Hmm, interesting point. I haven't considered this really. That guy really did seem interested after showing him some replays, but hmm, maybe that could probably really be that, indeed, he really was dumbfounded, he didn't make it very obvious, unlike most. Hmm, I sure wish he could have told me that if that's so, he certainly didn't have to feel ashamed or anything like that around me, just because I'm such an enthusiast of these types of games. Man, I really do get so trusting sometimes, that I sometimes may not even see the obvious until later. I talked with the two other guys I know that play shmups about this in the arcade, and they bascially said more-or-less the same thing, along with how getting people into the shmup genre and the games isn't easy these days.NTSC-J wrote: It doesn't sound to me like he's lying. I think he probably feels sort of dumbfounded by these games and wants to seem like he knows his stuff to maintain some status ("Bro, do you hang glide? You hang glide, right?" "Huh? Oh, yea, sure man!"). He also may just not want to hurt your feelings since he can tell you really dig them but he thinks they're shit. You may have just been friendzoned, shmup-style.
But like I said before, most people are just not going to be into these games. They can watch how they're supposed to be played, try them out for themselves, but something just won't click for them. They're hard, they're short, they're like-super-nintendo-graphics-but-the-drawings-are-good-even-though-it's-like-really-old.
I admire your efforts, but it sounds like maybe you're a young guy hanging out with other young guys (the aforementioned cheating accuser sounds like he might still be in junior high?) and these guys are even less likely to go for these games after being conditioned with modern gameplay styles. I really think that if these games don't grab you after just a brief introduction of how to play them (not continuing, watching superplays) then it's a lost cause.
I know how the shmup genre isn't something one can just walk into and expect to be an overnight master, yet, I somehow believe that, if I could come around these games, then perhaps anyone can come around too. I guess I'm beginning to see that, yeah, getting other people to play shmups just isn't easy. It's a shame, since I really would want to see more people play, and then maybe there could be some competition around my area, but hmm, I guess for the general public out there, that's a bit of a stretch for them, not that it'll stop me from speaking about the shmup genre and games.
Haha, well, I do my best to try to get more people to know about this genre in the way that I can. Well, I am a University student in his early 20s who, not long ago, realised an old dream of mine's after some straightening out of things and after realising my increasing skill at shmups after playing Touhou for some time since last August, and I don't even really play everyday because of University studies (I'm not where I want to be yet, but I began to realise something, then it happened, right after I did my 1st Lunatic 1cc clear on one of the Touhou games, PoFV, along with beating a few extra stage bosses. I found an old passion in mine's when I was a little boy that re-awakened. Ever since, I've played Touhou on controllers, and noted how much better I've gotten since the move. I've even gotten into other shmups, like Deathsmiles, and learned how to play them rather quickly (One I did besides Touhou was that I've 1cc-ed Deathsmiles the same month I got the game early last month at March, and have learned to score since. Man, was that so much fun! Can't wait for the summer to really practice the extra stages!), and I'm planning on getting more shmups pretty soon. Things are really going to heat up this summer, if I can already do this much on a time crunch, and me having to watch my back all the time with school), and have since declared that I will dedicate part of my very being into becoming really good at shmups, the level I want to be at, where I will work very hard to this end (I sure hope I'm not too late. I think I can go a few decades, at least, possibly more, especially with this newfound passion of mine's), and yeah, that guy also goes to the same University as I do. In-fact, I actually recommended him to join the shmups forum and MotK, and showed him channels, such as STG weekly, which show replays of shmup games, what they are, and live commentary by some of the best, such as yourself, NTSC-J.
