rail shooters

Although I’ve been swamped with work, I’ve been keeping my eye on games, and one thing that has caught my attention is the upcoming release of Dead Space-Extraction, another on-rails shooter for the Wii [Ghost Squad, Umbrella Chronicles, Target Terror, Link's Crossbow Training, House of the Dead-Overkill, House of the Dead 2 & 3]. Across several sites, I’ve seen a lot of hate for the genre itself, with lots of dismissal of the game because of the genre. Yet, as I played Beatles – Rock Band with the family today, I realized that it was an on-rails game itself, proof that preset paths don’t have to translate into shallow or boring games.

A part of the dislike for on-rails comes from the fact that the genre hasn’t significantly changed from its arcade origins. Some gamers contend that, without the freedom and control, the genre’s only fun comes from loading, aiming and shooting, which gamers probably don’t care to do beyond a couple of hours, and certainly not for $50. Dead Space-Extraction brings a supposedly good story and the desire to bring a certain movie experience to gaming. Regardless of the merits of this particular game, I think it’s a good question to ask–can on-rail shootera be interesting to more gamers?

The begged question, of course, is why do on-rails games anyway? We can this of many genres, but the subtext of this question is that the genre is a lesser one, so why not just do a free-roaming first-person or third-person shooter? It’s a valid question, though one with assumptions, so let’s not go into the weeds with it. Let’s leave it as a valid genre for these reasons–

• Unlike FPS or TPS, players can’t backtrack, unintentionally or otherwise.
• Its emphasis is action–fast action.
• It lends itself to controlled narratives because the player doesn’t control pacing or movement.
• Several variations of the on-rails games continue to do well–from platformers to rhythm/music games to beat ‘em ups.

First, let’s keep in mind what makes a rail shooter bad–repetition. With little or no variations in enemies, scenes or locales, weapons, or locations of appearing enemies, rail shooters often fail.

Second, rail shooters should have an engrossing story, which takes advantage of the pre-set pathing. Umbrella Chronicles provided a good story, and Extraction seems to, as well. Having a good story keeps the gamers’ minds off of the genre.

Third, rail shooters should have the right tempos and vary the pacing, keeping in mind that a slower pace for too long is even longer to gamers, even in the short episode formats.

Fourth, rail shooters should provide various ways to give the gamer choices and some control–

• Provide path choices, like in a choose-your-adventure story. Similarly, use dialog to offer choices, like in RPGs.
• Force the gamer to make decisions about items and weapons, which in turn affect strategy.
• Allow the gamer some movement, at least to look around.
• Provide some element of risk and choices. For example, if a gamer goes for a one-shot kill, the gamer risks not only missing but being able to shoot multiple times for a regular kill.
• Provide other actions besides shooting, such as dodging.
• Allow gamers to set controls.
• Allow gamers to upgrade or level up.

Also, I go back to Batman-Arkham Asylum which gives the gamer several things to do besides beating up enemies, such as finding puzzles, listening to character bios.

I see no reason why rail shooters have to be so abused by gamers. The wonderful thing about an established genre like rail shooters is that a game developer can use the established conventions to their advantage. The path is set, and the genre is focused on timing, but the game could mix what actions are used, using shooting as well as other actions . . . a shooter rhythm game? What about taking inspiration from a game like The World Ends with You–try a different type of combat, and maybe allow gamers to control two characters? Or how about moving away from the world of zombies altogether?

The rail shooter genre isn’t dead. Like a zombie, it can come back to life.