Great ShMUp (Shoot em' Up) Resources

[SG57]

Ive noticed that there are very few 'shoot em up' homebrew games out there, and my conclusion is because there are very few known 'good' resources out there to supply the developer with sufficient information to make a decent quality one. Ive came across a great sitecontaining everything you need to make a quality shoot em up.

The site is HERE, however its not updated anymore, but the forums are still alive.

The post im tlaking about is:

Originally Posted by Guy at site

Here are links to threads from other parts of Shmups Forum that pertain partly to development and/or shmup design, which may be of assistance to shmup developers.

New links will be added periodically, as I find them.

Your ideal first level in a shmup - level design

The Unofficial Shmup Glossary (Ver. 2.5) Returns! - technical shmup terminology

2005 Winners / 2004 Winners / 2003 Winners / 2002 Winners - voting results for annual Top 25 most popular hardcore shmups

Do's and don'ts of a good shmup -- debate on general design

Market Research / More Market Research -- player buying habits and misc design

"Non-Shooting" Shmups - special gameplay mechanics

Comparing/contrasting Cave's scoring systems - score chaining systems

Which shooter theme do you like best? - poll on preferred art style

Favorite Scoring Systems - more scoring discussion

New PC-Engine vertical shmup from MindRec! -- sprite art design and misc

Strategy Board Index - in-depth explanations for professional/hardcore shmup scoring/gameplay systems

Please continue to use this subforum for all dedicated shmup development discussions, rather than the general chat forum. This helps to keep all dev-related information together in one place.

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sg57 says: im too lazy to re-link the above articles, if you want a link to this post, ask

An essential read, i think, is the 'do's and don'ts of a good shmup'. Discusses how scoring systems shouldnt beover complicated, large enemy bullets should move slowly - especially in the beginning levels, how explosions shouldnt cover up bullets, dont be repeitive - 5to8 short,varied levels is better than 100 long ones, etc.

Hopefully, this will spark some homebrew developers, for hte psp, to contribute to the homebrew shoot em up genre that is withering away.

Now all we need is a great sprite depository :P (ive been able to rip a great flash shoot emup game's sprites, but thats it... )

Feel free to speak your mind on what you think a quality shoot em up contains, and even some links to other sites like theabove, and maybe some with sprites useable in shoot em ups.

[dx169]

A good one contains everything the creator's imagination thinks of. You decide what it is in it. Suggestions are good but the creator's heart and thought is what makes the game fun and creative.


Ok, that was corny.

[Urameshi]

Originally Posted by dx169

A good one contains everything the creator's imagination thinks of. You decide what it is in it. Suggestions are good but the creator's heart and thought is what makes the game fun and creative.


Ok, that was corny.

that touched me in a way that if someone else touched me like that i would call the cops

[matriculated]

On the technical side, take a look at BulletML. You use it to describe enemy firing patterns. Kenta Cho (Tumiki Fighters, rRootage) uses it alot.

[slicer4ever]

i have to agree with dx this is homebrew ppl arn't getting paid for this stuff so telling them how there game should be is not right it's what they think not u

[SG57]

Im not saying that all shoot em ups MUST follow those guidelines to be 'decent', rather that the MAJORITY of decent shoot em ups follow those guidelines, so it seems only logical to follow them...

I agree with dx as well, however, how do you explain the severly small psp shoot em up homebrew? Ive come to the conclusion that developers wanting to develop one, dont have the resources, and thast what i hope this site helps with... My opinion of course.

[yaustar]

Another good shump development site: http://www.shmup-dev.com/forum/index.php?action=forum

[dx169]

Yay two people agreed with my poorly thought up, corny, pathetic, whiney speech. W00t I r winrar?

[SG57]

yaustar - Thats a great site. It even offers small tutorials for handling, say a stationary rotating-to-player turret and circle-circle collision detection, as well as AABB all written out into a nice structure easily adaptable to anyones code.

One thing i find difficult about developing a shoot em up, is the enemy AI and animation.

Ill write up why in a bit, as my pizza just got here and im hungry...

Originally Posted by dx169

A good one contains everything the creator's imagination thinks of. You decide what it is in it. Suggestions are good but the creator's heart and thought is what makes the game fun and creative.


Ok, that was corny.

You have turned me gay.

[dx169]

That's my job... Wait what?!

[SuperBatXS]

Lol, good luck on this. How many other projects are you working on? Sorry, i lost track. Busy man....