Pixel Joint Forum: What makes shooting platformers fun?

Message

   Hi,

I'm currently developing a shooting platformer game akin to 
Contra and the Megaman(regular, X, Zero, etc) series. I wanted to ask 
from people what they find most fun about shooting platformers. 

What
 would add replay value? How many levels should there be? How difficult 
should the game be? What are the good things you've seen in shooting 
platformers? What are the bad things you've seen in shooting 
platformers? What would you like to see in the future from this genre?

This would help me advance and get a clearer picture of what gamers would like from a shooting platformer.

Author	Message
AlexanderM Seaman Joined: 30 January 2013 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2	Topic: What makes shooting platformers fun? Posted: 05 February 2013 at 7:10am
	Hi, I'm currently developing a shooting platformer game akin to Contra and the Megaman(regular, X, Zero, etc) series. I wanted to ask from people what they find most fun about shooting platformers. What would add replay value? How many levels should there be? How difficult should the game be? What are the good things you've seen in shooting platformers? What are the bad things you've seen in shooting platformers? What would you like to see in the future from this genre? This would help me advance and get a clearer picture of what gamers would like from a shooting platformer.
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artistictiger Midshipman Joined: 28 May 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 46	Posted: 02 December 2013 at 10:01am
	Its hard to say really, its mostly a feeling u get i guess, ..like you know what's fun and not, etc. my suggestion would be to just play those games for a bit, and see what you can take from them. sorry for the vague answer lol, i can't really put it in words:P.
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E-T-O Seaman Joined: 01 December 2013 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2	Posted: 05 December 2013 at 6:35am
	I agree with artistictiger, try to play as many different shooting platformers as possible and pay attention to details. In general I would say don't forget the technical part, especially controls. If it feels like you're constantly slipping away or nothing feels responsive the best game-design idea is worth nothing. Regarding level-design and difficulty I prefer when the game is tricky and a bit difficult, but not unfair. What I mean is especially older games are streching the difficulty by throwing unfair stuff at you and the only way to beat a level is to remember each and every enemy or deathtrap. On the other hand games like I wanna be the guy, which abuses such mechanics, were pretty popular, so maybe it's personal preference...
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drewniak Seaman Joined: 09 December 2013 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2	Posted: 09 December 2013 at 10:30am
	In my opinion, what makes a good shooter platformer is fast paced action, responsive character steering and increasing difficulty. These are the main factors that make a game awesome for me.
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gnodab2 Midshipman Joined: 02 December 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 42	Posted: 22 January 2014 at 9:21am
	I think this is a good reference: A Theory of Fun for Game Design by Raph Koster
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greenraven Commander Joined: 08 September 2016 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2598	Posted: 22 January 2014 at 10:17am
	Depends on what your theme is to be honest. Is it futuristic? Is it a comedy? Find what defines your game and build on that. Aside from that ship/character customization, replayability, level design. All the basics.
	"pwnage comes with patience, practice and planning." ~ Jalonso
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Sinuo Seaman Joined: 01 March 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4	Posted: 01 March 2014 at 9:55pm
	Slow moving projectiles to dodge, lots of weapons, powerups and a variety of enemies with a variety of mechanics. I would say the worst thing in those types of games are enemy mechanics that will kill 100% of players the first time they see it. The only way to live is to know it's coming from having died to it earlier. Difficultly is not bad, but artificial difficulty is something you may want to read up on and avoid. This is just off the top of my head. Sorry if this was also the first thing to pop into your head. Edited by Sinuo - 01 March 2014 at 9:59pm
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