Shooter Games: 3 Popular Genre Myths That Just Aren’t True
When people think of video games, shooter games are typically the first to come to mind. Raised to prominence in arcades and kept alive in the mainstream by huge titles like Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Uncharted, the genre is one of the most popular out there, even among people who don’t play games regularly.
Being so prominent, shooter games have attracted a lot of attention even outside of the gaming community. Much of that attention has been negative, whether for the assertion that violent games cause real-world violence or that shooter games are more cliché than other genres, relying on unimaginative stories, tried-and-true mechanics with little innovation, and sensationalized violence as shorthand for fun.
Of course, none of that has to be true—shooter games are just as capable of defying expectations as any other genre.
Myth #1: Shooter Games Have Clichéd, Uninteresting Stories
It’s easy to understand why so many shooter games use war or post-apocalyptic, zombie-infested wastelands as settings—it’s a simple way of allowing for violence to be the core mechanic without raising lots of moral flags.
But to paint all shooter games with the same brush would be a mistake. Shooting as a mechanic does not have to mean a boring story, as demonstrated in games like Mass Effect, BioShock, and the Half-Life series, all of which are combat-driven games with fascinating, original storylines that rely heavily on the shooting mechanic.
Nor does a plot set in a realistic war have to be uninspired—Spec Ops: The Line is hailed as one of the greatest stories in video games for turning many genre clichés on their heads and questioning the role of violence in games. And despite being the scapegoat of the gaming industry, Call of Duty proved that games could tell a compelling story in Modern Warfare, which was the first to take the series to a modern setting. The story drew players into the lives of six different playable characters, humanizing them and making you empathize in a way that previous entries—and, arguably, many following ones—did not.
Myth #2: Shooter Games Have Uninspired, Cookie-Cutter Gameplay
Shooter games sound simple: shoot things, run around, shoot more. But if that were the case, there would be no reason for people to prefer one franchise over another—instead, fans of shooter games are always ready to defend their favorite variables.
For instance, BioShock‘s numerous plasmids set the series apart from the classic mechanics of something like Battlefield, allowing players to combine what are essentially magic powers with weapons like pistols and shotguns for super-powered attacks. And even more realistic shooters aren’t afraid to innovate—games like Alekhine’s Gun add stealth into the mix, meaning players have to plan for possible retribution for every shot fired.
Some shooters take entirely different routes, pushing up against what defines shooter games altogether. Portal, typically hailed as an action/puzzle game, also contains shooter elements. Your “weapon” doesn’t shoot bullets, lightning, or any other typical form of weaponry, but it still deals damage and serves as your primary method of interacting with the game.
Myth #3: Shooter Games Must Glamorize Violence
The connection between video games and violence has been an ongoing point of contention for gamers and non-gamers, as study after study shows little to no correlation between the two, but critics still claim that shooters glamorize violence in a way that is detrimental, whether it causes real violence or not.
Many games explore the potential ramifications of overexposure to violence, such as Spec Ops: The Line and even Hotline Miami, to an extent, but critics claim that their indulgence in violence, even to make a point, still glamorizes it.
Then you have games like Splatoon, which use shooter conventions—guns, grenades, the ability to “kill” the opposing team—but spin the gameplay in such a way as to make it arguably non-violent. The aim in Splatoon is to cover the map in paint, not to rack up kills against enemies; while the latter can help with the former, it’s not a necessity to gameplay.
Shooter Games Continue Growing
Every medium has its critics. In many ways, these critics help push for more diversity and imagination in a genre, encouraging growth even accidentally. Shooter games, like every other part of gaming, are evolving and pushing the limits of what they can do. Stories are growing more complex, mechanics are constantly being redefined, and while violence may be the standard for shooters right now, that doesn’t have to mean it has to be the only application of the mechanics.
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