Getting people into First Person Shooters.

[Wackymon]

Just wondering, lets say you have a friend, who plays a few games, mostly somewhat casual, and you want to introduce them to some of your favorite FPS's, such as Half Life, portal 2, or something similar, how would you do so?

Me? I would just toss them into the expirance with portal, let them enjoy the game, and just give tips when they're lost.

 

[aguspal]

Just wondering, lets say you have a friend, who plays a few games, mostly somewhat casual, and you want to introduce them to some of your favorite FPS's, such as Half Life, portal 2, or something similar, how would you do so?

Me? I would just toss them into the expirance with portal, let them enjoy the game, and just give tips when they're lost.

Well one of my FRIENDS got INTO FPS with MY help (And other friend of mine) with LEFT 4 DEAD.


And after that, BORDERLANDS (YES, we are going to play BL2 too... Soon)... This ONE friend is now fairly GOOD at those two games, especially LEFT 4 DEAD (I would even SAY that shes better than the AVERAGUE player. OUR entire 3 party team can take any campaing on Expert without much HASSLE). So yeah.


In short. Maybe try co-op fps?

 

[CityofTreez]

Just wondering, lets say you have a friend, who plays a few games, mostly somewhat casual, and you want to introduce them to some of your favorite FPS's, such as Half Life, portal 2, or something similar, how would you do so?

Me? I would just toss them into the expirance with portal, let them enjoy the game, and just give tips when they're lost.

Well one of my FRIENDS got INTO FPS with MY help (And other friend of mine) with LEFT 4 DEAD.


And after that, BORDERLANDS (YES, we are going to play BL2 too... Soon)... This ONE friend is now fairly GOOD at those two games, especially LEFT 4 DEAD (I would even SAY that shes better than the AVERAGUE player. OUR entire 3 party team can take any campaing on Expert without much HASSLE). So yeah.


In short. Maybe try co-op fps?

The hell is up with the random cap locks?

Just wondering, lets say you have a friend, who plays a few games, mostly somewhat casual, and you want to introduce them to some of your favorite FPS's, such as Half Life, portal 2, or something similar, how would you do so?

Me? I would just toss them into the expirance with portal, let them enjoy the game, and just give tips when they're lost.

I'd give them a copy of Half-Life/Bioshock/Fallout and tell them to have fun.

No gamer, not even casual ones, can play any of those games and not enjoy at least one of them.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

Make them play Doom. To pound in some respect for the genre's glorious history. No seriously, it couldn't hurt to start with the game that started the fps' popularity.

For added pounding and some sadistic pleasure for yourself, force them to do the Tyson challenge (fists, pistol & chainsaw only) on Nightmare! difficulty. After that, they'll be ready for anything.

 

[l0ckd0wn]

If I want to introduce a friend to a style of game that are not normally familiar with, I assess what they currently play and try to find a game that incorporate similar mechanics, for 1.) to give them an easier learning curve than a game completely outside their genre, and 2.) to allow them to taste the FPS experience. Like, someone who likes 3rd person puzzlers (Tomb Raider) and I wanted to get them to play TF2, CS, BF or COD, I'd introduce them to a game like Borderlands to see if the like the mechanics and then introduce them to a full on FPS like what I listed. IMHO, it's mostly going to be about finding what it is the person likes in their genre of choice and seeing what would also catch their attention.

Going to FPS is kind of hard if you've never been in the realm, mostly because it's very pretentious and unfriendly due to the competitiveness and fast paced nature of the gameplay.

 

[distortedreality]

Co-Op games would be best for this - Portal, Left for Dead, etc.

Or you could just let them play on a console and tell them not to worry, because everyone sucks at FPS games on a console.

 

[aguspal]

Co-Op games would be best for this - Portal, Left for Dead, etc.

Or you could just let them play on a console and tell them not to worry, because everyone sucks at FPS games on a console.

Ok I will start.

1) Portal dosnt even have co-op at all--
2) That everyone sucks with FPS in consoles... I am like wtf I cant tell if you are begin serious about it (It can perfectly be), or are just saying crap towards console gamers... In a way thougt, I guess its true. Mouse+Keyboard have an adventage most of the time.


Anyways, yeah. Co-op games are the key IMO. Especially those that you can balance out the newbiness of the team with your PRO GAMER SKILZZ!!!1111 (No, really. You should better try to fix most of the Newbie mistakes and compensate for them). This is why Left 4 dead is such an excellent choice! I belive its almost perfect.

 

[distortedreality]

Co-Op games would be best for this - Portal, Left for Dead, etc.

Or you could just let them play on a console and tell them not to worry, because everyone sucks at FPS games on a console.

Ok I will start.

1) Portal dosnt even have co-op at all--
2) That everyone sucks with FPS in consoles... I am like wtf I cant tell if you are begin serious about it (It can perfectly be), or are just saying crap towards console gamers... In a way thougt, I guess its true. Mouse+Keyboard have an adventage most of the time.

Was very much tongue in cheek, but yeah, feel free to take it seriously if you wish, i'm happy either way. I wasn't having a go at console gamers at all - just the control scheme.

Was talking about Portal 2 btw, probably should of made that more obvious. L4D would be a great choice, as it's not so reliant on skills that other FPS games are. For example, starting out on something like CS would be the quickest way to alienate a prospective FPSer.

 

[aguspal]

Co-Op games would be best for this - Portal, Left for Dead, etc.

Or you could just let them play on a console and tell them not to worry, because everyone sucks at FPS games on a console.

Ok I will start.

1) Portal dosnt even have co-op at all--
2) That everyone sucks with FPS in consoles... I am like wtf I cant tell if you are begin serious about it (It can perfectly be), or are just saying crap towards console gamers... In a way thougt, I guess its true. Mouse+Keyboard have an adventage most of the time.

Was very much tongue in cheek, but yeah, feel free to take it seriously if you wish, i'm happy either way. I wasn't having a go at console gamers at all - just the control scheme.

Was talking about Portal 2 btw, probably should of made that more obvious. L4D would be a great choice, as it's not so reliant on skills that other FPS games are. For example, starting out on something like CS would be the quickest way to alienate a prospective FPSer.

Yeah, I just did a google search and it turns out Portal 2 has a co-op mode, and all this time I HAVENT EVER HEARD OF IT. LOL! Oh well, I dont plan to play it anyways, but still, pretty cool to know.



AS for L4D not reling on skills as much as other FPS, well that might be somewhat true... Until you decide to start doing Solo runs like me Then it gets pretty hard... but not impossible, of course.

 

[Smooth Operator]

If they haven't played FPS before then Portal/Half Life are all sorts of wrong, being good with controls and orientation is essential in those games.

Start them off with Minecraft and just let them fuck around, the world is perfect to do things as you please and sooner or later you will get the hang of controls/orientation.

 

[Pink Gregory]

Make them play Doom. To pound in some respect for the genre's glorious history. No seriously, it couldn't hurt to start with the game that started the fps' popularity.

For added pounding and some sadistic pleasure for yourself, force them to do the Tyson challenge (fists, pistol & chainsaw only) on Nightmare! difficulty. After that, they'll be ready for anything.

Actually if they can get past the graphics I would seriously recomend Doom. Its stripped of pretty much all complexity its decent enough even today and its the very essence of FPS

Doom, and Blood, for something a little more (but not much more) complex.

 

[Fasckira]

Serious Sam on Easy mode.

You'll give them a god-like feeling, mowing down enemies with ease. Once they decide they're loving this, ramp it up by getting them to play maybe something like UT3 or something on normal mode, then broaden their tastes with HL and Portal.

 

[Evil Smurf]

start with what I did, Doom, then move on to Halo CE and TF2 and maybe CS?

 

[Reaper195]

Just wondering, lets say you have a friend, who plays a few games, mostly somewhat casual, and you want to introduce them to some of your favorite FPS's, such as Half Life, portal 2, or something similar, how would you do so?

...if you want to introduce them to your favourite games, just give them the games and go "Here, play these. You might like them, you might not."

There isn't a really a 'ease them into it' way when it comes to video games. Find out what platform they have, suggest a variety of games from different developers and genres, and let them find out what they like. Don't force anything on to them. I played Half-Life 2 about three years after it came out (I hate a silent protagonist, grenades and melee being separate weapons altogether, and cliff-hangers with no answers), and everyone was hyping it up like it was the best thing and better than anything that has come out since. And it's probably all that hype and 'old game syndrome' which made me dislike the game.

It's like everyone going on about MLP. After the 9/11 like reaction over how great that show was, I watched the first episode. Well, started to. I gave up after seven minutes when realised what it was...




So...on topic. Just give them random games. Halo is more of your rolling thunder shooter (When on Easy), CoD/Battlefield is your somewhat tactical shooter, ARMA is your military simulator, Half-Life is your....mix between Halo and Cod/Battlefield, I guess...and Portal since Portal is a puzzle game and shouldn't really be considered an first person "shooter".

 

[rob_simple]

I wouldn't do anything. I hate when people try to push their interests onto me, if someone asked me what FPS's I like then I'd give them an honest --albeit short-- answer but, until then, they can find their own way in the gaming world.

 

[SlaveNumber23]

Honestly, start with CoD or Halo, both are very easy to get into and great for beginners.

A friend of mine was going to try to get into online FPS's. She asked me "What's the difference between Unreal Tournament, Call of Duty, and Team Fortress?"

I replied "There isn't one."

Wonderful thing about shooters. They ALL play exactly the same.

You mean apart from the vast, vast differences? That's like saying that every pasta sauce tastes exactly the same because they're all pasta sauce.

 

[DMShade]

I can only think of a Don't.

DON'T Start them in competitive multiplayer. Cooperative Multi or Single Player with gentle guidance. Their first few games, if others are involved, make sure you trust them all. Getting punted often from competitve multiplayer games has jaded me from the Genre. Save Cooperative-Centric Shooters like Left 4 Dead 2, Killing floor and PAYDAY: The Heist, Shooters don't even ping on my radar thanks to poor multiplayer experiences.

Thicken their skin on playing with you, or with your guidance.

 

[Overusedname]

Team Fortress has brought me and my formerly-fps-hating friends together.

We just played Mann Vs. Machine for like 2 hours straight. We didn't do well, but it's the most fun we've had in months.

TF2 has a HORRIFYING learning curve, far more than most fps's, but it's still pretty approachable and fun right from the get go. In my experience, people didn't hate fps games for difficulty or anything like that, they just hated the games themselves: Dreary, 'serious' games with no real characters. TF2 is the antithesis of that. It's the only reason I myself got into shooters.

And on that note:

A friend of mine was going to try to get into online FPS's. She asked me "What's the difference between Unreal Tournament, Call of Duty, and Team Fortress?"

I replied "There isn't one."

Wonderful thing about shooters. They ALL play exactly the same.

I didn't know you could use a flamethrower to reflect rockets back at enemies in CoD. Must of missed that patch.

Mouse1 shoots and you use aswd to walk. I can't think of much else these games have in common.