What defines a shooter?

[Macrobstar]

Ok so long story short, i was discussing why KZ3 was generic with a friend and he said that its not because it does all these things different from COD, like mission structure. I then told him to look at games like bioshock and HL and compare them to other shooters like cod and KZ, he then told me something I never knew before, apparently bioshock isn't a "proper" shooter because its not based on cover based shooting like KZ and they can't be compared because KZ is a "proper shooter" and bioshock isn't.

So yeh, do you agree? What do you think?

EDIT: So he wants me to explain, that a game that does to many other things than shooting, like bioshock then it cant be classed as a "proper shooter"
EDIT 2: So the short of it is, games like bioshock aren't proper shooters because they dont have the same characteristics as games like cod and KZ

 

[Strain42]

A game with a variety of guns that shoot things that make the peoples fall down. Cover based combat does not a shooter make.

I can kind of understand the people who argue whether or not Portal is a shooter, but to say Bioshock isn't is just...wrong.

So no, I don't agree with your friend in the slightest, and no offense but he sounds like an idiot (in this field anyway) also of course shooters don't have to be first person. Games like Jet Force Gemini and even Ratchet and Clank can be considered shooters.

 

[4173]

Do propel some form of projectile? You're in a shooter, or a shooter/xxx.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Odd, I thought it would be easy to define a shooter.

Also, your friend sounds like one of those guys who only plays CoD/Killzone and considers themselves MLG gamers because they never play anything else.

 

[Soviet Steve]

If you aim and fire a gun at some point it is a shooter to some extent. Also for saying that games aren't shooters if they don't have cover systems I would say your friend needs a kick in the family jewels for his silly statement.

 

[the.gill123]

I think he's an idiot, that means Doom, Wolfenstein and Perfect Dark aren't proper shooters. That's like saying the 2004 Punisher game isn't a proper 3rd person shooter for not being cover based, slap him for being a fool, and tell him that I personally have banned from playing any PS3 game ever again.

 

[Palademon]

So...no shooters existed before the modern ones?
I never knew that.

A shooter is any game where the main game mechanic is SHOOTING.

 

[snow]

Does the game focus around gun play of some sort? It's a shooter. There's no such thing as a "proper" shooter.

 

[Lucane]

I'd call Bioshock at most a half shooter since half of your weapons are actually weapons and the other superpowers I mean no one calls GTA: a shooter even though you get guns for most of your arsenal but you do so many other things as well.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

When the primary focus is shooting.

Some games have guns you shoot but have more of a focus on RPG like stats. So a pure shooter to me is something like Doom or COD.

But then again games are like music, being pedantic over genres is just silly and causes rows.

 

[ChatmakGames]

Alright, I'm his friend and I never said Bioshock isn't a shooter, just that it does too much of everything else to be compared to Killzone. Killzone, Homefront, CoD and Battlefield all stick to the core mechanics of a shooter. That doesn't necesserily make them better, but the shooter category is so vague that even within the category there are games that shouldn't be compared to each other. The term "proper shooter" isn't real, just something I use in the absence of a proper term to differentiate between games that have less innovation but stick to the genre from games that veer off and do other less common things for a shooter, such as Bioshock and Half-life. Its fine if you think I'm nuts for making up a category to make comparing games easier, but I wouldn't put Bioshock and Half-life in the same category as Killzone and CoD.
Also, I don't play CoD, and I'm definately not MLG, that made me laugh

 

[Macrobstar]

When the primary focus is shooting.

Some games have guns you shoot but have more of a focus on RPG like stats. So a pure shooter to me is something like Doom or COD.

But then again games are like music, being pedantic over genres is just silly and causes rows.

Well we've had rows over music genres and game genres so yeh your right

 

[yuval152]

Aim gun at a object,*phew phew*

 

[Macrobstar]

Alright, I'm his friend and I never said Bioshock isn't a shooter, just that it does too much of everything else to be compared to Killzone. Killzone, Homefront, CoD and Battlefield all stick to the core mechanics of a shooter. That doesn't necesserily make them better, but the shooter category is so vague that even within the category there are games that shouldn't be compared to each other. The term "proper shooter" isn't real, just something I use in the absence of a proper term to differentiate between games that have less innovation but stick to the genre from games that veer off and do other less common things for a shooter, such as Bioshock and Half-life. Its fine if you think I'm nuts for making up a category to make comparing games easier, but I wouldn't put Bioshock and Half-life in the same category as Killzone and CoD.
Also, I don't play CoD, and I'm definately not MLG, that made me laugh

Actually you said you cant compare killzone and bioshock because bioshock isn't a proper shooter
You literally said a proper shooter has to have "ADS, shoot, good cover system, grenades, melee, crouch"

 

[Rawne1980]

Do you have a gun or other form of projectile firing weaponry?

Do you have bad things to aim said projectile firing weaponry at?

When you aim projectile firing weaponry at bad things and start shooting, do they fall over?

You are now playing a shooter .... congratulations.

 

[MisterDyslexo]

I'd just say if the primary focus was shooting a bad guy. Portal is not a shooter, and I'd say Splinter Cell is not a shooter. Portal is clearly a puzzle game that would only work from the first-person perspective, and Splinter Cell is much less about shooting and more about moving agilely and silently, throw in a bit of platforming. The game rarely encourages gunplay after all.

 

[Sonicron]

A shooter is primarily defined by shooting. Shocking, I know, but the truth needed to be said.

As for your friend, send him around my place sometime; my old punching bag broke a few days ago, and I need something to yell at and slap around.

 

[Vrach]

Yeah agreed with your friend. There are two terms: FPS and shooter. FPS is any game that's in first person and where you shoot things. A shooter however, is a game where the primary focus is shooting. Here's a quick explanation of the difference that I'd give:

In a game like BioShock - you pursue the story. Shooting, whether first or third person, is merely the combat mechanic of the game.

In a game like CoD - you shoot things. The story is (usually) there - but it's not interactive. You don't spend much time talking to people, exploring the world/environment or digging into the story interactively in any way - you just shoot stuff from one point to the next and at certain points, story happens around you.

 

[Jake0fTrades]

Guns. Shooters typically involve guns.