Classifying the types of shooters

There are several general types of mechanics and setups used in action games. Each of them has its own advantages and tried-and-true features. Choosing a proper class of game may help you to plan your future games better.

Fixed shooters

Fixed shooters are games where the protagonist is fixed at one position on the screen, being able to only change the angle of shooting or strafe (usually, this is a story about a gun turret). The most notable example is, of course, Space Invaders. Another one is a classic game, Paratrooper, originally designed by Greg Kuperberg in 1982. Now, there are dozens of clones of this product on iTunes; its concept is very addictive.

A screenshot from DOT Space Hero by 1Coin

Scrolling shooter

Scrolling shooters are games where all the actions are shown from a side-view perspective. Originally, such games were sprite-based, being a direct analogy to platform arcade; the only difference was the more dynamic action-oriented gameplay. Such...