First-Person Shooter

The First-Person Shooter (FPS) is a genre of video game defined by a first-person perspective and the use of guns, tools and other projectile-firing items to interact with the world. The genre is made up of many sub-genres, many of which feature adversarial themes. The first-person perspective gives the player the same field of vision and line of sight as his/her controlled character. Because of the first-person perspective, First-Person Shooters have been naturally suited for the use 3D graphics. In addition, their perspective lends well to senses of immersion due to the similarity in experience between the player and the character. Many First-Person Shooters feature multiplayer game modes in both co-operative and adversarial forms.

History

The modern form of the First-Person Shooter owes itself to the 1992 PC game, Wolfenstein 3d, developed by id Software. Wolfenstein 3d featured 3d environments and enemy models represented as 2d sprites. The game is set in a Nazi castle during World War II, in which the player has to fight off Nazis in order to escape. The game was praised for its freely explorable environments, fast-paced action and advanced 3d graphics. It was a departure from the previously held side-scrolling shooter paradigm. Its longevity was increased by its easily modifiable content, which players used to design their own levels to create an experience beyond that envisioned by the developers.

id Software followed up Wolfenstein 3d with the next landmark in First-Person shooter games with Doom in 1993. Doom is a science-fiction horror game in which the player takes control of the lone survivor of an accident involving an opened portal to hell. Improved lighting, a wide variety of guns (including the BFG), sophisticated lighting, networked multiplayer capabilities, and improved tools for player customization made Doom a huge success. Doom's influence ushered in a long line of so-called "Doom clones." Many consider Doom to be the most influential First-Person shooter to this day.

In 1998, Valve Software released Half-life, another science-fiction game notable for its strong narrative elements and realistic gameplay. With an engine heavily influenced by the work of id Software's John Carmack, Half-Life made the First-Person Shooter genre a viable platform for storytelling in video games. From Half-Life spawned many important community mods, including Counter-Strike, Team Fortress and Day of Defeat, furthering the tradition of player development options in the genre.

First-Person shooters eventually made a shift to the home console in games like GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark for the Nintendo 64. These important titles led the way for the immense success the genre has enjoyed on consoles in recent years, most notably the Halo and Call of Duty franchises.