Keres wrote:These days, I feel like the only way STGs can earn any sort of mainstream attention (not necessarily even success, just attention) is to incorporate numerous fringe elements to appeal to players who don't have any interest -- at least initially -- in playing for score. Shops, upgradeable weapons, shields, unlocks, persistence, etc.
Typical gamers these days like to have some sort of persistence when they play a game, so they always feel like they're making some sort of progress, even if it's just unlocking a few new weapons or items or earning some XP to level up their profile. Luftrausers is a good example of this: the in-game challenges and the fact that you have to gradually unlock ship parts seems to be a genuine attraction for many people. If the game were largely the same except all of the parts were unlocked from the beginning and there was no "challenge checklist" to complete, these players' interest would tank much more quickly without anything (other than score-chasing) in the game to keep them coming back to make a little more progress. Shops, configurable weapons, etc. often also appeal to casual players because it makes each playthrough feel different if they try out new things each time.
Throw in some pretty graphics and/or directly appeal to players' nostalgia for games they briefly played in their youth ("hey, this looks like R-Type! I wasn't any good at those games, but I sure remember they existed!" / "Wow, this is a totally retro shooter! I'll download this and play it for two days before never touching it again!") and you're well on the way to breaking even, which is the best that you can probably hope for.
The idea of making a "pure" arcade-style STG and attempting to market it to the general gaming public is a complete non-starter. On top of that, almost any mainstream-marketed STG has to be hori, because if you ask a casual player, they'll prefer having the whole screen area devoted to gameplay, rather than awkward vert letterboxing. These games will also often be designed to be played with an analog stick, rather than digital movement (because most casual players will expect/prefer to play it that way). For those reasons, I think that any mainstream-marketed STGs (or STG-likes) we see will continue to be games in the vein of Sine Mora, Luftrausers, Resogun, and Humans Must Answer. Perhaps it'd be possible to bring in new players to the "genre" with these sorts of games, but as Sine Mora and Resogun both showed, that attention is fleeting, and it's not like there's going to be very many people that cross over from those games to "pure" STGs.
Any STGs that are targeted at genre enthusiasts will almost certainly have to be made on an extreme shoestring, or be passion/fan projects that aren't expected to become profitable. Or be Touhou.
I think Keres nailed it. I do think the genre is becoming a bit more popular. Just look at Aces of the Luftwaffe. It scored more than a million downloads in the play store alone. I also think that now, more than ever, we could reintroduce shmups to a mainstream audience. However, we also have to be aware of the limitations of the mainstream audience.
I think there are 4 reasons why most people don't like shmups: 1) they are too short and too dense 2) they lack complexity 3) the player doesn't have a simple and intuitive means of tracking progress 4) these games are being played out of their original context. I can elaborate on each point, but to save time i'll only touch on 2 and 3.
When I say they are too simple I'm referring to the way people interface with the game. You move in 4-8 directions and shoot with 2-3 buttons. Compared to a game like, Call of Duty, or even Mario, where you have 360 degrees of movement, can manipulate the camera, jump, duck, shoot, surf turtles, and what not, these games look a bit bare and bland to a casual player.
As for lacking a simple and intuitive means of track progress, scores are completely irrelevant unless the player has something to compare it to. Also, a higher score isn't always indicative of an actual improvement in skill. It's easier to equate in game progress to actual progress. If on monday you can only make it to level 2, but by thursday you can make it to level 4 without breaking a sweat, that means that you have actually become better at the game. But score can fluctuate with each session, and the more complex the mechanics, the more confusing and ultimately unreliable the information becomes.
I like shmups, but the reality is that they are totally outdated. However, with current trends in gaming, it appears that arcade style gameplay is starting to increase in popularity dramatically. So I wouldn't be surprised if more shmups started to appear on phones and next gen consoles.
Shmups make you feel like such a badass every time you manage to get further. Every time you start seeing the patterns emerge out of the masses of pink and blue dots.