Shotgun or Shotput?

Shotguns in First Person Shooters are a staple weapon. Almost every game with guns includes some form of shotgun. For many they are the most exciting weapons to use and for others they are cause for considerable dismay. First lets look at why they are such pleasurable tools for some.

A shotgun is a close quarters weapon so it appeals to players who prefer to get close to the enemy, in order to do so the wielder must maneuver constantly to get into proper position. So in general, shotgun users are players who can’t sit still and want to engage other players in Decisive combat. This brings us to our next point, shotguns if nothing else are Decisive weapons which despite their bullet “spread”, require precision. The rate of fire for shotguns is very poor when compared to almost any other weapon, but this lack of ROF is compensated for with stopping power. By nature shotguns are high risk and high reward weapons. A successful hit usually grants the user the instant gratification of a kill and a missed shot most often means death.

So why are Shotguns so misunderstood? The answer is the shotgun “camper”, or more appropriately, the concept of “camping” in general. Like in real life, an effective strategy when using a shotgun is to defend a specific location, and so standing in a corner with the gun pointed at an entrance is quite an effective strategy. Though this holds true for almost any weapon, shotguns are particularly lethal because of their ability to kill in one shot. To combat this, game developers have continually decreased the range of the shotgun to the point where in most FPS, I can literally throw a Shotput farther than the maximum range of most video game shotguns. This certainly makes the shotgun a less than effective weapon and furthermore, it exacerbates the problem. By limiting the weapons range so absurdly, the only really effective strategy becomes to “camp”.

Game developers would be better served by making a shotgun more equivalent to it’s real life counterpart. If one were to triple the range of shotguns in most FPS, the weapon would become less controversial. The weapon should simply become weaker and weaker at range. Close range (within 20 feet) the weapon should be a one shot kill provided the bulk of the “spread” hits its target. Outside of this range the weapon should be a 2 shot kill up to 40 ft, and up to 60 ft the weapon should be a 3-4 shot kill. Why would this help? It would allow the player to use the shotgun, like a gun, and not a glorified spear. Players would both consciously and unconsciously engage others at greater ranges and rely less on simply pointing the gun at open doorways. It is the range limitations of the weapon that ruins its gameplay potential.

I have not singled out any games specifically but let me make a point by using an example that the vast majority of FPS players are familiar with. The Model 1887 shotgun in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The very mention of this weapon will ignite controversy on almost any game forum, but it remains a fantastic example of the noble shotgun gun awry. The range, damage, and rate of fire of the Model 1887 is actually perfect. Keep your guns in their holsters for a moment more, please take a deep breath and listen. The range of the weapon is very comparable to real life, at close range one shot will kill you and at greater ranges it will only maim the target. Its power is counteracted by its very slow rate of fire, a miss with this weapon means almost certain death. The hatred generated by this weapon is due to the horrible design decision that let you wield two of them at once or in game terms “akimbo” (yes I know that this term is itself incorrect, I didn’t name it). Asides from the fact that it is utterly ridiculous to dual wield shotguns, this made it so that the power of the gun even at range was inordinate and they required very little precision because of the double spread. At this point their slow rate of fire was no longer an adequate disadvantage, and there constant use threatened to derail the game.

After ruining the game for many, the developers patched this issue by doing…..Guess what. They greatly reduced the range of the weapon. For those that can remember, a single model 1887 shotgun was not a gamebreaking threat, even with its considerable yet realistic range and power. It was an effective if underpowered weapon. Had there never been the ability to dual wield this weapon, I think it could have served as a model (no pun intended) for what a shotgun should be in a game. A weapon with a limited lethal range and low rate of fire, but deadly if used precisely in the right hands. Stay tuned for my next post which will detail how to bring back the Fun that is sorely lacking in todays games.