Strafing

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Strafing (adaptation of German strafen – to punish) is the practice of shooting a machine gun from an airplane in flight, at objects or people on the ground. It first became possible in the first World War, when a French pilot, Roland Garros, set small armor plates on the blades of his propeller in such a way that he could shoot a machine gun straight through it, aiming directly at objects rather than shooting from over the top or off the sides of the plane. The Germans captured this plane and Anthony Fokker, using it as a guide, devised a cam system which shot the bullets through the open spaces in the propeller, rather than the propeller deflecting the bullets which hit it; see interrupter gear.

Gaming

This term has been adopted by gamers with the meaning "sidestepping", primarily in first person shooters (FPS); it refers to the movement alone, even when no weapon is being fired. The origin of this usage is uncertain, but is most likely derived from a misunderstanding of the military term. The word "strafe" was used in game menus at least as early as the popular FPS Doom, indicating that the first use was most likely by developers. Sidestepping is an integral part of any first person shooter as it allows the player to dodge incoming fire while keeping their view aimed at their target.

It should be noted that very few modern first-person shooters use the term "strafe" themselves; most game menus use the more semantically transparent "move left" and "move right" instead. However, "strafe" is firmly established in gamer jargon.

See also straferunning and circlestrafing.