Being hard-core STG player, is it a lifestyle or a hobby?

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 5:42 pm

Would you say that being a hard-core shmupper is a lifestyle or is it just a hobby?

Some shmuppers have been gaming since the late 1970's--early 1980's. I used to play the arcade game classics from the early 1980's which is considered the "Golden Age" of arcades era. So for those old timers, arcade games like Xevious, Time Pilot, Time Pilot '84, Vanguard, Interstellar, etc. will ring a familar bell. ^_~

I'd have to say that it is a lifestyle. True, most arcades today, in the USA, will never compare to how it was like back in 1980's. The fine art of "jamming" -- the art of placing a quarter on the marquee of a new arcade game and waiting your turn was a staple of arcades back in the day. Nowdays, it's all different.

If you were to "jam" a quarter/token at a modern day arcade nowdays, most younger folks wouldn't remember or even recall the proper ettiquete regarding reserving a spot to try out a brand new arcade game and possibly ask you if they could have it instead. Try it sometime and see what happens. I tried doing this simple "jam" quarter experiment at a local arcade back in the mid 1990's and for some folks, they asked me if they could have the quarters. I said yes. And they were taken. I could tell that the two guys that took the two quarters weren't from the old-school of arcade gamers of the 1980's because you wouldn't dare attempt to do that stupid stunt, let alone with other people's money. It was proper respect back in those days at the arcades. ^_~

Of course, hard-core shmuppers already deal with both console and arcade PCBs interations of their favorite shmup titles. That's truly hard-core as they come. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Octopod · Post by **Octopod** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 6:05 pm

Hehe, i forgot all about placing your quarter in line on the arcade machine. Havent dont that since i was a kid and i dont think ive seen it done in years. Maybe new fighters? I dont know as i dont play them. Just reading that brought back some memories though.

For me games are a hobby.

Gungriffon Geona · Post by **Gungriffon Geona** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 6:10 pm

hobby for rich faggots who don't feel like charity or something is worth the money etc etc.

Devil REI · Post by **Devil REI** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 8:17 pm

The day playing shooters becomes a "lifestyle" like furry or Goreans is the day I never fucking touch another Cave game ever again

Ozymandiaz1260 · Post by **Ozymandiaz1260** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 8:39 pm

There are five arcades in my city and a whole bunch of arcade machines in other places like movie theaters and restaurants, and everybody knows how the token queue works. I mean, people really only use it with DDR, because that's pretty much the only game they come for and the only game that actually has a crowd around it, but I've done it with other games to people I've never even seen at the arcades before and they always know what's up. We also stick our Initial D memory cards into the seal at the top of the marquee, because there's no place to put a token.

As for the original question, I don't really know what you mean by 'lifestyle'. If you're asking if shmupping defines who I am as a person or if I treat it like a religion or something, then no, it's not a lifestyle for me. If you're just asking if it's something I do a lot everyday, and is something that makes me really happy, then yeah, but that's kind of what the word hobby means... like I really don't understand the question. Could you elaborate a little bit more?

kengou · Post by **kengou** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 9:39 pm

As much as I love the genre, they're just video games. It's a hobby.

Ozymandiaz1260 · Post by **Ozymandiaz1260** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 9:51 pm

I was looking up different definitions of the term 'lifestyle', and most of them didn't really apply to being a fan of shmups in my opinion, however, I found this definition:

Individual pattern of living as reflected by interests, opinions, spending habits, and activities.

...shmups definitely have an impact on my pattern of living because I spend so much time playing them, and dropping $1000 on a PCB that I'm probably not going to sell is something that I would never do with anything else recreational. So I guess it kind of fits in with that one definition that I found, but I think the term 'lifestyle' usually means a lot more to people, like morals and stuff like that... stuff that really shouldn't have anything to do with video games.

sven666 · Post by **sven666** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 9:53 pm

we dont have any arcades around here but i remember once down a local pub i felt like playing some 9ball with a friend, went up to the table and put my coin on the edge of the table, the guys playing were just like "we were here first so piss of with your money, were gonna keep playing after this round"

no class

shmups are a part of my life (in more ways than beeing just games) but they dont dictate it in any way.

RackGaki · Post by **RackGaki** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 9:54 pm

I think there's a strange tendency to pigeonhole many obscure, new, or counterculture hobbies into a lifestyle.

What you actually seem to be describing is the arcade culture of the 1980s, which many people look back upon with rose-colored glasses.

jpj · Post by **jpj** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 10:52 pm

lookin at post counts and join dates, at least the shmups forum is definitely a part of some people's lifestyles...............................

Ed Oscuro · Post by **Ed Oscuro** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 10:54 pm

>______>

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 11:20 pm

<______<

Zebra Airforce · Post by **Zebra Airforce** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 1:11 am

^________________________^

Ed Oscuro · Post by **Ed Oscuro** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 1:13 am

damn, forgot my TEEM PRIDE

MX7 · Post by **MX7** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 9:08 am

My lifestyle determines my deathstyle.

DEL · Post by **DEL** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 11:43 am

RackGaki wrote;

I think there's a strange tendency to pigeonhole many obscure, new, or counterculture hobbies into a lifestyle.

Good point.
Its a hobby.

PC Engine Fan X! wrote;

If you were to "jam" a quarter/token at a modern day arcade nowdays, most younger folks wouldn't remember or even recall the proper ettiquete regarding reserving a spot to try out a brand new arcade game and possibly ask you if they could have it instead.[/quote]
Tekken 6 players still do the lining up of coins in the London arcades. The only other place this happens is for pool tables.
Jamming/lining up of coins never happened in the arcades in London in the 1980s - at least not on a machine I was playing. They would have had waiting issues. Having said that, the etiquette has survived here.

Chi_Ryu · Post by **Chi_Ryu** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 1:10 pm

DEL wrote:Tekken 6 players still do the lining up of coins in the London arcades. The only other place this happens is for pool tables.

And dancegames - coin lines are common there, and generally respected.

You are right that this never happened in the '80s, though. The person who'd been waiting the longest watching was next up to play.

DJ Incompetent · Post by **DJ Incompetent** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 6:34 pm

Never seen an occupied stg cab before.

hobby.

Dann · Post by **Dann** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 9:19 pm

Oddly enough I've never seen anyone jam at a Japanese arcade. Maybe it's because they use ¥100 coins. Maybe it's because it's just common courtesy to have a go and then step back and get to the end of the line. even when there is no line, it's common to stand up and step back, and then sit down again.

henry dark · Post by **henry dark** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 9:48 pm

Dann wrote:Oddly enough I've never seen anyone jam at a Japanese arcade. Maybe it's because they use ¥100 coins. Maybe it's because it's just common courtesy to have a go and then step back and get to the end of the line. even when there is no line, it's common to stand up and step back, and then sit down again.

I've never seen anyone stand up and sit back down again, but yes, one credit and you're off is the unspoken rule, everyone follows it and its awesome.

Post by **spadgy** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 11:09 pm

Hobby for me, but a big part of my life.

I've made friends I see often in real life through this hobby, and hanging out at Casino arcade in London is something I do at least weekly. Plus the dent in my bank balance!

Ed Oscuro · Post by **Ed Oscuro** » Wed Oct 15, 2008 1:49 am

MX7 wrote:My lifestyle determines my deathstyle.

Speaking of which, good to see the ol' Prolapse era avatar again (you just switched it in the last ten minutes didn't you?)

A_Civilian · Post by **A_Civilian** » Wed Oct 15, 2008 3:20 am

A hobby.

There was NEVER a line in any of the arcades I've gone to. Not even on the DDR/Initial D/Marvel vs Capcom 2 machines in a rather active one (though they have TWO freaking machines of the last one...only the staff uses it, and all they do is practice infinite air raves).

...I'd say that's a bad thing that it's ample, but seeing Raiden II abandoned in the corner with a messed up monitor and near mute sound with a equally broken Metal Slug next to it is worse.

damakable · Post by **damakable** » Wed Oct 15, 2008 4:42 am

I find it hard to imagine the shmup 'lifestyle' really working out. I mean, for that, you'd have to make shmupping your day-job, am I right? But then, if you worked for Cave, I think you could make a claim to having a 'shmup lifestyle'. Not that I'm a big fan of lifestyles in general...

It's more like shmups are one of those hobbies that can suck so much time without you noticing that it almost begins to feel like a lifestyle. But when that happens, I at least feel a pang of guilt at having not done enough homework or whatever. It's much better to shmup when I've done all that 'important' stuff for the day.

When it comes to lifestyle I have only one rule:
punk ethic == work ethic

and you can figure that one out for yourself.

MR_Soren · Post by **MR_Soren** » Wed Oct 15, 2008 5:20 pm

People jammed in the 80s. I remember it on games like Super Mario Bros and Ikari Warriors when they were new.

Anyway, I would consider it a hobby that at one time had physical meeting places. (Arcades died off 15 years ago here.)

TLB · Post by **TLB** » Mon Oct 20, 2008 11:30 am

MX7 wrote:My lifestyle determines my deathstyle.

The rising tide will push us to the other side.

FIL · Post by **FIL** » Mon Oct 20, 2008 4:38 pm

I have a shmup lifestyle, specifically Battle Garegga.

ave · Post by **ave** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 12:02 am

I never experienced the 80s and hardly the 90s, so for me it is a rather private hobby. There were only a handful of times that I was able to share experiences in shmups in real life, there's no arcade in my town either.

As for the question, I'd say that not particularly shmups are part of my lifestyle but video games in general definitely are. It doesn't limit me in any way, but rather enhances it because just like films, it gets you ideas you want to know more about (like indian mythology, I became interested in it after I googled the origin of Galuda and Vimana).
After all it's not more but a great hobby to me. I couldn't live without this passion though, that's what life is all about (wow how philosophical

)