This guide covers practicing and performing techniques, with scoring high as a goal, in Shooting Games (STG), also called shmups.

The supposed reader is a player of any skill level that intends to get into scoring, or get better at scoring.

One thing I would like to stress is how much more fun STGs become when you play them for score instead of survival. I absolutely love scoring ! Getting better and learning how to score means playing in a much, much more complex way. You will be playing with a plan in mind. Scoring opportunities will have to be balanced depending on how much risk they represent. You will have to develop understanding of how to navigate those seemingly unpassable bullet patterns. You will be using your brain at a much higher rate during play. And what you achieve will be recognized by other people.

Does it sound like work to you ? It certainly isn't relaxing. But I don't think relaxing is the best way of having fun. I always have a lot more fun when I play for score, not only because scoring high is generally satisfying, but because /

think using the best of your ability to execute very precise moves and dodge mind bending patterns is simply exhilarating !

In that sense, scoring is, indeed, much more fun than mere survival, where you just go about with a vague plan and use bombs whenever you're in a difficult situation, in order to just reach the end of the game.

Hopefully, this document will help new players realize the fun potential found in scoring in Shooting Games, and help them get good at that. If you are just looking to ICC some games, though, the advice in this document will definitely help you. You will just adapt and use it to a different end.

Because I am first and foremost experienced with the game titled « DoDonPachi », I will use it as an example throughout the document. Every example from DoDonPachi is useful to illustrate how to deal with the same situation in another game. For example, how to choose your ship ? Your controller ? How to memorize the game ? How to dodge certain pattern types ?

I will not be explaining DoDonPachi's chaining system or the way it generally works. If you need that information, I suggest you check Bernard Doria's site ( DoDonPachi @ Bee Previna t where I learned most of the game's rules.