Let's discuss the term boomer shooters....

[LadyMistDragon]

I can first remember seeing this term probably 3-4 months after subscribing to Civvie11's channel near the end of last year. And honestly, I find it terrible. I've read some (probably) retroactive reasoning that claims it refers to the sound guns make in retro shooters. But how could anyone deny it came from the increased use of 'boomer' in reference to old people? After all, it's all about a style of shooter whose mainstream popularity probably ended for the time being at some point in the early oughts. I've become desensitized to it slowly and don't complain when I hear it. Still, every time I see it, I'll sigh slightly at the implication that anyone who's over 30 who remembers these games is somehow an old person. I don't know when it was first used, but it kind of sounds like the sort of thing someone from PC Gamer or something dreamed up. Maybe I'm wrong, but honestly, if you don't shudder the first time you hear it, well...I'll just keep my thoughts to myself.

[HavoX]

7 minutes ago, LadyMistDragon said:

And honestly, I find it terrible.

You're right, it DOES sound awful... (And lame.)

[chungy]

There is no doubt it's a generation-related term. While Doom itself was crafted mainly by GenXers (Sandy is the baby-boomer exception), the game did have wide appeal on the somewhat older generation: baby boomers. Doom, as well as Wolf3D, Duke3D, Quake. It's not really until later games that FPSes started coming down in ages that they have an expectation of appeal to younger gamers and generations.

 

But yeah.... confining it to a generational thing is absurd. Plenty of millennials (such as myself) and GenZers around these forums to show that younger generations like it just as much.

[scalliano]

It absolutely is a jibe at old people, but it doesn't really bother me all that much. I mean, it's a lot snappier than "retro-inspired first-person shooter". I've more or less adopted it at this point. That said, I live in a country where the C-word can be used as a term of endearment. Just tell the zoomers to away aff and hide behind their chest-high walls.

 

I'll be 43 in a few days.

[Taurus Daggerknight]

I just find it dumb because the term Boomer itself is used way too often, and just as often misapplied. See this very case involving games from the 90's being called "boomer shooters". 

[Liberation]

I'm pretty sure it was CV11 who actually coined that phrase.

[The_SloVinator]

Never liked the term myself. Sounds quite cringy & the fact that the media likes to use it to describe 90's style FPS', is just double cringy.

It doesn't bother me as much as it used to but still, I'd much prefer if the games were called 'modern Doom clones'. lol

Edited September 1, 2021 by The_SloVinator

[DuckReconMajor]

I remember watching a Minecraft speedrun (with commentary) where the author recounts a conversation with a friend who runs Half-Life

"How did you get partnered and I didn't?"
"I don't play boomer shooters, dude"

I found it funny, but also I think of how much your choice of video game will affect your livelihood.

 

The term itself just reminds me of the 30-year-old boomer memes with the guy on the lawnmower, which always made me chuckle

[[McD] James]

We've had this discussion at least 5 times here now. Maybe even 6 or 7 times. I'm not exaggerating. The term boomer has evolved to no longer specifically refer to baby boomers, but rather anyone who is perceptibly old and out of touch. This new application of the term is a lot more flexible, even though I'd never facetiously call someone a boomer myself.

 

The term boomer shooter is largely tongue in cheek. It's extremely catchy, and in my opinion; mildly humorous. Referring to older FPS games as "Doom clones" quickly became antiquated, and "retro FPS" just isn't very catchy or punchy sounding in the way boomer shooter is.

 

If you don't like the term, that's fine. I get that. But it isn't going anywhere and its pervasiveness is only going to continue to increase. 

 

Can we please stop having this conversation already?

[kwc]

7 minutes ago, DuckReconMajor said:

The term itself just reminds me of the 30-year-old boomer memes with the guy on the lawnmower, which always made me chuckle

That's the crux of it.
It's a silly joke and a playful jab at 30-something millennials, likely coined and perpetuated by those same 30-something millennials in order to prod and make fun of the insecurities of aging. It's silly and funny and a lot of people have gotten "over" it.

I do agree with some of the people here who are kind of sick of seeing it, not so much from a defensive angle and more so from some lame marketing angle. Makes me a wince a bit. All jokes get old I guess.

 

I also think scalliano has a good point about the snappy name of the "genre", and although I'd think something along the lines of core-shooter/fps would be more accurate, the "boomer shooter" name at has a disarming self-deprecation to it which won't lead people to dismiss it for being snobby.
 

[Major Arlene]

I think a lot of people forget that older people actually do like video games, I actually tend to see it as a term of inclusiveness in some aspects. Instead of saying "why aren't you playing COD, you old fogey?", you have younger folks (millennial and gen z) making games that harken back to the 80's and 90's sort of golden era of FPS. Just my two cents on this issue, it's probably not a popular opinion (and to level, I hate the term "ok, boomer"). But it's not actually referring to boomers in a negative way, just sort of referring to the generation that this stuff appealed to at the time (because believe me, I've seen the same argument of what constitutes a "retro FPS" and this is honestly just easier).

[Nikku4211]

I personally don't really mind them being called boomer shooters, it doesn't really affect me anyway because it's obvious from looking at me in real life (and perhaps from hearing my voice in my videos) that I'm not a boomer(I'm 18 years old, not decades old). And obviously, first person shooters didn't exist back in 1949-1965.

 

It may or may not surprise the people who constantly use this term over and over again that there are little kids who still play these old shooters nowadays.

 

Then again, it gets weirder when I've heard people use the argument that the word 'boomer' refers more to a mindset than a generation, and they use it as an excuse to continue to apply the term to young people.

 

Otherwise, it would be silly to get offended over a term used for 90's FPSes. Even if it's widespread as Deimos, so what? That shouldn't get in the way of your enjoyment for these games, and it certainly doesn't prevent me from firing up Chocolate Doom any minute now.

[magicsofa]

You all got it wrong. "Boomers" are magic mushrooms. Therefore "boomer shooters" are videogames about shooting magic mushrooms.

[durian]

Though I think it's a misnomer - 90s shooters were primarily played by Gen Xers and millennials, surely? - there's no harm in having a simple name for a distinctive style of gameplay. I can't see that there's anything in it for me (approaching 40) to be offended by.

[Boaby Kenobi]

3 hours ago, scalliano said:

I live in a country where the C-word can be used as a term of endearment

 

Scotland?

[Smoothandz]

Some boomer shooters are bad, some are good.

Some FPS's are bad, some are good.

Some retro style FPS's are bad, some are good.

 

Point is call it whatever you want, I don't know feel strongly one way or another.

 

Judge not a game by its label, but by the content contained within its code.

[D4NUK1]

I feel it's an original and a good way to make an original name for a style of shooters.

And *sips*... Dusk was a good game.

[garu32]

I just call it "Shooter".

[dew]

3 hours ago, chungy said:

There is no doubt it's a generation-related term.

You wish. It ties to the 30yo boomer meme, so... weird conservative fetishization of old times they don't really remember. Why do you think it's represented by the dishelved, fattening dude on a lawn mower drinking Monster instead of beer? It's not about old people and Doom was extremely popular mainly with college students, much moreso than real Boomers. It's about certain Millenials pretending they wisened up beyond their age and have a classical, superior taste in games to Zoomers.

 

Now the question is whether the icky origin got overriden by general context-free usage of the term, sort of like how Twitch reclaimed Pepe. And that's tougher to call.

[xScavengerWolfx]

First off i love Civvie 11 he's fucking funny.

 

Second i hate the word "boomer shooters" can't we just say old school FPS or 90's retro shooters? The term boomer is getting so over used that it really pisses me off when i get called a boomer. I mean for fuck sakes i'm only [RETRACTED] and i still like the old school shooters.

 

Sorry got off track manly what i'm getting at is this: Just call it either 90's retro shooter or old school, quit using the word boomer shooter.

 

And to comment above mine, regardless if it's a meme or not the zoomers still call people that are 30 somethings boomers. Brah if you don't know what a actual boomer is don't use the word......this is why this generation is so goddamn stupid. Yet again i'm a "boomer" and i don't understand young people and there trends.

[DannyMan]

If it was really a "boomer shooter", then wouldn't it be made through 1946 to 1964? The time when video games weren't a thing at all.

[[McD] James]

16 minutes ago, xScavengerWolfx said:

Sorry got off track manly what i'm getting at is this: Just call it either 90's retro shooter or old school, quit using the word boomer shooter.

 

No. I'll call them what I like. 

 

3 minutes ago, DannyMan said:

If it was really a "boomer shooter", then wouldn't it be made through 1946 to 1964? The time when video games weren't a thing at all.

 

3 hours ago, [McD]James said:

The term boomer has evolved to no longer specifically refer to baby boomers, but rather anyone who is perceptibly old and out of touch. This new application of the term is a lot more flexible, even though I'd never facetiously call someone a boomer myself.

Edited August 31, 2021 by [McD]James

[Mr. Freeze]

I'm going to keep calling them what they are (retro-style FPSes) and the lot of you can argue over what you'll call them. 

[DannyMan]

I will just call retro FPS games "millennial shooters" from now on.

[Smoothandz]

New idea! We call them...

(drum roll)

Pew Pew Simulators

(Immediately gets stabbed, kicked several times in the stomach and thrown out the backdoor into dumpster)

 

[LadyMistDragon]

2 hours ago, Major Arlene said:

I think a lot of people forget that older people actually do like video games

Like how Jim Flynn and Ty Halderman were close to 50 when Doom came out? Yeah, there's some truth to that. I just know that older people in North America particularly tend not to be computer-literate, or at least they weren't 15 years ago where I grew up. That said, I'm guessing Flynn (he was a programmer) and Ty probably had some sort of background working with computers to begin with which doesn't seem to be the case with many folks over, oh, 40 when Doom was released (John Anderson was 34, I think). Just a little tangent, back to the topic.

[xScavengerWolfx]

52 minutes ago, DannyMan said:

If it was really a "boomer shooter", then wouldn't it be made through 1946 to 1964? The time when video games weren't a thing at all.

Dark joke incoming: Wasn't WW2 a boomer shooter in real llife? *get's thrown in a pit full of pinky's and arch veils for making such a really dark joke*

 

[Nikku4211]

1 hour ago, dew said:

weird conservative fetishization of old times they don't really remember.

 

Doesn't a similar thing happen with many young people when they play games older than them or games released when they were a baby, regardless of position on the political spectrum?

 

I mean, there are definitely people here who weren't around when Doom came out. I don't know, though.

[xScavengerWolfx]

24 minutes ago, Smoothandz said:

New idea! We call them...

(drum roll)

Pew Pew Simulators

(Immediately gets stabbed, kicked several times in the stomach and thrown out the backdoor into dumpster)

 

*bonks you on the head with a frying pan* No that Call of Duty nowadays

[RetroAkaMe]

My friends think metal is for boomers.

So Doom is a boomer FPS for them. Not for me. It's a lame word.