Difference between revisions of "First-person shooter"
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− | [[Image:Wolfenstein 3-D - DOS - Screenshot - E1M1 Start.png|thumb|256x256px|''[[Wolfenstein 3-D]]'' is one of the first FPSes with free movement and textured | + | [[Image:Wolfenstein 3-D - DOS - Screenshot - E1M1 Start.png|thumb|256x256px|''[[Wolfenstein 3-D]]'' is one of the first FPSes with free movement and textured walls.]] |
A '''first-person shooter''' or '''FPS''', is a genre of [[video game]] where the player views the game world through the eyes of their character and is allowed to move about in the three-dimensional game world, and must shoot at opposing targets. Perhaps the earliest first-person shooter was ''[[Maze War]]'' in 1973, which used a tile-based movement system. Free-movement FPSes began in the late 1980s with games like ''[[MIDI Maze]]'', and, in the early-to-mid-1990s FPSes became especially popular, primarily because of [[id Software]] releasing ''[[Wolfenstein 3D]]'' and ''[[Doom]]''. | A '''first-person shooter''' or '''FPS''', is a genre of [[video game]] where the player views the game world through the eyes of their character and is allowed to move about in the three-dimensional game world, and must shoot at opposing targets. Perhaps the earliest first-person shooter was ''[[Maze War]]'' in 1973, which used a tile-based movement system. Free-movement FPSes began in the late 1980s with games like ''[[MIDI Maze]]'', and, in the early-to-mid-1990s FPSes became especially popular, primarily because of [[id Software]] releasing ''[[Wolfenstein 3D]]'' and ''[[Doom]]''. |
Revision as of 15:26, 13 January 2020
A first-person shooter or FPS, is a genre of video game where the player views the game world through the eyes of their character and is allowed to move about in the three-dimensional game world, and must shoot at opposing targets. Perhaps the earliest first-person shooter was Maze War in 1973, which used a tile-based movement system. Free-movement FPSes began in the late 1980s with games like MIDI Maze, and, in the early-to-mid-1990s FPSes became especially popular, primarily because of id Software releasing Wolfenstein 3D and Doom.
The term "first-person shooter" wasn't used until well after the released of Doom, but the name is now retroactively applied to all the previous games which pioneered the mechanic. There are several games which have aspects of the genre, but are commonly placed in a distinct genre due to their mechanics. Rail shooters and light gun games both shooters which frequently use a first-person perspective, but the inability of the player to freely move around in the game world presents a sizable enough change in content to warrant a different genre. Combat flight simulators also involve shooting in a first-person perspective, but their movement system is so different, they too are viewed as a unique genre.
I was a huge fan of early first-person shooters, in the early-to-mid-1990s, but I became bored with the genre. However, in the mid-2000s, I started hearing about the upcoming released of Half-Life 2. and saw some teens playing Counter-Strike, at a LAN party. This led me to downloading and playing Half-Life, which rekindled my interest in the genre. I have since played several more FPSes that I really like.
Games
These are the first-person shooters that are important to me. For the complete list, see the category.
Title | Released | Notes |
---|---|---|
Borderlands | 2009-10-20 | Sci-fi RPG elements. |
Borderlands 2 | 2012-09-18 | |
Doom | 1993-12-10 | |
Doom II: Hell On Earth | 1994-10-10 | |
Wolfenstein 3-D | 1992-05-05 | The first free-movement FPS I played. |
Half-Life | 1998-11-19 | |
Half-Life 2 | 2004-11-16 | |
Half-Life 2: Episode One | 2006-06-01 | |
Half-Life 2: Episode Two | 2007-10-10 | |
Left 4 Dead 2 | 2009-11-17 | Zombie theme. |
Portal | 2007-10-10 | Puzzle-based FPS. |
Portal 2 | 2011-04-19 |