Everyday Shooter
Encyclopedia
Everyday Shooter is an independent video game
developed by Canadian programmer
and artist
Jonathan Mak. It was released on the U.S. PlayStation Store
on October 11, 2007; the European PlayStation Store
on February 14, 2008; and for Windows PC via Steam on May 8, 2008.
. In addition to programming and graphic design, Mak recorded and implemented an all-guitar soundtrack in the game. Mak collaborated with Shaw-Han Liem of I Am Robot and Proud
on the soundtrack for Everyday Shooter.
Sony Computer Entertainment
took notice of the game at the 2007 Independent Gaming Festival and published it for the PlayStation 3 on October 11 as a downloadable game on the PlayStation Network.
Jonathan Mak describes the game as "...an album of games exploring the expressive power of abstract shooters. Dissolute sounds of destruction are replaced with guitar riffs harmonizing over an all-guitar soundtrack, while modulating shapes celebrate the flowing beauty of geometry."
In addition to unique background music for every stage, the player creates procedurally generated
music as they interact with the environment. For example, shooting one type of enemy will trigger a guitar note or riff, while destroying another enemy will result in a different guitar sample.
Initially, the only way to play the game is through "Normal Play" which presents the player with all eight stages in order from first to last. However, points scored in the game can be used to unlock several features such as a "Shuffle Mode". Similar to using a shuffle mode on any music player, turning on shuffle mode in the game will reconfigure the order of the stages except the final. Other unlockable features include various graphic filters and the ability to increase the number of lives the player has at the beginning of a game. The player may also unlock the stages to make them available individually in "Single Play". After completing a run through normal mode, a new game mode is unlocked. "Travel Mode" allows the player to play either the main game or individual stages while being invincible, at the cost of the points scored in this mode being unusable to unlock anything.
concludes, "Everyday Shooter succeeds wildly as an engaging shooter for the art-house
crowd, and a creative change of pace for the hardcore-shooter crowd." Some critics pointed out similarities to the game Rez
, while The A.V. Club
pointed out homages to classic arcade games such as Centipede
, Robotron 2084, and Time Pilot
.
Many publications have cited the game's difficulty as a source of frustration, though some have pointed out that the game's unlocking system can ease the process of getting through "Normal Play" (or, that it can be bypassed altogether by unlocking songs in "Single Play"). IGN
also criticized the method of point-collecting: Points in Everyday Shooter must be physically collected by the player in the brief amount of time after they appear or else they'll quickly fade away. In IGN's review, it was noted that "flying over all the points is far less effective than it should be, since zipping through a huge clump of them will often yield only a few actual pick-ups."
Indie game
Independent video game development is the process of creating video games without the financial support of a video game publisher. While large firms can create independent games, they are usually designed by an individual or a small team of as many as ten people, depending on the complexity of the...
developed by Canadian programmer
Programmer
A programmer, computer programmer or coder is someone who writes computer software. The term computer programmer can refer to a specialist in one area of computer programming or to a generalist who writes code for many kinds of software. One who practices or professes a formal approach to...
and artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
Jonathan Mak. It was released on the U.S. PlayStation Store
PlayStation Store
The PlayStation Store is an online virtual market available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The Store offers a range of downloadable content both for purchase and available free of charge. Available content includes full games,...
on October 11, 2007; the European PlayStation Store
PlayStation Store
The PlayStation Store is an online virtual market available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The Store offers a range of downloadable content both for purchase and available free of charge. Available content includes full games,...
on February 14, 2008; and for Windows PC via Steam on May 8, 2008.
Development
Everyday Shooter is notable because it was created completely by a single person. The game was developed in the span of a few months by Jonathan Mak using Visual C++Visual C++
Microsoft Visual C++ is a commercial , integrated development environment product from Microsoft for the C, C++, and C++/CLI programming languages...
. In addition to programming and graphic design, Mak recorded and implemented an all-guitar soundtrack in the game. Mak collaborated with Shaw-Han Liem of I Am Robot and Proud
I am Robot and Proud
Shaw-Han Liem, better known by the alias I am Robot and Proud, is a Canadian indie electronic artist from Toronto, Ontario. He has released albums under the labels Darla and & Records.-History:...
on the soundtrack for Everyday Shooter.
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
took notice of the game at the 2007 Independent Gaming Festival and published it for the PlayStation 3 on October 11 as a downloadable game on the PlayStation Network.
Gameplay
Everyday Shooter is a dual-stick, multidirectional shooter. In the game's "Normal Play", the player maneuvers a small dot through eight different levels. The gameplay dynamics (enemy types, chaining systems, etc.) change with each level, encouraging the player to observe their surroundings closely to best adapt to new rule sets.Jonathan Mak describes the game as "...an album of games exploring the expressive power of abstract shooters. Dissolute sounds of destruction are replaced with guitar riffs harmonizing over an all-guitar soundtrack, while modulating shapes celebrate the flowing beauty of geometry."
In addition to unique background music for every stage, the player creates procedurally generated
Procedural generation
Procedural generation is a widely used term in the production of media; it refers to content generated algorithmically rather than manually. Often, this means creating content on the fly rather than prior to distribution...
music as they interact with the environment. For example, shooting one type of enemy will trigger a guitar note or riff, while destroying another enemy will result in a different guitar sample.
Initially, the only way to play the game is through "Normal Play" which presents the player with all eight stages in order from first to last. However, points scored in the game can be used to unlock several features such as a "Shuffle Mode". Similar to using a shuffle mode on any music player, turning on shuffle mode in the game will reconfigure the order of the stages except the final. Other unlockable features include various graphic filters and the ability to increase the number of lives the player has at the beginning of a game. The player may also unlock the stages to make them available individually in "Single Play". After completing a run through normal mode, a new game mode is unlocked. "Travel Mode" allows the player to play either the main game or individual stages while being invincible, at the cost of the points scored in this mode being unusable to unlock anything.
Reception
Reviews for Everyday Shooter have been generally positive, with praise for its creative music, graphic style, and variety of gameplay. A review from 1UP.com1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
concludes, "Everyday Shooter succeeds wildly as an engaging shooter for the art-house
Art game
An art game or arthouse game is a video game that is designed in such a way as to emphasize art or whose structure is intended to produce some kind of reaction in its audience. Art games typically go out of their way to have a unique, unconventional look, often standing out for aesthetic beauty or...
crowd, and a creative change of pace for the hardcore-shooter crowd." Some critics pointed out similarities to the game Rez
Rez
Rez, developed under the codename K-Project, Project Eden, and Vibes, is a rail shooter video game released by Sega in Japan in 2001 for the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2, with a European Dreamcast release and United States PlayStation 2 release in 2002...
, while The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
pointed out homages to classic arcade games such as Centipede
Centipede (video game)
Centipede is a vertically-oriented shoot 'em up arcade game produced by Atari, Inc. in 1980. The game was designed by Ed Logg along with Dona Bailey, one of the few female game programmers in the industry at this time. It was also the first arcade coin-operated game to have a significant female...
, Robotron 2084, and Time Pilot
Time Pilot
Time Pilot is a multi-directional scrolling shooter and free-roaming aerial combat arcade game designed by Yoshiki Okamoto, released by Konami in 1982, and distributed in the United States by Centuri...
.
Many publications have cited the game's difficulty as a source of frustration, though some have pointed out that the game's unlocking system can ease the process of getting through "Normal Play" (or, that it can be bypassed altogether by unlocking songs in "Single Play"). IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
also criticized the method of point-collecting: Points in Everyday Shooter must be physically collected by the player in the brief amount of time after they appear or else they'll quickly fade away. In IGN's review, it was noted that "flying over all the points is far less effective than it should be, since zipping through a huge clump of them will often yield only a few actual pick-ups."
External links
- Everyday Shooter official website
- GDC: Nikki Inderlied Gets the Low-Down on Everyday Shooter on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
- "Road to the IGF" feature on Everyday Shooter on GamasutraGamasutraGamasutra is a website founded in 1997 for video game developers. It is owned and operated by UBM TechWeb , a division of United Business Media, and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine Game Developer...