How did FPS's become so popular?

[Spencer Petersen]

Quake and Doom are PC mainstays, if your talking about console then Goldeneye (and then Perfect Dark) set the tone for console FPS splitscreen multiplayer. For console online, you can think the immature cesspool that is Halo

Historically speaking, the very first game with first-person perspective gameplay was Maze War in 1974.

And Wolfenstein 3d was the first FPS in the traditional definition of the word back in 1992.

 

[Manicotti]

Aren't FPS engines supposed to be some of the most accessible to developers as well? Like, the Source engine is basically open-source at this point, and even it was a heavily modified version of something else that Valve got ahold of (I think it was Havok). You have a way bigger pool of knowledge and development to draw from because the main technical components of an FPS never really change - you have the HUD and a working physics simulator, and you're pretty much done. Non-first person RPGs, on the other hand, can go in almost any direction possible graphically, so the needs are a lot more specific and thus shrink your available community. That's my 2c anyway. I won't say FPS popularity is due to its simplicity, but rather that it's so (comparatively) easy to design one for any possible taste.

 

[Irridium]

Halo's mind-boggling success probably had something to do with it.

Spoiler: Ahem.

Sorry, I assumed he was just talking about post 2000's.

 

[Skorpyo]

Halo's mind-boggling success probably had something to do with it.

Spoiler: SNIP

SNIP

Spoiler

These guys want a word with you:

Spoiler: Wait, where did the Nazi get that M16?

Spoiler

 

[Netrigan]

Sorry, I assumed he was just talking about post 2000's.

The attitude that drives every PC gamer up the walls

Seriously, it's amazing how easy it is to get a rise out of us PC gamers by ignoring everything not on a console. I was reading some articles earlier about the most important games in various genres and while all the genres were open to console and PC titles, the FPS category was oddly console specific. Totally pissed me off.

Love it or hate it, PC gaming created the genre. It's like discussing the history of rock 'n roll and ignoring everything that came before Elvis. Yup, Elvis (Halo) brought it to the mainstream in a way black musicians (PC gaming) never accomplished, but it's a crucial part of the history that shouldn't be dismissed because it wasn't quite as popular.

 

[ZiggyE]

Three words;

"Halo

CoD

Counter-strike"

 

[Piction Froject]

Some say GoldenEye, others halo, me well it's a trend that's going to occur continuously for the rest of gaming history, on genre will rise and flood the market then will die down then another genre will rise.

 

[Netrigan]

Well, if we want to get technical about it. 1980 saw this one hit the arcades.

Spoiler

Wolfenstein 3D was the game that pretty much started the modern FPS genre. Doom was the first big break-through hit.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Guns, shooting, guns, rarely consequences if you shoot civilians, guns, the feeling of invincibility, guns...

Basically its all our male power fantasies from movies in an interactive package. How could it not be popular?

[sub][sub]Did I mention the guns?[/sub][/sub]

 

[Valiance]

Well, if we want to get technical about it. 1980 saw this one hit the arcades.

Spoiler

Wolfenstein 3D was the game that pretty much started the modern FPS genre. Doom was the first big break-through hit.

If you wanna get technical about it...

Spoiler

Anyway I'd have to say Wolf 3D, Doom, Descent, Duke3D, Quake, and UT were really what kick-started and innovated the genre. Post that, I'd say Max Payne, Farcry (not kidding), and such.

This is ignoring the genre-blending masterpieces that are Thief, Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri, System Shock, Bioshock, Deus Ex, etc. I just meant plain ol' shooters.

I made a huge post abut this a while ago, can't seem to find it though.

 

[Warforger]

It is to my knowledge that in the UL and US, FPS's are the most popular type of game.

I believe it is because an FPS is the easiest game to make multilayer friendly but does anyone know, or at least have an idea, how the FPS genera became so popular?

It looks cool, its fun and anyone can pick up a FPS and play and enjoy their experience without having to be specifically interested. Its pure mindless fun, other genre's take more time to learn like RPG's that use turn based combat, or RTS's that have different combat styles.

 

[thedeathscythe]

It's very easy to pick up and play. It's all about fast reflexes, and doesn't require as much thought (still requires thought, just less than say, a puzzle game or an RTS) and so after a day of work, it's easy to hop on and shoot some people in fast paced gameplay. That's the way I always think of it. I always play a shooter if I work that day, but if it's a day off, I'll play a wide variety of games, I find.

 

[Netrigan]

Well, if we want to get technical about it. 1980 saw this one hit the arcades.

Spoiler

Wolfenstein 3D was the game that pretty much started the modern FPS genre. Doom was the first big break-through hit.

If you wanna get technical about it...

Spoiler

Anyway I'd have to say Wolf 3D, Doom, and Duke3D were really what kick-started and innovated the genre.

Damn you for posting that before my Wiki research was done

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

The core mechanic (shoot people) isn't that hard to pick up on, but there's a lot of complexity that can be added on top of it if the dev decides not to shoot for the lowest common denominator.

But that's what sells instead of, you know, the good stuff. I bet all the revenue that Black Ops makes that Black Ops will sell more than the new Deus Ex and Bioshock combined. And, if you say it's because those games don't have MP; MAG is a far superior game to CoD and it didn't sell great, I'm not even sure if it sold well.

It has sold around 900k, almost 1 million.

Exactly, Black Ops sold over 5 million copies the first day alone.

 

[MrhalfAwake]

Yeah know for as easy it is to make these things Valves sure does seem to be taken their damn sweet time on Half Life 2 episode 3.

 

[NoNameMcgee]

Because they are fun for the majority of people (you'll be hard pressed to find someone calling themselves a "gamer" who doesn't enjoy FPS games to some extent) and fairly easy to pick up and get into. They are also arguably the most immersive genre because it puts you directly in someone elses head, but that's just my opinion.

 

[SnootyEnglishman]

First with DOOM and Wolfenstein, then Duke Nukem. They were the great three then Halo came along and totally popularized the genre to what it is today.

 

[Imp Poster]

Come on, Doom/serious sam/quake/wolfenstein may have started it, but Unreal Tournament series fueled it later for Halo and such.