a thread featuring it and I'll add it. That way it allows for discussion and clarification concerning the details here in Development too. :)
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nasty_wolverine
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Re: Index of Developer-friendly Topics

Post by nasty_wolverine »

BPzeBanshee wrote:Make a thread featuring it and I'll add it. That way it allows for discussion and clarification concerning the details here in Development too. :)
um, the video bashes hidden mechanics and long memorization. By that logic, Garegga and Rtype/Gradius are bad games. We had a long discussion on IRC about it. It does say that once the rules of a game are established, changing them is bad, which is golden advice. I would say if you want to add the video, add a warning, and take it with a grain of salt.
Elysian Door - Naraka (my WIP PC STG) in development hell for the moment
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BPzeBanshee
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Re: Index of Developer-friendly Topics

Post by BPzeBanshee »

I'd prefer not to direct link anything outside the forums anyway simply as a matter of consistency - and it better allows for discussing points exactly like what you've brought up. Rest assured, I've carefully written descriptions for some of the more controversial topics listed here and this one will be treated the same once the thread is made.

If anyone else wants to add any good points to the Index of Developer-friendly Topics, please PM me rather than posting here so as to not clutter the thread. Thanks! :)
Goompaolo9500
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Re: Index of Developer-friendly Topics

Post by Goompaolo9500 »

I would start small with Dezaemon.
At this rate, I won’t be interested into shmups anymore. I am no longer going to be active in this forum from now on. I am more interested into Kemono Friends, rhythm games, D4DJ, Puzzle Games, Hololive, and Pretty Cure.

Farewell.
13rice
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Re: Index of Developer-friendly Topics

Post by 13rice »

Very useful topic !

Found this gem, "Do's and don'ts of a good shmup -- debate on general design". I always thought, what precisely makes a good shmup. Easy to tell that a shmup is good, hard to tell why sometimes.
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J_C
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Re: Index of Developer-friendly Topics

Post by J_C »

Thank you so much for this thread. I'm making a shmup myself, and it will be very helpful in design. So thanks again. :)
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