To ECM

[Nash]

This thread reminds me once again how much I hate the term "shmup". They're shooters, damnit.

This thread reminds me once again how much I hate ECM.

[Compass]

Yeah, I'd like that to still be the case, but unfortunately, shooter no longer means the same thing it once did.

We're slowly but surely losing adventure, too.

Indeed. Even among people in the game industry, "shooter" means "first person shooter". To make someone understand I'm talking about a shmup without having to use the actual word "shmup" (because I don't like it either, and they likely won't understand that any better), I end up saying, "you know, like vertically scrolling, with a little spaceship that shoots lots of things". Then they get it. It's frustrating.

[Frogacuda]

Indeed. Even among people in the game industry, "shooter" means "first person shooter". To make someone understand I'm talking about a shmup without having to use the actual word "shmup" (because I don't like it either, and they likely won't understand that any better), I end up saying, "you know, like vertically scrolling, with a little spaceship that shoots lots of things". Then they get it. It's frustrating.

My favorite was some kid trying to describe Ikaruga as "one of those old jet games where you could only move up down left and right," which is, to this day, the wordiest sincere attempt I've heard to explain the concept "2D."

It inspired me to make a custom cover for the game:

[Nash]

I just call them vertical-scrolling shooters.

[Frogacuda]

I just call them vertical-scrolling shooters.

even the side scrolling ones?

[Nash]

even the side scrolling ones?

I call those horizontal-scrolling shooters.

[g0zen]

Just call them 2D shooters and be done with it.

[Nash]

Just call them 2D shooters and be done with it.

That's still too broad.

[Punky Skunk]

I just call them shooters on the shmups forum, which is the only place worth mentioning them.

[NeoZeedeater]

We're slowly but surely losing adventure, too.

True, although I think the term was always pretty broad. Even back in the day I usually added the words "text", "graphic", or "action" in front because it wasn't uncommon for other types of games to be called "adventure".