What is most important 1cc or high score?

[Frederik]

I was just trying to be in the region of those good scores. alas I'm not even on the same planet. I think the dvd has like 4 mil after stage 1, i can only get 1 million. I was hoping for 2 million...

This is quite an interesting point here... why bother, if we can´t even remotely reach japanese top players? Now, while shmups can be competetive when played for score, you don´t actually BEAT anyone, like in chess, soccer or Street Fighter. So, while you might know you won´t be the next Gary Kasparov, you can at least beat a few of your friends in chess. You COULD feel some sort of satisfaction if you enter your scores here and see "Well, at least I am not as shitty as those other guys", but that is a pretty weak attitude.

So, the common misconception about playing for score is that you compare your score to the world record after every play. This equals drawing a picture with a box of crayons and comparing it with Rembrandt each time you look up.

As Rob said, people care for their own score most of the time, and he´s right - it´s about beating your OWN score. And beating your own records is actually EASIER than trying to 1cc it. There is a good share of games that the more casual player (which includes me) will never be able to 1cc, yet, they can always come back to the game and improve the score in levels they already can beat with no miss.

So playing for score is not about reaching a goal that is much farther away than the 1cc, but a much more rewarding thing if you compete with your OWN scores over and over again. That´s what you do in Tetris too. Or do you compare your score with the world record of Tetris after each play? And besides, why should it matter? Shmups are not remotely as popular to become a paid superstar player (besides those DVDs, of course), and it is basically something you can wank off to. Most likely, if you hold the world record in any shmup, you can tap yourself on the shoulder and congratulate yourself that you´re the worlds best player in a game that barely anyone knows and doesn´t help you in life at all. Videogames in general rarely have goals that are worth achieving, not even the LEET EPIC ARMOR in WoW. Nobody cares. Maybe some geeks but besides, no.

So, since shmups are about fun (no doubt about that), why is playing for score important to some people anyways? Why does improvement matter at all? Why not just BLOW STUFF UP?

So to me, scoreplay is an indicator of skill, which gives me rewards much more often - each time I beat my own score to be exact. And when you begin to learn a shmup this will happen very often as you improve very fast. So this is what I love about shmups: Constantly trying to get better, but not about reaching a final goal. Because I bet that after reaching that goal nothing will change. It´s a daily training in concentration and willpower to me. And in this matter, it actually IS helpful - it´s a small example of how training, dedication and consistency can help you improve. The PROCESS should already be fun, and not a dull chore to reach some goal because you think that it might satisfy you. There are a handful of games I hated while playing them, yet kept on because I wanted to reach something in them. But guess what, I just felt regrets after playing them, because it just wasn´t fun during doing it.

So, playing for 1cc and for score can have the same basic idea of improvement - I just wanted to make my point of why I play for score clear. Nobody should not play for score because they think they suck anyways. There will always be someone who is better in something than you, and if you set a world record, someone else is gonna beat in anyway (aside from setting world records in something stupid like "backwards marathon"). Instead, shmups can be great training in reflexes, strategic and methodic thinking, concentration, and blowing stuff up. Scoreplay influences my way of playing a certain shmup, but it´s not that breaking a certain limit will make me any better. I just appreciate the challenge.

(The only game I am really trying to 1cc is Battle Bakraid Normal course, but don´t tell this anyone, because I will TOTALLY ignore the weird chaining/suicide mechanics - but it´s one of the few game I think I MIGHT have a chance doing it )

[hikarutilmitt]

1cc for me, though I to usually go for score runs and see where they get me, anyway.

And of course, Ibara rapes me in both categories. Thing is freaking harder than Garegga and less forgiving about it.

[Sonic R]

Playing for survival only in a game with an involved scoring system is boring as shit, and not fun in any way.

Since I usually don't place score as priority #1 I find my own level of enjoyment in any shootie but thats me. I have finally found myself having fun again