Thesis on shmups

[system11]

http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/LukeMcMi ... 06/186184/

Not sure how this one was overlooked for so long. Do enjoy picking holes in it, I did!

Just on the section published I saw major factual errors, filler, assumptions, and conclusions based on a lack of familiarity with the subject.

[trap15]

Although some bullet patterns remain unchanged, the majority of bullet movement in Shmups is programmed to home in on the player’s ships at various screen co-ordinates. However, this homing is mostly limited to only single co-ordinates and lacks the ability to constantly home in on the player’s craft.

[BPzeBanshee]

There was such a thing posted (by the same guy, and on the same parent site no less) a few years ago in Development; http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=36593

The dude actually showed up here, if only for that thread. Seems like an okay chap but I just couldn't help but laugh at him considering the terms he was using.

[Ebbo]

Space Invaders

Although not a Shmup by today’s standards...

That's all folks!

[OdiousTrident]

Are there really 3500 games out there that qualify on any level?

[hail good sir]

How do you play 3500 of these games and think that Ikaruga and Radiant Silvergun are iconic representation of the genre. I've played like 20 and I know better than that. Games journalism influences academia apparently

[KAI]

"cultural artifacts"

[Obscura]

A major distinguishing feature of Shmups is the inclusion of a game world that lacks real enemy artificial intelligence.

Poor Compile, totally forgotten.

Games where scrolling along the primary axis a) is controlled by the player’s movement, for example In the Hunt and b) scrolls freely along all axes.

Those wrap-around stages in the Gradius series aren't shmups now?

[guigui]

Jeez, what is this site ?
Some guys tries some work on our favorite genre but does not say what we would like to hear, so his work is bad ?

This thread :

[trap15]

It's not "not what we like to hear", it's flat out, factually incorrect. Harping on him for saying Ikaruga and RSG are the greats, while disagreed by most STG veterans, is an opinion and not really anything to argue about. He did make many sweeping statements and false assessments though, and that should certainly be pounced on without mercy

[n0rtygames]

I will now present the most factual thesis on shumps ever written.

HOLD FIRE
DODGE
GET POINT
MARVERROUS!

I think we can all agree this is an insightful masterpiece.

[Mortificator]

Yeah, just because a work is positive doesn't mean it's insightful. Still, the author handled criticism maturely in the posts Banshee linked to, unlike a little thread titled "preaches to the choir."

I've thought about making shmups family trees myself, though I'd have separate ones for verts and horis, and visualizing how the distinct styles of shooter design emerged.

[BIL]

Jeez, what is this site ?
Some guys tries some work on our favorite genre but does not say what we would like to hear, so his work is bad ?

10. NO REMORSE (True Last Boss)

[hail good sir]

Some guys tries some work on our favorite genre but does not say what we would like to hear, so his work is bad ?

I am more than happy to hear people praise Ikaruga, it's literally my favorite video game of all time, if I had to pick one. Calling it representative of the genre, out of 3500 freaking games you claim to have played, is just lame pandering to your reader at best (and what system11 said below, at worst. I was just trying to be nice and tip toe around it ) Stuff like that just kills any credibility of the whole thing for me.

[system11]

Jeez, what is this site ?
Some guys tries some work on our favorite genre but does not say what we would like to hear, so his work is bad ?

It's bad because it's an incorrect thesis which he obtained a doctorate with, and he is now a senior lecturer on game design. The thesis contains many incorrect conclusions and factual errors which betray a limited knowledge of the subject, and short term cramming of information without taking the time to digest it or really talking to people who know about old games.

[DJ Incompetent]

The question worth investigating is why Gamasutra is posting the thesis this year.

Homeboy states right out of the gate he conducted his research as a PhD topic in 2003. When did Gamecube Ikaruga release? 2003. This dude totally wasn't researching for ten years. He finished this article in like, 2004. It explains why he didn't arrive at the conclusion STG means Shooting Game, which wasn't a widespread term ten years ago. I doubt BulletMagnet's term glossary was around back then. It also explains why there are no recent game namedrops after 2004, and ya know Sine Mora woulda gotten a shout.

His analysis on "all game require memorization to complete" is downright retarded, but in 2003, the fundamental toolbox strategies of tap-doging, bullet hoarding, micrododging, macrododging, etc. may have not been articulated in english around that time.

He could have just been a forum-goer at Super-play.co.uk and have been able to write that piece. Because lets face it, all'y'all were playin' Ikaruga hard those years.

[ciox]

Oh well, these are always very weak. The people "researching" should try watching a few superplays and understanding everything in them, getting facts from there rather than playing one miiillion games at a newbie level. I know it's intimidating to watch an expert player tearing a game apart and you have to try and keep up, but if you're truly interested in the subject you should be able to handle it.

[devilmanozzy]

From what I read, it didn't talk about Spacewars http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacewar_(video_game) or Asteroids http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroids_(video_game). Missing the Multi-directional shooter sub-genre proves how off this article is. Space Invaders was the first "Popular" Shmup. However, the article weights too much on it. Spacewars was the first "known" shmup and everything came from that.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

It's bad because it's an incorrect thesis which he obtained a doctorate with, and he is now a senior lecturer on game design. The thesis contains many incorrect conclusions and factual errors which betray a limited knowledge of the subject, and short term cramming of information without taking the time to digest it or really talking to people who know about old games.

I worked at a university providing technical support for faculty and staff. Then I got a support call from a staff member who worked in university administration who needed help with setting up email on their phone. I could hear they were in a car. When they had trouble following my instructions I learned they were having trouble navigating the phone's menu because they were also driving the car (I foolishly assumed they were just a passenger). Having to explain to someone making a probable six figure income why calling for tech support on the device you need support for while operating a vehicle is a bad idea, not to mention against the law (it's illegal to use a hand-held cell phone while driving in Ontario due to the distraction, rightly so) was probably the dumbest thing I've ever had to do in my life. They weren't disciplined at all for this little incident, mostly because my supervisor was spineless. I quit a week later out of disgust.

You don't always need to be smart to work at a learning institution if you're good enough at faking your intelligence.

[jasoncslaughter]

It's bad because it's an incorrect thesis which he obtained a doctorate with, and he is now a senior lecturer on game design. The thesis contains many incorrect conclusions and factual errors which betray a limited knowledge of the subject, and short term cramming of information without taking the time to digest it or really talking to people who know about old games.

This. As a douchebag scholar myself, this kind of thing really angers me. It just makes us all look bad. He doesn't even use scholarly terms appropriately. Also, I think BareknuckleRoo made an unfortunately valid point: a large number of people involved with higher education are only there because they've convinced enough people that they know what they're talking about, not because they are actually experts in their field.

I wonder if he got his PhD here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-VkZ5Jg5fo

[CIT]

It took the dude 10 years you come up with that thesis!?




dafuq

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Skimmed through this: I just noticed that he dedicated two entire paragraphs and screenshots to explaining how movement works in shmups. But his claim that up = forward in a vert and right = forward in a hori is silly; who cares what direction the character/ship is facing? What about segments where you're scrolling in a different direction, or a shmup like Deathsmiles where there is no forward or backward, and the screen can scroll in any direction, with enemies appearing everywhere? He could have summed up movement with something like:

"Movement in shmups is almost always relative to the position of the player on the screen, i.e. up on the stick always moves upwards, down moves down, regardless of screen orientation or what direction the player is facing, with only a few exceptions like Asteroids, which uses rotation-based movement, and Space Invaders, which only has movement on a single axis."

dude needs an editor, srsly

[Bananamatic]

thesis which he obtained a doctorate with, and he is now a senior lecturer on game design.

u wot m8