Psycology of shoot-m-ups: Sideways vs Vertical

[Blanka]

I was wondering why Tiger Heli, 19xx and Xenon Megablast are so much better playable than Defender, Salamaner, Darius etc. I think a vertical shoot'm'up is easier on the brain than horizontal. What do you guys think?

Fun is that platformers and beat-m-ups almost all go from left to right. Vertical beat'm ups are really scarce.

[Jimbo]

Vertical shmups are easy!  Just keep doing a figure-of-eight and all the bullets miss you! 

[shardian]

I prefer games like r-type, so I voted horizontal.

[abzman2000]

not just galaga style, really galaga.  I like the others, but galaga does it for me

[RayB]

Sideways feels like you're on a journey somewhere...

Vertical feels like you're the goalie in a soccer match.

[grantspain]

the best shooters are vertical

[Malenko]

where is the "no preference" option?

I love R*Type and Life Force as much as the next guy, but Galaga is an eternal fave and so are Raiden, Mars Matrix, and DoDonPachi

EDIT: Also when you said circular, the first game that popped in my head was Gyruss ; is it normal to think Tempest first?

[Mauzy]

Sideways feels like you're on a journey somewhere...

Vertical feels like you're the goalie in a soccer match.

Agreed. The Simpsons, TMNT, Sunset Riders, all good stuff. Also feel like a longer distance has been traveled when horizontal and on foot.

[Ummon]

Also when you said circular, the first game that popped in my head was Gyruss ; is it normal to think Tempest first?

Is for me, although I pro-bably wouldn't consider it in this topic. I also consider stationary verts different than scrollers.

I prefer vertical much more than horizontal because vertical is fully two-dimensional: that is, vertical has things both land and air across the whole of the board. Horizontal has things in the air, albeit still limited, but things on the ground are only at the fringes - unless something narrows, like a cave or something - but even in the case of something hanging down or sticking up or being in the middle, it gets in the way of the player and restricts game play.

[Level42]

I remember the early 80's. My cousin owned a Philips (Odessey) Videopac system. The system sucked big time compared to my Atari 2600. The only game that was actually fun was that Pac Man clone of them. I hated all those built in characters that they freaking used in every game.

Anyway, there was a horizontal shooter that was very average. I suggested to my cousin that it would play much more fun whet it would have been a vertical shooter. So, we turned the TV on it's side, just like the joysticks and fired away. It was MUCH more fun that way.

So yes, I voted vertical, but I count Galaxian (and Galaga) as vertical shooters too. You're obviously travelling through space in a vertical direction .

I think it's more logical to shoot anything that's in front of you. But there are some great horizontal games as well of course.

[Bleagh]

It's easier to look up and down using just your eyeballs, takes less muscles I guess.  When looking horizontally most people will move their head with their eyes.

So it is easier to see bullets and such when you can glance up and down faster.  Also vertical orientation gives the impression things are coming straight at you.

Our eyes are mounted in our skulls side by side.  This gives us a natural horizontal view of the world.  We see wider to the left and right then from top to bottom.  I think this is the reason many of my friends who aren't really gamers prefer a horizontal layout.  At first it seems more natural.

My over thinking on the topic.

[RayB]

But instinctively, we naturally move left or right to dodge things. In that respect, I think vertical is the better gameplay (psychologically speaking). 

[Witchboard]

Metal Slug 3?  Best of both worlds?

[abzman2000]

METAL SLUG 3 FTW!

[RayB]

You know in the 80's FTW stood for something entirely different. 

[Ummon]

Even into the 90s. It's still a default in my mind, though I only recently found out it's current meaning. Especially that kind of sentiment makes me think sports....and then, well, there's Jeopardy (right?) and that was late 80s (when I watched it at least). Been a while.

[Bleagh]

But instinctively, we naturally move left or right to dodge things. In that respect, I think vertical is the better gameplay (psychologically speaking). 

That is a great observation!  I will make a mental note of that for the next time the subject comes up.

[Dartful Dodger]

Vertical is good for games where you are in a car or tank, but if you are in a helicopter or jet horizontal is the way to go. 

Side scrolling flying games are great because you’re interacting with the ground.
Example: Choplifter and Defender

Side scrolling driving games suk.
Example: Moon Patrol

[Ummon]

No way!  Moon Patrol is a great game. Wash yo mouf wi' soap, hehn. Besides, it's not a driving game any more than any other horizontal shooter. In fact, it's essentially a scrolling fighter game, except you're in a craft.

As for the chopper thing, lot's of people like(d) Twin Cobra. As well, as I tried to infer above, in a vertical shooter, you interact with ground targets across a plane, vs a line in horizontal shooters.