FPS is not the same as "shooter."

[Halo Fanboy]

I realize our genre naming conventions in games are pretty horrible such as JRPGs and even most CRPGs in general not even resembeling actual RPGs but I think video game lingo has gotten even more messed up by the ambiguous term "shooter."Unless you are a new to gaming you probably know that there are multiple genres this term could apply to:

Hori and vert SHMUPs
Gun Shooting
Rail Shooter
Run n Gun
Topdown Shooter
FPS
TPS
VS shooting

Do you really want a term that can be used to describe everything from Starfox to DooM to Muchi Muchi Pork? Stick to correct terminology if you don't want to look inexperienced.

Edit: I forgot VS shooter despite the fact that I've been playing Senko no Ronde lately. I suck cocks.

Edit #2:

FPS games are, in fact, "shooters."

Saint Bernanrds are dogs.
So are labs, collies, pugs, and dachsunds.
Referring to any of them as "dog" is perfectly fine. It's just not specific.

It's one thing to unify terminology, and it's another thing to ignore the convenience and utility of "general headings" that can include more than one specific subgenre.

I acknowledge this. The problem is that the term "shooter" is treated as synonymous with FPS.

 

[Squilookle]

Welcome to the Escapist!

Oh wait, you're not new? with language like that I thought you signed up just to explode that opinion...

Do you really want a term that can be used to describe everything from Starfox to DooM to Muchi Muchi Pork? Stick to correct terminology if you don't want to look like an idiot.

Meh. If they have things that shoot things, it makes sense to me, so why not?

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

The thing is, most people understand what is implied by "shooter".

When I say shooter, only five people on this site think of Ikaruga.

 

[Baron von Blitztank]

Why shouldn't we call FPS games shooters?
It's in the title, First Person Shooter and you shoot things in the games.

 

[Hawk of Battle]

This thread fails. HARD.

 

[Substance-E]

Yup, video games need pretentious, horribly complicated nomenclature like the music industry. I mean I feel like a complete ass when I get my trance and electro mixed up....

 

[Halo Fanboy]

Welcome to the Escapist!

Do you really want a term that can be used to describe everything from Starfox to DooM to Muchi Muchi Pork? Stick to correct terminology if you don't want to look like an idiot.

Meh. If they have things that shoot things, it makes sense to me, so why not?

A failure in language usually lead to a failure in logic. Like calling Ninja Gaiden and Diablo "hack and slash", or comparing action adventure like Zelda to real adventure. Even a "puzzle" game like tetris is at least half action. Lets not even get into how misunderstanding of the term RPG lead to the whole genre being pratically wiped from computer gaming.

 

[David Bray]

It's a term to know what you're getting into. It involves shooting, therefore it is a shooter. The rest of the things attributed to it, like prefixes, are additional.

Hori and vert SHMUPs - Medium, not genre.
Gun Shooting - Medium and action, not genre.
Rail Shooter - Medium, not genre.
Run n Gun - Method/tactic, not genre.
Topdown Shooter - Medium, not genre.
FPS - Medium, not genre.
TPS - Medium, not genre.

 

[dark-amon]

Why shouldn't we call FPS games shooters?
It's in the title, First Person Shooter and you shoot things in the games.

This guy pretty much summarise the whole reason people call FPS shooters.

 

[Slavik_91]

Obvious troll is obvious me thinks. But yah who cares, people can call Final Fantasy X a shooter if they feel like.

 

[Xhu]

As an example, Doom is [in order of increasing specificity]:

A game.
A videogame.
A shooter.
A first person shooter.

All correct to use. It just depends on how specific you wish to be. Pretty silly thing to get riled over.

 

[L4hlborg]

It's a term to know what you're getting into. It involves shooting, therefore it is a shooter. The rest of the things attributed to it, like prefixes, are additional.

Hori and vert SHMUPs - Medium, not genre.
Gun Shooting - Medium and action, not genre.
Rail Shooter - Medium, not genre.
Run n Gun - Method/tactic, not genre.
Topdown Shooter - Medium, not genre.
FPS - Medium, not genre.
TPS - Medium, not genre.

I wouldn't call them media (plural for medium), since a FPS cannot be compared to a newspaper.

Now games are a medium. Horror, action and adventure are genres. WTF is between them? I sure don't know, but I wouldn't call them media.

 

[TriggerHappyAngel]

So "FPS" belongs to the category "Shooter", but you can't call it a Shooter?

That means that a Pistol is a Gun, but you can't call it a Gun

OP, your logic isn't logical

 

[Netrigan]

The FPS genre ended up including games like Thief which
is primarily a stealth mechanic and Mirror's Edge which has a parkour mechanic. Both have some shooting but not enough to be classified as shooters. I don't have a problem with the redundancy if only to avoid some fucktard trying invalid a point I made by tossing out one of those games.

 

[Asuka Soryu]

Are we really discussing this? ~.~ This is as stupid as demanding people on the internet use proper grammar. You can't make someone do what you want, just because it's 'incorect'.

 

[Halo Fanboy]

Stick to correct terminology if you don't want to look like an idiot.

You stick to a respectful language if you don't want to look like a moron.

 

[Outright Villainy]

As an example, Doom is [in order of increasing specificity]:

A game.
A videogame.
A shooter.
A first person shooter.

All correct to use. It just depends on how specific you wish to be. Pretty silly thing to get riled over.

This sums up everything wrong with the Op's logic the most succinctly.
Basically, I'm using a more intelligent way of saying "This."

 

[David Bray]

I wouldn't call them media (plural for medium), since a FPS cannot be compared to a newspaper.

Now games are a medium. Horror, action and adventure are genres. WTF is between them? I sure don't know, but I wouldn't call them media.

Medium is not the same as media. It is the medium used to depict something. A book written in first person is not a first person fantasy, it is a fantasy. Don't even know how you could mix that up with a newspaper.

Medium = Method of depiction

1. An intervening substance through which something else is transmitted or carried on.
2. An agency by which something is accomplished, conveyed, or transferred

 

[EgoDeusEst]

Guys guys, just look at his name. Now tell me it's not a troll.

Hori and vert SHMUPs

Pardon my French, but what the fork is a SMUP?

 

[Halo Fanboy]

The thing is, most people understand what is implied by "shooter".

When I say shooter, only five people on this site think of Ikaruga.

Yeah most people don't think of that one specific game. Look whatever the popular concensus is is irrelevant. Especially if we want to preserve the genres we've almost lossed over the years which isn't helped by their terminology being stolen.

Why shouldn't we call FPS games shooters?
It's in the title, First Person Shooter and you shoot things in the games.

FPS is a subgenre of shooter. Calling a shooter is being unspecific.

Yup, video games need pretentious, horribly complicated nomenclature like the music industry. I mean I feel like a complete ass when I get my trance and electro mixed up....

Understanding the semantics of any area of expertise is the first step to actually understanding anything. If you want to be anti-intellectual then go ahead but I'm not going to say you don't look like an idiot.

It's a term to know what you're getting into. It involves shooting, therefore it is a shooter. The rest of the things attributed to it, like prefixes, are additional.

Hori and vert SHMUPs - Medium, not genre.
Gun Shooting - Medium and action, not genre.
Rail Shooter - Medium, not genre.
Run n Gun - Method/tactic, not genre.
Topdown Shooter - Medium, not genre.
FPS - Medium, not genre.
TPS - Medium, not genre.

This post made no sense. I don't see what things that can transmit something has to do with any of these subgenres. If you said it was just a difference of perspective then you would be closer but it's clear that the mechanics are as different between the genres as a racing game is to an FPS.

You have no clue what Gun Shooting is (holding a gun-like controller) or Run n Gun (sidescroll shooter with your feet on the ground.)