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(cid:102)(cid:111)(cid:114)(cid:32)(cid:116)(cid:104)(cid:101)(cid:32)(cid:97)(cid:119)(cid:97)(cid:114)(cid:100)(cid:32)(cid:111)(cid:102)(cid:32)(cid:116)(cid:104)(cid:101)(cid:32)(cid:100)(cid:101)(cid:103)(cid:114)(cid:101)(cid:101)(cid:32)(cid:111)(cid:102)(cid:32)(cid:68)(cid:111)(cid:99)(cid:116)(cid:111)(cid:114)(cid:32)(cid:111)(cid:102)(cid:32)(cid:80)(cid:104)(cid:105)(cid:108)(cid:111)(cid:115)(cid:111)(cid:112)(cid:104)(cid:121)
(cid:79)(cid:99)(cid:116)(cid:111)(cid:98)(cid:101)(cid:114)(cid:44)(cid:32)(cid:50)(cid:48)(cid:49)(cid:48)
All of Your Base Are Belong to Us? Shmups as a Source for Better Game Design
Table of Contents
Table of Contents ...................................................................................................... I
List of Figures ......................................................................................................... VII
List of Scores ....................................................................................................... XIII
Abstract ................................................................................................................ XIV
Statement of Authenticity............................................................................................ XVI
Acknowledgements .............................................................................................. XVII
Foreword............................................................................................................. XVIII
Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................ 1
Rationale ......................................................................................................................... 1
Problem .......................................................................................................................... 1
Research Questions ......................................................................................................... 1
Objectives ....................................................................................................................... 2
Specific Objectives ........................................................................................................... 2
Chapter Overview ............................................................................................................ 3
Significance of the Study .................................................................................................. 5
Chapter 2: Defining the Shmup ................................................................................. 8
Defining the Rules ........................................................................................................... 9
Objectives ..................................................................................................................... 10
Game AI (Artificial Intelligence) ...................................................................................... 11
What about games that don't meet all of these criteria? ................................................ 11
Vertical and Horizontal Shmups ..................................................................................... 12
Pre-‐History of the Shmup Genre the Year of the Invasion ............................................... 15
Space Invaders .............................................................................................................. 16
Outside Influences on Space Invaders ............................................................................ 20
The Family Tree ..................................................................................................... 22
Sky Raider .............................................................................................................. 22
Phantom II, Midway and the 8080 ......................................................................... 23
HeliFire, Radar Scope and Nintendo ...................................................................... 24
Defender ................................................................................................................. 26
Scramble (Konami, 1981)....................................................................................... 28
Universal: Cosmic Avenger (cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:179)(cid:38)(cid:82)(cid:86)(cid:80)(cid:76)(cid:70)(cid:3)(cid:54)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:76)(cid:72)(cid:86)(cid:180) ............................................ 31
Chapter 3: Methodology ......................................................................................... 37
Definition of Heuristics .................................................................................................. 38
I
Luke McMillan 2010
Constants and variables ................................................................................................. 42
The 2004 and 2008 Studies into Nostalgia & Age ............................................................ 44
Existing Methods .................................................................................................... 44
General Procedure .................................................................................................. 46
Choosing the Case Studies ............................................................................................. 51
Period One: 1987-1990 ........................................................................................... 51
Period Two: 1990-1995 .......................................................................................... 51
Period Three: 1995-2000 ........................................................................................ 52
Period Four: 2000-2005 .......................................................................................... 52
(cid:100)(cid:346)(cid:286)(cid:3)(cid:94)(cid:286)(cid:367)(cid:286)(cid:272)(cid:410)(cid:349)(cid:381)(cid:374)(cid:3)(cid:18)(cid:396)(cid:349)(cid:410)(cid:286)(cid:396)(cid:349)(cid:258)(cid:3)(cid:296)(cid:381)(cid:396)(cid:3)(cid:410)(cid:346)(cid:286)(cid:3)(cid:862)(cid:94)(cid:349)(cid:374)(cid:336)(cid:437)(cid:367)(cid:258)(cid:396)(cid:863)(cid:3)(cid:94)(cid:346)(cid:373)(cid:437)(cid:393)(cid:400) ............................................................ 53
Representation ....................................................................................................... 54
Emotive Traits ............................................................................................................... 64
Chapter 4: Extended Literature Review -‐ the Design Heuristics and their
Implementation as Analytical Devices ..................................................................... 67
The First Heuristic: Empowerment ................................................................................. 68
Empowerment via Ownership ................................................................................ 70
Empowerment: Controllers & Input Mechanisms .................................................. 71
Empowerment and Fitts Law .................................................................................. 72
Empowerment: Game Feel Theory......................................................................... 73
Empowerment through Perspective ........................................................................ 77
The Second Heuristic: Flow ............................................................................................ 81
The Third Heuristic: Bring the Player to Action ................................................................ 82
The Function of Id, Super-Ego and Ego for Shmups ............................................. 85
(cid:55)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:53)(cid:82)(cid:79)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:82)(cid:73)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:54)(cid:88)(cid:69)(cid:70)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:86)(cid:70)(cid:76)(cid:82)(cid:88)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:9)(cid:3)(cid:40)(cid:79)(cid:79)(cid:76)(cid:86)(cid:182)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:36)(cid:37)(cid:38)(cid:3)(cid:48)(cid:82)(cid:71)(cid:72)(cid:79) ............................................ 88
Bring the Player to Action: Movement................................................................... 99
Purposefulness: Figure 62 ............................................................................................... 99
Indirection: Figure 63 .................................................................................................... 100
Forcefulness: Figure 64 ................................................................................................. 100
Forcefulness and Control: Figure 65 ............................................................................. 101
Lack of Control: Figure 66 ............................................................................................. 101
Playfulness, Disempowerment: Figure 67 ..................................................................... 102
Victim Relationship: Figure 68 ...................................................................................... 103
Hunter /Prey Relationship: Figure 69 ............................................................................ 104
Power Relationship: Figure 70 ...................................................................................... 104
Inferior Relationship: Figure 71 ..................................................................................... 105
Mutual Relationships: Figure 72 ................................................................................... 106
Fearful Relationships: Figure 73 .................................................................................... 107
Fight or Flight Relationships / Underdog Relationships: Figure 74 ............................... 107
II
All of Your Base Are Belong to Us? Shmups as a Source for Better Game Design
Bring the player to Action: Sensation to Affect ................................................... 108
Bring the Player to Action: Semiotic Theory and Coding ................................... 109
The Fourth Heuristic: Education ................................................................................... 114
The Fifth and Sixth Heuristic: Challenge & Reward ........................................................ 116
The Seventh Heuristic: Immersion ................................................................................ 120
The Eighth Heuristic: Immediate Feedback ................................................................... 122
The Ninth Heuristic: Contemporary Coding ................................................................... 123
The Tenth Heuristic: Familiarity ................................................................................... 124
Familiarity & Nostalgia ........................................................................................ 125
Familiarity & Pseudo-Individualisation ............................................................... 131
Chapter 5: Analysis and Case Studies ................................................................... 134
Period One: 1987-‐1990 ................................................................................................ 134
Zeitgeists R-Type ................................................................................................. 139
Giger and Popular Culture .................................................................................... 144
Platformers ........................................................................................................... 146
Birth Trauma ........................................................................................................ 148
The Music of R-Type ........................................................................................... 154
Zeitgeists: Darius & Darius II .............................................................................. 160
Zeitgeists: Contra .................................................................................................. 165
Evaluating Period One ................................................................................................. 171
Period One: Empowerment .................................................................................. 171
Period One: Flow .................................................................................................. 175
Period One: Instant feedback ................................................................................ 175
Period One: Bring the Player to Action ................................................................ 177
Period One: Education .......................................................................................... 179
Period One: Challenge and Reward...................................................................... 180
Period One: Immersion ......................................................................................... 180
Period One: Contemporary Coding ...................................................................... 182
Period One: Familiarity ........................................................................................ 183
Period One in Summary ............................................................................................... 184
Period Two: 1990 -‐ 1995 .............................................................................................. 186
Street Fighter 2 ..................................................................................................... 186
Z-Axis Movement ................................................................................................ 188
The 3D revolution and the 2D demise; Video Killed the Radio Star ................... 190
Polygons and Sprites ............................................................................................ 190
I am Me, This is Me: FPS vs. Shmups ................................................................. 192
Rotational Mechanisms / Perspective Mechanisms in Shmups............................ 196
Forgotten Worlds .................................................................................................. 199
III
Luke McMillan 2010
Pseudo 3D Shmups ............................................................................................... 202
Angles of Perspective and Reality ........................................................................ 204
Zeitgeists: Silpheed (Mega CD) ........................................................................... 207
(cid:55)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:179)(cid:48)(cid:72)(cid:180)(cid:3)(cid:42)(cid:72)(cid:81)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:76)(cid:82)(cid:81) ........................................................................................... 208
Personification of Shmups .................................................................................... 211
Are the invaders actually us? Are we trying to kill ourselves? ............................ 216
Size Matters .......................................................................................................... 218
Zeitgeists: The Raiden Series ............................................................................... 222
Raiden & Epic Form ............................................................................................. 230
(cid:179)(cid:58)(cid:72)(cid:68)(cid:83)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:82)(cid:73)(cid:3)(cid:43)(cid:82)(cid:83)(cid:72)(cid:180)(cid:3)(cid:53)(cid:72)(cid:89)(cid:76)(cid:86)(cid:76)(cid:87)(cid:72)(cid:71) .............................................................................. 230
Accompaniment .................................................................................................... 234
Evaluating Period Two ................................................................................................. 235
Period Two: Empowerment .................................................................................. 236
Period Two: Flow ................................................................................................. 238
Period Two: Bring the Player to Action ............................................................... 239
Period Two: Education ......................................................................................... 240
Period Two: Challenge & Reward ....................................................................... 242
Period Two: Immersion ........................................................................................ 244
Period Two: Immediate Feedback ........................................................................ 245
Period Two: Contemporary Coding ..................................................................... 247
Period Two: Familiarity ....................................................................................... 250
Period Two in Summary ............................................................................................... 252
Period Three (1995-‐1999) ..................................................................................... 253
Zeitgeists: Zero Gunner ........................................................................................ 258
The Raiden Face Off............................................................................................. 262
The Downfall of the Arcade ................................................................................. 269
Zeitgeists: DoDonPachi (Atlus/Cave, 1997) ........................................................ 273
DoDonPachi, Visual Semiotics & Kinetic Semiotics ........................................... 275
Zeitgeists: Radiant Silvergun ............................................................................... 280
Narrative Meets Shmups ...................................................................................... 282
Radiant Silvergun Mechanics ............................................................................... 287
Radiant Silvergun: Semiotic Analysis ............................................................................ 290
Radiant Silvergun Mechanics: Fighting Games ................................................... 302
Radiant Silvergun Mechanics: The Puzzle-em-up ............................................... 305
Radiant Silvergun Flow Analysis ......................................................................... 307
Evaluating Period Three ............................................................................................... 310
Period Three: Empowerment ................................................................................ 312
Period Three: Flow ............................................................................................... 313
IV
All of Your Base Are Belong to Us? Shmups as a Source for Better Game Design
Period Three: Instant feedback ............................................................................. 315
Period Three: Bring the Player to Action ............................................................. 315
Period Three: Education ....................................................................................... 317
Period Three: Challenge and Reward ................................................................... 317
Period Three: Immersion ...................................................................................... 318
Period Three: Contemporary Coding ................................................................... 320
Period Three: Familiarity...................................................................................... 320
Period Three: In Summary ................................................................................... 321
Period Four: 2000-‐2005 ......................................................................................... 322
Period Four: Colour Saturation and Reality ......................................................... 323
Zeitgeists: Ikaruga (Treasure, 2001) ..................................................................... 334
Ikaruga and its peers ............................................................................................. 335
The Music of Ikaruga ........................................................................................... 343
Ikaruga: Game Mechanics .................................................................................... 345
Ikaruga, Colour, Saturation & Hyper-reality ........................................................ 346
Zeitgeists: Border Down ....................................................................................... 349
(cid:179)(cid:36)(cid:36)(cid:36)(cid:3)(cid:41)(cid:72)(cid:89)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:180) ........................................................................................................ 359
Zeitgeists: Espgaluda ............................................................................................ 364
Evaluating Period 4 ...................................................................................................... 370
Period Four: Empowerment.................................................................................. 371
Period Four: Flow ................................................................................................. 372
Period Four: Instant feedback ............................................................................... 375
Period Four: Bring the Player to Action ............................................................... 376
Period Four: Education ......................................................................................... 377
Period Four: Challenge and Reward ..................................................................... 378
Period Four: Immersion ........................................................................................ 380
Period Four: Contemporary Coding ..................................................................... 380
Period Four: Familiarity ....................................................................................... 381
Period Four in Summary ...................................................................................... 383
Chapter 6: The Tenth Heuristic, Familiarity & the Findings of the 2004 and 2008
Surveys into Nostalgia and Age ............................................................................ 386
The 2004 Data ...................................................................................................... 388
The 2008 Data ...................................................................................................... 390
Implications of the Data ............................................................................................... 395
Limitations of the data ................................................................................................. 397
Chapter 7: Conclusion ........................................................................................... 398
The First Heuristic: Empowerment ............................................................................... 399
Empowerment over time ...................................................................................... 402
V
Luke McMillan 2010
The Second Heuristic: Flow .......................................................................................... 403
Flow over time ...................................................................................................... 405
The Third Heuristic: Bring the Player to Action .............................................................. 406
Bringing the Player to Action over time ............................................................... 410
The Third Heuristic: Flow ............................................................................................. 411
Flow over time ...................................................................................................... 413
The Fourth Heuristic: Education ................................................................................... 414
Education over time .............................................................................................. 416
The Fifth and Sixth Heuristic: Challenge & Reward ........................................................ 416
Challenge and Reward over time.......................................................................... 418
The Seventh Heuristic: Immersion ................................................................................ 419
Immersion over time ............................................................................................. 422
The Eighth Heuristic: Immediate Feedback ................................................................... 423
The Ninth Heuristic: Contemporary Coding ................................................................... 423
Contemporary Coding over time .......................................................................... 426
Hypothesis Evaluation & Concluding Thoughts ...................................................... 426
Bibliography ......................................................................................................... 437
Bibliography (Software)* ............................................................................................. 454
Appendix .............................................................................................................. 490
Nostalgia and Age 2004 Findings and Experiment Overview .......................................... 490
Nostalgia and Age Revisited (Findings From Aussie Arcade, 2008) ................................. 491
Nostalgia and Age Revisited (Findings From Digitpress, 2008) ....................................... 492
Nostalgia and Age Revisited (Killercabs Findings, 2008) ................................................ 493
Nostalgia and Age Revisited (Total Findings)................................................................. 494
Nostalgia and Age Revisited (Total Findings / Average Data) ......................................... 495
List of Consulted Shmups According to Release Year ..................................................... 496
MAME Statistics .......................................................................................................... 509
VI
All of Your Base Are Belong to Us? Shmups as a Source for Better Game Design
List of Figures
Figure 1 ............................................................................................................................ 6
Figure 2 .......................................................................................................................... 10
Figure 3 .......................................................................................................................... 12
Figure 4 .......................................................................................................................... 12
Figure 5 .......................................................................................................................... 13
Figure 6 .......................................................................................................................... 13
Figure 7 .......................................................................................................................... 14
Figure 8 .......................................................................................................................... 18
Figure 9 .......................................................................................................................... 18
Figure 10 ........................................................................................................................ 19
Figure 11 ........................................................................................................................ 22
Figure 12 ........................................................................................................................ 23
Figure 13 ........................................................................................................................ 24
Figure 14 ........................................................................................................................ 25
Figure 15 ........................................................................................................................ 25
Figure 16 ........................................................................................................................ 29
Figure 17 ........................................................................................................................ 29
Figure 18 ........................................................................................................................ 30
Figure 19 ........................................................................................................................ 31
Figure 20 ........................................................................................................................ 32
Figure 21 ........................................................................................................................ 33
Figure 22 ........................................................................................................................ 33
Figure 23 ........................................................................................................................ 33
Figure 24 ........................................................................................................................ 34
Figure 25 ........................................................................................................................ 35
Figure 26 ........................................................................................................................ 37
Figure 27 ........................................................................................................................ 38
Figure 28 ........................................................................................................................ 39
Figure 29 ........................................................................................................................ 40
Figure 30 ........................................................................................................................ 42
Figure 31 ........................................................................................................................ 43
Figure 32 ........................................................................................................................ 49
Figure 33 ........................................................................................................................ 50
Figure 34 ........................................................................................................................ 50
Figure 35 ........................................................................................................................ 56
Figure 36 ........................................................................................................................ 57
Figure 37 ........................................................................................................................ 60
Figure 38 ........................................................................................................................ 62
Figure 39 ........................................................................................................................ 65
Figure 40 ........................................................................................................................ 65
Figure 41 ........................................................................................................................ 69
Figure 42 ........................................................................................................................ 71
Figure 43 ........................................................................................................................ 71
Figure 44 ........................................................................................................................ 72
Figure 45 ........................................................................................................................ 74
Figure 46 ........................................................................................................................ 75
Figure 47 ........................................................................................................................ 77
Figure 48 ........................................................................................................................ 79
VII
Luke McMillan 2010
Figure 49 ........................................................................................................................ 79
Figure 50 ........................................................................................................................ 83
Figure 51 ........................................................................................................................ 86
Figure 52 ........................................................................................................................ 87
Figure 53 ........................................................................................................................ 88
Figure 54 ........................................................................................................................ 90
Figure 55 ........................................................................................................................ 91
Figure 56 ........................................................................................................................ 92
Figure 57 ........................................................................................................................ 93
Figure 58 ........................................................................................................................ 96
Figure 59 ........................................................................................................................ 97
Figure 60 ........................................................................................................................ 97
Figure 61 ........................................................................................................................ 98
Figure 62 ........................................................................................................................ 99
Figure 63 ...................................................................................................................... 100
Figure 64 ...................................................................................................................... 100
Figure 65 ...................................................................................................................... 101
Figure 66 ...................................................................................................................... 101
Figure 67 ...................................................................................................................... 102
Figure 68 ...................................................................................................................... 103
Figure 69 ...................................................................................................................... 104
Figure 70 ...................................................................................................................... 104
Figure 71 ...................................................................................................................... 105
Figure 72 ...................................................................................................................... 106
Figure 73 ...................................................................................................................... 107
Figure 74 ...................................................................................................................... 107
Figure 75 ...................................................................................................................... 110
Figure 76 ...................................................................................................................... 118
Figure 77 ...................................................................................................................... 120
Figure 78 ...................................................................................................................... 121
Figure 79 ...................................................................................................................... 127
Figure 80 ...................................................................................................................... 128
Figure 81 ...................................................................................................................... 129
Figure 82 ...................................................................................................................... 130
Figure 83 ...................................................................................................................... 131
Figure 84 ...................................................................................................................... 136
Figure 85 ...................................................................................................................... 138
Figure 86 ...................................................................................................................... 138
Figure 87 ...................................................................................................................... 139
Figure 88 ...................................................................................................................... 139
Figure 90 ...................................................................................................................... 141
Figure 92 ...................................................................................................................... 142
Figure 93 ...................................................................................................................... 143
Figure 94 ...................................................................................................................... 144
Figure 96 ...................................................................................................................... 144
Figure 97 ...................................................................................................................... 145
Figure 98 ...................................................................................................................... 145
Figure 99 ...................................................................................................................... 146
Figure 100 .................................................................................................................... 146
Figure 101 ..................................................................................................................... 148
VIII
Description:More recently, however, a Shmup by the name of Zero Gunner (1996) gave consumers' expectations - expectations that the more advanced arcade was one of the first to break out of arcades and milk bars and into the Super Mario FX, Nintendo had planned to use the same technology behind
