Twin-stick shooter is a

subgenre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

shoot 'em up Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs) are a Video game genre, subgenre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain typ ...

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

s. It defines a multidirectional shooter in which the

player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional Character (arts), character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters tha ...

is controlled using two

joystick A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. Also known as the control column, it is the principal control devic ...

s: the first for movement on a flat plane and the second to shoot in the direction the joystick is pushed. Usually shots are fired as soon as the second joystick is moved, but in some games there is an additional button which must be held. Keyboard and mouse or

touch input A touchscreen (or touch screen) is a type of electronic visual display, display that can detect touch input from a user. It consists of both an input device (a touch panel) and an output device (a visual display). The touch panel is typically l ...

may supplant one or both joysticks. A few games, such as 1981's ''

Vanguard The vanguard (sometimes abbreviated to van and also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. ...

'', don't have a second joystick for shooting, but provide four buttons to fire in the cardinal directions. The twin-stick control scheme was used in arcade games starting with '' Gun Fight'' in 1975, but came into prominence with the high-action '' Robotron: 2084'' in 1982. The ubiquity of

gamepad A gamepad is a type of video game controller held in two hands, where the fingers (especially thumbs) are used to provide input. They are typically the main input device for video game consoles. Features Some common additions to the standar ...

s with two thumb-controlled sticks overcame the difficulty of playing twin-stick shooters at home and eventually led to a resurgence of the genre following the release of '' Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved'' in 2005.

History

The 1975 arcade video game '' Gun Fight'' (released as ''Western Gun'' in Japan) uses one joystick for movement and a second for firing. Each joystick is of different design. Unlike most later twin-stick games, the right stick moves the player's avatar. The 1977 sequel, '' Boot Hill'', uses the same control scheme. ''Mars'', a scrolling shooter released in 1981, is also controlled via two 8-way joysticks. The 1981 SNK coin-op ''

'' uses a joystick for movement, but four separate buttons, arranged in a diamond, for firing. '' Robotron: 2084'', released in 1982 during the

golden age of arcade video games The golden age of arcade video games was the period of rapid growth, technological development, and cultural influence of arcade video games from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. The release of ''Space Invaders'' in 1978 led to a wave of shoo ...

became the seminal example of the control scheme using two 8-way joysticks. As gamepads with dual thumbsticks did not exist on 8-bit or 16-bit home computers and consoles, home ports of ''Robotron: 2084'' were often awkward to play or used modified control schemes. The twin-joystick arcade games '' Space Dungeon'', ''

Rescue Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, removal from danger, liberation from restraint, or the urgent treatment of injury, injuries after an incident. It may be facilitated by a range of tools and equipm ...

'', and '' Black Widow'' followed the same year. Twin-stick controls remained uncommon for arcade games, but were later used in '' Smash T.V.'' (1990) and '' Total Carnage'' (1992). ''Smash T.V.'' designer Eugene Jarvis previously co-designed ''Robotron'' with Larry DeMar. '' Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved'', an early hit for the

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...

, caused a resurgence in 2005. By 2008 the popularity of the genre waned, following a glut of twin-stick shooters with abstract graphics from independent developers who found the simplicity of the genre appealing. Twin-stick shooter spin-offs of existing video game franchises have since been made, including '' Halo: Spartan Assault''.

References

{{Video game genre Video game genres