Shoot 'em up
A subgenre of action games focused on shooting and dodging.
Shoot 'em ups—often called shmups or STGs, a term commonly used in Japan—are a type of action game. There is no single agreed-upon definition of what makes a shoot 'em up. Some limit the category to games with spacecraft and specific movement styles, while others include characters on foot and a range of perspectives.
The genre's origins lie in mid-20th-century electro-mechanical target shooting games, but the first true shoot 'em up is generally considered to be *Space Invaders* in 1978. The 1978 arcade hit *Space Invaders* established the shoot 'em up template and inspired many clones. The genre grew further with 1979's *Asteroids* and *Galaxian*. Shoot 'em ups remained popular from the 1980s into the early 1990s, branching into subgenres like scrolling shooters, run and gun games, and rail shooters. By the mid-1990s, the genre had become a niche, following design rules set in the 1980s and increasingly appealing to dedicated fans, especially in Japan. A notable subgenre is the "bullet hell" game, which features huge numbers of enemy projectiles arranged in visually striking patterns.
In a shoot 'em up, the player controls a protagonist who fights many enemies by shooting and dodging incoming fire. Success depends mainly on quick reactions. Critics disagree on exact design requirements: some insist on a vehicle with fixed or scrolling movement, while others accept robots or humans on foot, as well as on-rails and run and gun styles. Mark Wolf restricts the term to games with multiple antagonists, calling one-on-one shooting games "combat games." Early on, any game focused on shooting was called a shoot 'em up, but later the term came to describe a specific, inward-looking genre based on 1980s conventions.
These games are usually shown from a top-down or side view, and players use ranged weapons to attack from a distance. The player's avatar is often a vehicle or spacecraft under constant attack, so the goal is to shoot anything that moves or threatens them, reach the end of each level, and defeat a boss. Some games allow the player to take a few hits; others end after one. Key skills are fast reflexes and memorizing enemy attack patterns. In bullet hell games, players must learn these patterns to survive. Shoot 'em ups are among the fastest-paced video game genres.
Enemies typically appear in large numbers and behave predictably, often based on their t
- field
- Video game subgenre
- known_for
- Fast-paced shooting gameplay, dodging enemy fire, power-ups, and boss battles
- first_video_game_release
- Space Invaders (1978)
- genre_established_by
- Space Invaders (1978)
- key_early_titles
- Asteroids (1979), Galaxian (1979)
Lore & Background
There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of character movement, while others allow a broader definition including characters on foot and a variety of perspectives. Mark Wolf restricts the definition to games featuring multiple antagonists, calling games featuring one-on-one shooting 'combat games'. Formerly, critics described any game where the primary design element was shooting as a 'shoot 'em up', but later shoot 'em ups became a specific, inward-looking genre based on design conventions established in those shooting games of the 1980s. The controlling player must rely primarily on reaction times to succeed. The main skills required are fast reactions and memorising enemy attack patterns. Some games feature overwhelming numbers of enemy projectiles and the player has to memorise their patterns to survive. These games belong to one of the fastest-paced video game genres.
Reader's Guide
Shoot 'em ups are a subgenre of action games, typically viewed from a top-down or side-view perspective. The player's avatar is usually a vehicle or spacecraft under constant attack, and the goal is to shoot as quickly as possible at anything that moves or threatens them to reach the end of the level, usually with a boss battle. Large numbers of enemy characters programmed to behave in an easily predictable manner are typically featured. The basic gameplay tends to be straightforward with many varieties of weapons. Shoot 'em ups rarely have realistic physics; characters can instantly change direction with no inertia, and projectiles move in a straight line at constant speeds. The player's character can collect 'power-ups' which may afford greater protection, an 'extra life', health, shield, or upgraded weaponry. Shoot 'em ups are categorized by design elements, particularly viewpoint and movement: fixed shooters, multidirectional shooters, space shooters, tube shooters, rail shooters, and cute 'em ups. Scrolling shooters include vertically scrolling, horizontally scrolling, and isometrically scrolling shooters. Subgenres include blast 'em ups, caravan shmups, and Euroshmups. 'Bullet hell' games are a subgenre that features overwhelming numbers of enemy projectiles, often in visually impressive formations.
Did You Know?
- The genre's roots can be traced back to target shooting electro-mechanical games of the mid-20th-century.
- Space Invaders (1978) popularised and set the general template for the shoot 'em up genre.
- The term 'caravan' in caravan shmup comes from Hudson's National STG Caravan tournaments organized in Japan from 1985 to 1994.
- Cute 'em ups feature brightly colored graphics depicting surreal settings and enemies, with Twinbee and Fantasy Zone first pioneering the subgenre.
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