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First-person shooter

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A first-person shooter (FPS) is a computer or video game where the player's on-screen view of the game world simulates that of the character and the gameplay emphasizes shooting. More specifically, the term refers to games where the player also has full control over the character and can interact directly with the environment, excluding fixed shooters and combat flight simulators.

The FPS genre emerged during the early 1990s, at which time computers had gotten sufficiently powerful to draw 3D graphics in realtime. The breakthrough games were id Software's Wolfenstein 3D and DOOM (initially, FPS games were commonly referred to as "DOOM clones").

FPS games are often arcade-game-like, with numerous enemies that are easy to kill and a protagonist that is hard to kill — often being able to sustain large numbers of gunshots and recovering by using a first aid kit, and the gameplay is tactical rather than strategic. Most FPSs feature competitive and co-operative online multiplayer, giving rise to a subculture of professional and semi-professional players who form clans and participate in championships. A large percentage of new PC games nowadays are FPSs.

First-person shooters have been subject to substantial controversy due to their levels of violence and the realism inherent in the first person perspective.

Overview

Many FPS games are designed with a core game engine, separate from the graphics, game rules, and levels. This enables developers to reuse or license the core software for other games. This "plug-in" design allows amateur programmers to add new elements to games, such as new rules, characters or weapons without having access to the underlying technology. This process is known as modding.

Indeed, it's a common characteristic of FPSs that players and enthusiasts are able to create their own levels (see level design) or even change overall graphical appearance and even gameplay (modding) of the game for distribution to other fans. Normally, this distribution must be done for free in order to abide by the developers license. This has contributed to the longevity both of the genre and of individual games. Some games even serve as a basis for Total conversions, where all of the game content is replaced, leaving only the basic game engine intact. Many games now include the software the designers used to make levels, such as UnrealEd for Unreal series or even ingame editors, such as in Far Cry.

For many, the appeal of the FPS lies in immersive frantic blasting with a touch of verisimilitude, humour, puzzle-solving and claustrophobia. For others, the single player mode in story oriented games can have compelling narratives which allow for added element of drama in the games.

FPS are among the most demanding program for computing resources, persuading many users to upgrade computers that are still suitable for more mundane tasks, such as online browsing and office work. According to IDC analyst Roger Kay, high-end games serve as a catalyst for the mainstream computer market. [1] The two computer components, which are most stressed by FPS games are the CPU and the graphics card. As a result of FPS development, consumer graphics cards began to support 3D hardware rendering. FPS games have also been the catalyst for further development of 3D graphics cards.

id Software is regarded as, if not the ultimate creator of the FPS genre, certainly the populariser and refiner of it, with the Quake series regarded by many as the definitive games of the genre. Epic's Unreal was also hugely popular and much-imitated . As well as developing games themselves, these two companies actively license their game engines to third parties for use in other games (for example, UbiSoft licensed the Unreal engine for use in Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield).

Sub-genres include the stealth-based game (also known as a "first-person sneaker") and the tactical shooter as well as survival horror games, which use a similar viewpoint and mechanics, but respectively emphasise avoiding detection and team-based tactics. These are now regarded as being distinct from FPSs in computer games magazines. Thief exemplifies the stealth-based game; Rainbow 6, Ghost Recon, and other games based on novels by Tom Clancy are seminal tactical shooters.

FPS games strive to increase the realism of graphics and game environments, while still making the gameplay fun. As a results, in many games the player has exaggerated physical capabilities and resiliency that allow to make manoeuvres such as "grenade jumping" which is an action that allows the player to gain an extension to normal jumps by blast effects. The extended jump is possible with other game weapons and can so have different names, in the Quake series a "rocket jump" is possible. Other manoeuvres common in FPS games are straferunning and circlestrafing.

History

See also Game engine for a history of FPS game engines.

Beginnings

The original FPS was the game Spasim published in spring of 1974. It was a wire-frame 3D universe resembling the 2D game Empire (which became Netrek). Spasim lacked even hidden lines but it was multiplayer over the world-wide PLATO network. Among the early heirs of Spasim were first-person shooter 3D games such as Battlezone (the earliest commercial first person shooter) and Tail Gunner (a fixed screen shooter with 3D aspects).

The first flat-polygon (hidden surface) game was the single-player Colony (1987?). It lacked textured walls, floors, etc. Other FPS games of the flat-polygon era include Faceball 2000, and MIDI Maze (for Atari ST), notable for its networked multiplayer feature (using the MIDI interface, of all things).

Other early examples of first person games are Rescue on Fractalus, The Eidolon, Way Out! and various games that fall outside the definition of first person shooter, including simulators such as Microsoft Flight Simulator.

By the end of 1980s the technology to render simple flat-coloured 3D worlds has already existed and was being used in simulator games such as Abrams M1, LHX: Attack Chopper, etc. But it wasn't until 1991 that it was used to make an FPS game. The first first person shooter with colored walls, floors is probably Hovertank 3D (April 1991), but textured walls and the concept of showing the player's hand only appeared in Catacomb 3D (a.k.a. The Catacomb Abyss) (late 1991).

The 1990s

In 1992 id Software improved the technology by adding support for VGA graphics and sound cards in their Wolfenstein 3D. The popularity of this game signified the emergence of the new game genre. Wolfenstein 3D was shortly supplanted by the genre-defining DOOM (1993), which introduced network multiplayer capabilities and thereby guaranteed the persistence of the FPS in gaming formats; the real thrill of these already-atmospheric games comes from blasting human opponents, be they friends or strangers on the Internet.

The System Shock series of games combined FPS elements with RPG elements and horror elements. The games recieved huge praise from critics and huge cult followings, but not much mainstream success.

In 1997, Goldeneye was released for the Nintendo 64 and was considered the first great FPS for a console. It was praised for its graphics, gameplay, and realistic environments.

In 1998, the game Half-Life was released, featuring a single player game with a notable narrative focus directing the action and the goals of the player. The tremendous success of the game encouraged the creation of many more games with a similar focus on story based action.

Also in 1998 Thief, the Dark Project was released. It was considered by many critics to be one of the first FPSs to successfully implement stealth elements. It was called by some First Person Sneaker.


The 2000s

Counter-strike has helped build in establishing a new sub-genre, the team multiplayer FPS games.

Deus Ex was a single player FPS that blended elements from RPG and adventure games. It featured many sidequests and multiple ways of completing each mission. This game also had a character building system simular to a RPG where you gained experience points for completing various objectives which were spent on upgrades for your character.

Battlefield 1942 paved way to massively-multiplayer FPS games, such as World War II Online and setting the stage for player-controlled vehicles becoming a standard feature in FPS games.

The long-announced DOOM 3, second sequel to the original DOOM, made a large use of complex lighting and darkness effect to create as much an atmosphere of fear and danger as possible for the player.

There have been many attempts to combine FPS genre with RPG or RTS games. The modification Natural selection blended a multi-player FPS with some RTS elements. Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory blended some RPG elements with a experince and skill bases point system that can work across matches.

Controversy

Some groups have blamed first-person shooters - the usual poster boy for video game violence - for certain spree killings. For example, there was much controversy in the United States that the Columbine High School massacre was a result of the attackers having played a great deal of the FPS DOOM. In fact, one of the attackers created levels for DOOM, which can still be found on the Internet to this day as the Harris levels. The most popular map he designed is called UAC Labs. Years later, there was much speculation in the UK media that the Beltway sniper attacks were inspired by first-person shooters and games such as Grand Theft Auto that have first-person shooter elements.

As of yet, there is no clinical proof that violent video games such as FPSs contribute to violent behavior. Gathering actual evidence for such a subject, however, is difficult and hard to verify. Some psychologists claim that such games actually prevent violent behavior by providing a safe outlet for aggression. But opponents to this view counter that the aggressive behavior is actually encouraged by this genre of games. Today the controversy rages on, with little hope of a resolution.

Most FPS games have a voluntary ESRB rating of T (for Teen) or M (for Mature audiences), but sale of these games to children in the USA was not moderated or enforced until late in 2003, when it was announced that a number of major retail outlets such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy, which account for a large share of video game sales, would begin restricting sales of "M"-rated games to people above the age of 17. There is no national law in the United States prohibiting sale of such games to children, but bills have recently been proposed that would prohibit the sale of games to customers under the ERSB rating's age. Video game industry professionals oppose such a law, citing that the ESRB is a voluntary rating and similar rated materials are not regulated, such as the MPAA film rating system's minumum age for movie patrons.

List of various first-person shooters

Selected Important Games in FPS Development

(Non-inclusive listing)

The following is an attempt at listing the more "revolutionary", "ground-breaking", and "influential" games series from this genre:

Additional games

See also

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