Video Game Dictionary - What is “Strafing” in games?

IPA: ˈstrɑːfɪŋ

Definition:

In games “Strafing” is a form of movement utilized by the player character to keep an enemy at range by moving sideways, relative to the enemy being fought. Strafing is often used to consistently damage an enemy while staying at a safe range.

The original term was utilized in air warfare, particularly by Germany in World War 1, where it meant to attack ground targets with automatic fire from a low flying aircraft.

The origin of the term in games is not precisely known. Reddit user jermrellum provided a fascinating insight into a possible origin:

“The Quora article also says that the term was originally used in a game called "Dogfight 2001" which seems a bit nebulous because that game doesn't exist. What does exist is a game called "Dogfight 2187" from 1987, a first person cockpit shooter on the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64. However, watching gameplay footage of it or actually playing the game shows no reference to the word strafe.

Speculatively, my thought is that perhaps whoever came up with the controls for Id software's early fps games misunderstood what the term strafe was. Perhaps in some other plane shooter game the term was used, and it locked the player's plane for the purpose of doing a strafing run. Id developer plays this, but rather than thinking strafe means the act of shooting, instead thinks strafing refers to the act of locking the rotational movement.”

This explanation is plausible due to the number of aircraft-based titles released in the 1980s. The first confirmed use of the term in games was in the instruction manual for Wolfenstein 3D, released in 1992. This confirms that the term was already established in the early 1990s.

The term has gone on to have variations including “circle strafe” where players move continuously in a circle around their target, damaging them consistently from range. However, it’s also gone on to be used in games with primarily melee combat, where the effect is generally the same but at a much closer distance.

“Strafe running” is another permutation of the term, utilized heavily by players in early FPS titles like Perfect Dark and Goldeneye 007. In these games “strafe running” is a form of movement where players zig-zag through the level. This achieves faster movements speeds as the game regards the forward and sideways movements as separate, removing some limits to speed that a single action has.

“Strafing” is a term that will likely never leave us in the industry as it’s such an effective tactic for dealing with tough enemies.

Example Usage:

“Don’t attack the boss head on, circle strafe him to avoid his AoE attacks”

“They’re really locking down that hallway, let’s strafe across to reach the door on the other side”