When people see you playing a shmup...

Gopher's Ambition · Post by **Gopher's Ambition** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 4:12 am

...what response do you recieve most often?

For me, people usually don't seem to even notice if I play a shmup instead of something else.

iatneH · Post by **iatneH** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 4:14 am

Nobody sees me playing shooters, because I either play them by myself at home, or the arcade has stuck them into some dark corner where nobody passes by.

dai jou bu · Post by **dai jou bu** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 4:24 am

They get easily intimidated when I ask them to try.

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 4:25 am

People usually just ignore it when i play them. To the point that they don't realize how much concentration something like that takes and they try to talk to me, which messes me up.

"No baby! No! I don't know where youre phone is! I don't know baby! What!?! I'm sorry i don't know aahhahhahhahahhhHHHH! BLAM!

...

Thanks honey."

neorichieb1971 · Post by **neorichieb1971** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 4:30 am

You have to understand something to appreciate it.

Most people I show shooters to don't understand them, and besides a good player makes them look easier than they are.. I mean I watch superplays and think to myself "I can do that"... Well we all know how that works out

J-Manic · Post by **J-Manic** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 5:38 am

Well, where I'm at, there aren't too many shmuppers around. Actually, there aren't any at all! Just me, and occasionally my brother will play, only if I'm playing. So when my family & friends catch me shmupping hardcore, they can't help but watch. It's as if they're hypnotized or something. They think it's freaking nuts how I can dodge all those bullets.

All in all, my friends think shmups are pretty cool. But they absolutely will not try to play them.

voted on #1

kccttzj · Post by **kccttzj** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 5:46 am

My little brother and his friends are usually the only ones that see me play. When they come over, they'll just peak in and shake their head and make some comment about how I play them too much and they don't understand it. They did get into Gradius V for a while because of it though.

rolins · Post by **rolins** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 6:20 am

J-Manic wrote:Well, where I'm at, there aren't too many shmuppers around. Actually, there aren't any at all! Just me, and occasionally my brother will play, only if I'm playing. So when my family & friends catch me shmupping hardcore, they can't help but watch. It's as if they're hypnotized or something. They think it's freaking nuts how I can dodge all those bullets. All in all, my friends think shmups are pretty cool. But they absolutely will not try to play them.

voted on #1

Same here, the people in my neighborhood are not interested in shmups either. I just don't see any love of the genre in any the local arcades.

At home no one is around to see me play. The only place anyone sees me shmupping is at a pizza palor near my workplace. I'm there on my lunch breaks playing Galaga and Raiden II. I think everyone there thinks I'm crazy because I'm always cursing and hitting the buttons like a maniac.

TalkingOctopus · Post by **TalkingOctopus** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 6:49 am

I'm pretty much just ignored like anything else. I've received a few comments about how it's just like space invaders when I'm playing something like Gradius V.

neorichieb1971 · Post by **neorichieb1971** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 7:13 am

Well thats a bit like comparing Doom to Halo 2, or VF5 to Ye ar kung fu.

SteevTee · Post by **SteevTee** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 9:31 am

My brother saw me playing Gradius V a while back and commented how this type of game has not changed since I played similar games on my ST. During the cut scene on level 2 when the camera pans around to show the 2nd Vic Viper and does a 3rd person shooter type view, he said "ah that's better", followed by an "oh" when the camera reverts back to the standard view.

However, I showed one of my mates Endless Fire and he was like "how are you doing that?!".

Blade · Post by **Blade** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 9:38 am

In my case, I demonstrated Ikaruga and Gradius V on the big screen TV to my local Anime Club, definitely got some wide eyes when I survived a large chunk of Chapter 3 and Chapter 5 of Ikaruga.

I asked if someone wanted to try it, and they kinda panicked, I reminded them that at one point even I sucked at it, and they were still rather squeamish. Maneauvering the Tageri Snakes in 5-2 really shocked them.

I finally got one of my close friends to play a 2 player session of Ikaruga with me...despite us both dying all over the place due to uncoordinated shooting and stray chaotic bullets all over...the amazing thing though is that around stage 5 or so, I told my friend to "follow my lead" and he actually pulled off a lot of stuff I didn't think most non-shmuppers would actually be able to do for playing for the first time.

Gradius V got looks of nostalgia from some folks, but they were only remotely interested.

ArrogantBastard · Post by **ArrogantBastard** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 9:43 am

My girlfriend thinks I'm wasting so much time playing with "these stupid games".

The same could be said for any games I play on my PC or consoles.

Fenrir · Post by **Fenrir** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 9:54 am

They aren't particularly impressed, yeah. And they usually say "hahaha you're still playing the shoot shoot games I played 20 years ago".
Actually I think they think shmups are all the same since... heck, Space Invaders.
Go ahead, shoot at everything that moves, do gazillions of points, repeat. I don't think most of the pepole are aware of the fact that shmups can be similar to puzzle games with all their tricks and tactics and memorization and combo systems - - you name it.

99pence · Post by **99pence** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 10:02 am

Well the thing is magazines refer to a BRAND NEW shooter, as old skool, retro, dated, more of the same etc so that's how the masses have been conditioned to view it.

I guess 3D games only came out about a year ago and every new game that everyones loving is groundbreaking in every department.

Mario 64 is what, about 10 years old now. When the next 3D mario game comes out now one will call it retro. You could put money on it. Where's the logic???

Give shooters etc the right magazine time, some tips, stratergies, news etc. Give it a positive angle and not just the usually retro, old nonsense and more people would get into it. Or just put it on a handheld because that stops it from being classed as retro.

What the dickins?!?!?!

sven666 · Post by **sven666** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 10:04 am

i usually get "ridiculous, thats impossible" comments even tho im doing the controlling.

and IF i actually talk someone in to trying its usually "man this game sucks, there is NO way ANYONE ever could manage this" even tho i just played the game to end..

the game in question is usually a cave or raizing one.

my friends dont usually mock about waveing their hands and shit like that, they know i wont stand for it

its a surefire way to piss me off real quick and they do it once and never again

Damocles · Post by **Damocles** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 1:23 pm

Most common comment: "Dude, the bullet went THROUGH your ship." Cave games, of course.

I voted 1. ...based on my co-workers, you'd think getting to 1-6 in Strikers was an act of God.

Klatrymadon · Post by **Klatrymadon** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 1:36 pm

My mates are mostly people who grew up with the 8 and 16-bit consoles, so even the ones that don't play games much any more have a certain reverence for the shooters.

My brother/sister/parents are just like some of you guys are describing, though. They'll quite happily just hop past the screen if they need to get something, or start a conversation with me when I'm doing really well.

I'm generalizing wildly here, but I think people in Britain are quite a bit more "retro-friendly", if you will, than a lot of Americans. At least, the ones over the age of 15 are. You still get that bizarre, almost angry disdain for anything over 2 years old amongst a lot of younger gamers. The "gameplay over graphics" idea, while perhaps an overused cliché these days, seems to boil their blood!

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 2:11 pm

They're the "HOLY SHIT!" type of people. Of course, they generally don't play games except Halo and WOW. I don't play single-person games when other players are around since I could be playing a 2-4 player game instead.

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 3:34 pm

neorichieb1971 wrote:You have to understand something to appreciate it.

Most people I show shooters to don't understand them

Yeah, I recall playing ESPGaluda in front of some people in my living room, and a number of them confessed that they had no idea what was going on on the screen. They seemed unable to distinguish readily how what I was doing was represented on the screen. Further, they may not even have graped initially that shots/bullets/firings were represented on screen. They probably just conceived of the shots minimally as colored items moving across the screen for some unknown reason/purpose. They were intelligent people; just not all that familiar with videogames, I think.

Post by **Shatterhand** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 3:40 pm

I voted for number 1. Basically everyone who is my friend knows I love shmups, and they kinda respect the genre.

And when they manage to watch me playing one, they usually go like "How the heck you can dodge all this?" or "Damn, I would have died 3 minutes ago or "You are cheating! You just went through those bullets!"

This reminds me once when I was playing Guwange, and a friend was watching, and at one point he said "Goddamn, you are passing BELOW the bullets, this is too damn easy!" , and after I reached the boss, and the bullets storm cleared, he said "What the heck, is that a WALKING GUY? I thought it was a ship! But hell, there are so many bullets, I can't see a thing!"

heh

D · Post by D » Tue Apr 11, 2006 3:54 pm

They act all uninterested but when I ask: "do you want to play?" Their eyes light and from there on it's all smiles.
It is really an international industry misconception that shooters are not adored. Well, shmups are making a comeback as we speak, and what a comeback at that? right? Even retro old schoolers have to throw in the towel.

Fighter17 · Post by **Fighter17** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 6:12 pm

I get the "HOLY SHIT" and "Why you're still playing 2D games?" answers. Most of the time it's the "HOLY SHIT" when I playing Strikers 1945 1 + 2, Battle Garegga, and some Cave shooters.

ghibli99 · Post by **ghibli99** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 6:33 pm

My friend was watching me play Guwange the other day, and he said, "Holy $#!+, man, what are you, a ninja?!" :lol I'm not very good at shmups, but he was shocked that I wasn't using super bombs against the bosses.

BUHA · Post by **BUHA** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 6:34 pm

my friends were really mad at me when i bought Gradius V. "you have a million other games like that!" but when they saw how cool the bosses were and how difficult it was, not to mention the cool graphics, they were always wanting me to play it for them and see how far I could get!

When I play verts, my roommates would get really bug eyed. "WHAT!? how'd you do that!? " like on DoDonpachi. Radio Zonde seems to really freak them out. those bosses are really mean.

Post by **undamned** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 7:00 pm

Most everything I play on my cab is lumped into the "oldschool" category and appeals to most of my friends because of that nostolgic value. Even if they never played the particular game, it still has that feel of "the good old days." People will play whatever I'm running, but puzzle games tend to hold the masses better than shmups. It will be curtains when I get my Landmaker cart in.
-ud

DEL · Post by **DEL** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 7:13 pm

Well, as you know, I get to do most of my playing in arcades and its rare for anyone to watch my runs nowadays.
In the old days I got the odd crowd watching me with comments like; "Break-out the popcorn, we're in for a long haul!"
But not now. Even when my local arcade is packed with 60 beat'em up/VS headz, they all remain transfixed on their own thing.

As I've said before, 2D shooters have always been underground, but now they're really underground!
Blame it on people blindly following fashion like sheep, blame it on the industry, whatever...

I don't quit what I like[/i]

Skyline · Post by **Skyline** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 8:51 pm

My roomates (well..half of them anyway) have a liking for the genre, as well as a few of my friends. They're always down to try a new game, although they might not be as proficient at bullet dodging or score abuse.

However, their interest is passing at best. The usual "OMFG!!11" comments come from me playing though. One notable occasion was when we were all drinking one night and playing random games, I gave Mushihimesama Ultra Mode a quick spin, and...yeah. Stage 4. XD

Naiera · Post by **Naiera** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 9:02 pm

Mostly I get weird looks combined with the first option. Most who haven't played anything remotely like a Cave shooter can't believe how I manage to survive. Keep in mind that I suck and don't train as much as I should...

Klatrymadon · Post by **Klatrymadon** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 10:18 pm

You sound like you really enjoy the crowds, DEL. I'll come down and watch you, if you want!

The arcades you frequent (or at least, their shooter cabinets) sound pretty neglected. Your steadfastness is ace, though - I too espouse the idea that you should never give up something you enjoy purely because of the horrid societal trends squamously being born and dying around you.

Keep it 2D!

shmups.system11.org

When people see you playing a shmup...

What do they do/say?

When people see you playing a shmup...

22 Years Hit&Away!!!! Stab In The Your BLACK HEART!!!!!