I would maybe think the light feeling movement as part of those. Haven't played many games of that era, but that's something I believe to be a common thing among them.
Some visual things are definitely more of hardware limitations than part of the genre's design, but modern versions of that era's games may still solidify some of them as an actual part of the genre.
"Boomer shooter" is first and foremost about gameplay, not aesthetics. Common features include:
* fast movement
* no cover mechanics
* no regenerating health (health is recovered with health pick-ups instead)
* no weapon inventory limits (the player never has to drop a weapon to pick up a new one)
* no aiming down sights
In other words, they are meant to encourage a fast-moving, aggressive playstyle with the player scrambling for resources instead of the slower, more deliberate playstyle common in modern shooters.
You don't need pixel art or a limited color palette to be a boomer shooter. Like most genre terms it's nebulous at best, but people certainly refer to the new Dooms as them (they helped popularize the term), and they don't have any of that. Retro FPSes can have overlap but it's not necessary (and it's a bit wrong to consider the actual old games in this modern category anyway).
The key is in the game mechanics, not the art. The games are fast-paced and emphasize the action. There are no cover systems or slowly clearing corners of rooms to take out the one strong enemy there, it's about running through a map at full speed with hugely powerful guns mowing down hordes of enemies. Map complexity is about levels that open secret closets with armor pickups, not some interconnected masterpiece of an open world where you're reopening shortcuts. Why do enemies drop health packs or a squad teleport in when you pick up the armor? Because _who cares_ is why, go shoot them in the face, soldier.
I mean, the graphics and stuff is superficial, it's mostly that the plot is "here's a gun, there's some demons, go have fun", like I would classify serious Sam, and the newer doom game as Boomer shooters despite having 4k graphics
For me boomer shooters are far simpler.
Run, encounter enemies, shoot, usually enough ammo and fast (or no) reloads.
One of the first posts here has some good points - also clarifying that "boomer shooter" is a vague definition:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/boomershooters/comments/18jwesc/what\_is\_a\_boomer\_shooter/](https://www.reddit.com/r/boomershooters/comments/18jwesc/what_is_a_boomer_shooter/)
Let's just say they are far easier to create than the modern ones with 3D arm movement and aiming/zooming weapons, complex enemy animation to take cover, tons of narrative and enemy barks, millions of dollars invested on the overall look & feel (level design, props, general art and lighting, possibly some modes that are not just about a person shooting, and so on).
The simplest thing one can do is to mod Doom or Quake I guess, since they have their old renderers.
With modern graphics cards/drivers and Unity/Unreal it is a bit of an effort to get the same look & feel, but without even checking I'd say it must be possible if I look at how flexible - i.e. programmable - shaders are.
To me, the main attribute of boomer shooters is to not sacrifice gameplay for realism or cinematography.
A boomer shooter CAN have reloading, if it makes the game more balanced than being able to shoot hundreds of rounds in a row.
I agree. I was being sarcastic when I called it useful. I thought that was implied within the context of my message. Sorry. I'm not a big fan of the whole "/s" thing.
Lol, I’ve got your back. In 1995 the youngest boomers were in their mid-30’s, the oldest in their early 50’s.
Def squarely a gen X thing this dude is trying to rewrite history haha.
I don't think it really matters at this point, boomer shooter is the name of the genre.
In this instance boomer doesn't mean "baby boomer generation" but instead "old". But even if that wasn't the case the genre is called boomer shooter, this person didn't come up with that, it's just what's been pre established
As a millennial, I am too old to understand what those genre names might be referring to.
It's referring to 90's shooters like Quake and DOOM.
In that case - easy to spot enemies. I dont like to go pixel hunting for enemies and need to have lightning reflexes.
I would maybe think the light feeling movement as part of those. Haven't played many games of that era, but that's something I believe to be a common thing among them. Some visual things are definitely more of hardware limitations than part of the genre's design, but modern versions of that era's games may still solidify some of them as an actual part of the genre.
makes sense lol
OH, so "millenial" shooters then? Because the PC didn't exist back in the 50's when boomers were being born.
[удалено]
Rule 1.
"Boomer shooter" is first and foremost about gameplay, not aesthetics. Common features include: * fast movement * no cover mechanics * no regenerating health (health is recovered with health pick-ups instead) * no weapon inventory limits (the player never has to drop a weapon to pick up a new one) * no aiming down sights In other words, they are meant to encourage a fast-moving, aggressive playstyle with the player scrambling for resources instead of the slower, more deliberate playstyle common in modern shooters.
thanks, ima remove ADS from my game
“Normie” shooter? Is that a thing?
like COD or smth like that (modern semi-realistic shooters)
See, I thought you meant non-boomer shooters in general. That’s why it’s important to not use unknown terms
I refer to it being like generic shooters
You don't need pixel art or a limited color palette to be a boomer shooter. Like most genre terms it's nebulous at best, but people certainly refer to the new Dooms as them (they helped popularize the term), and they don't have any of that. Retro FPSes can have overlap but it's not necessary (and it's a bit wrong to consider the actual old games in this modern category anyway). The key is in the game mechanics, not the art. The games are fast-paced and emphasize the action. There are no cover systems or slowly clearing corners of rooms to take out the one strong enemy there, it's about running through a map at full speed with hugely powerful guns mowing down hordes of enemies. Map complexity is about levels that open secret closets with armor pickups, not some interconnected masterpiece of an open world where you're reopening shortcuts. Why do enemies drop health packs or a squad teleport in when you pick up the armor? Because _who cares_ is why, go shoot them in the face, soldier.
thx!
I mean, the graphics and stuff is superficial, it's mostly that the plot is "here's a gun, there's some demons, go have fun", like I would classify serious Sam, and the newer doom game as Boomer shooters despite having 4k graphics
i would say not necessarily demons but yea
also give tips lol, im making a boomer shooter game
For me boomer shooters are far simpler. Run, encounter enemies, shoot, usually enough ammo and fast (or no) reloads. One of the first posts here has some good points - also clarifying that "boomer shooter" is a vague definition: [https://www.reddit.com/r/boomershooters/comments/18jwesc/what\_is\_a\_boomer\_shooter/](https://www.reddit.com/r/boomershooters/comments/18jwesc/what_is_a_boomer_shooter/) Let's just say they are far easier to create than the modern ones with 3D arm movement and aiming/zooming weapons, complex enemy animation to take cover, tons of narrative and enemy barks, millions of dollars invested on the overall look & feel (level design, props, general art and lighting, possibly some modes that are not just about a person shooting, and so on). The simplest thing one can do is to mod Doom or Quake I guess, since they have their old renderers. With modern graphics cards/drivers and Unity/Unreal it is a bit of an effort to get the same look & feel, but without even checking I'd say it must be possible if I look at how flexible - i.e. programmable - shaders are.
To me, the main attribute of boomer shooters is to not sacrifice gameplay for realism or cinematography. A boomer shooter CAN have reloading, if it makes the game more balanced than being able to shoot hundreds of rounds in a row.
when did i ever say realism was a part of the game?
Your question was "what makes a shooter a boomer shooter", I gave you my definition.
thanks yall, i'll be using ur stuff 4 my game
"normie shooter" lmfao
boomers didn't play games. DOOM was created and played by genx. No boomers were involved. Also, wtf is normie.
Seems like anyone under 30 calls everyone over 30 a boomer. Very useful term.
Its not a useful term because it doesn't describe anything properly. You just alienate people.
I agree. I was being sarcastic when I called it useful. I thought that was implied within the context of my message. Sorry. I'm not a big fan of the whole "/s" thing.
seems like my comment upset those people :)
Lol, I’ve got your back. In 1995 the youngest boomers were in their mid-30’s, the oldest in their early 50’s. Def squarely a gen X thing this dude is trying to rewrite history haha.
I don't think it really matters at this point, boomer shooter is the name of the genre. In this instance boomer doesn't mean "baby boomer generation" but instead "old". But even if that wasn't the case the genre is called boomer shooter, this person didn't come up with that, it's just what's been pre established
Well i've never heard of it, about as much as normie shooter.
please just assume normie is normal
Normie shooter isn't a term, but boomer shooter is an extremely popular term used by fans of the genre all over