What does the term "shooter" mean to you at first glance?

[Erik_Twice]

Depends on the context, but I lean towards FPS/TPS because it's more common and shmups fans tend to be more specific with their labels (Shmups, STGs, etc.)

[laurenhiya21]

I tend to think of FPSs and some TPSs because I called them shooters before I knew about the terms "FPS" & "TPS". Plus I didn't know that people called SHMUPs "shooters" until just recently haha.

[MrPopo]

retro gaming forum.Here it's not so clear cut.

I understand what you are saying to an extent.

But consider that the FPS and TPS genres are quite old now. Old enough to be considered retro. Wolfenstein 3D and DOOM are both over two decades old. Fade to Black is twenty years old, Tomb Raider is nearly the same at nineteen years. Because of the age of these types of genres, I don't think it's out of place even on a retro gaming forum for one to assume shooter could mean FPS or TPS rather than shmup. And in thinking that way, I don't believe someone would be out of their element even from a retro perspective.

Yeah, but Doom and its ilk are Doom clones.

[Ack]

Yeah, but Doom and its ilk are Doom clones.

I believe the term you are looking for is "murder simulators."

[Exhuminator]

I remember when FPS games were derided as "ego shooters" by the gaming press.

[Fragems]

In modern gaming I always assume shooter is referring to FPS/TPS because people are lazy like that . Shmups started with the name but they have become kind of a niche market compared to FPS/TPS state side so they have been pushed under the name Shmup. Technically I think something like Arcade Style Shooter would fit the bill better then Shmup but that name has been propagated so much that it will probably stick forever.

To tell the truth whenever I hear the term shooter I think of a 2d Platformer or Top Down Action Game with guns like Contra or GTA . Same could be said for Shmup though when I think shootem up I imagine it describing a game like Hotline Miami .

[isiolia]

But the defining characteristic is how players interact with the game world, and in the shooter genre, it is through shooting, either through killing enemies or solving puzzles via the use of some kind of projectile manipulation.

Oh, certainly. The actual term is very broad, and can objectively be justifiably applied to a wide variety of games.

Given the topic of the thread, I was more trying to express what tends to immediately springs to mind when I see the term, which for FPS would land a lot more on the Serious Sam end of the spectrum.

[Exhuminator]

trying to express what tends to immediately springs to mind when I see the term

Yep, that is the point of the poll. To reflect the first thing you think when you read or hear the term "shooter". So far it seems most people don't immediately think of shmups, which I find to be interesting information.

[Ack]

trying to express what tends to immediately springs to mind when I see the term

Yep, that is the point of the poll. To reflect the first thing you think when you read or hear the term "shooter". So far it seems most people don't immediately think of shmups, which I find to be interesting information.

That said, many of the folks who have responded don't necessarily play many shmups. I've been playing First Person Shooters since I was knee high to a bullfrog. Not so much for shmups though, which I've dabbled in a few times but never really bit the bullet and gone for.

[foxhound1022]

IDK, ever since FPS's came on the scene, that is what I've always called them. In fact IIRC, I originally called them "first person action" games, because I was unsure of what they were at first.

I've always referred to shmups as "plane/space shooter games" so in my mind, when someone says shooter, I automatically think pew-pew shooter.

Although, I do take into account the company of people who are talking. On here or with other retro enthusiasts: Shooter = shmup
Other people : Shooter = FPS