Poll: First Person Shooters: Why all the hype?

[ironm4id3n]

I, alas, do not enjoy FPS games. I can't figure out why. I'm more into RPG's, but only if the story AND game-play is good, like Baldur's gate, or Strahd's possession. Also, witty, humorous adventure games, like the first Spyro, and Psychonauts. I also couldn't enjoy WoW due to continuous grinding.

Enough about me though. Help me explain the "hype" about fps games, and if it is just hype. I need to figure it out. Modern Warfare had good controls, but the storyline just cuts off. and the rest, i can't even play without boredom. It's all the online play I guess. Camp here, shoot there, and the infamous, "I call sniper!"

I want to know what makes people play them, why they enjoy it, if these games have a future, or if they're just hype, and how they could be improved.

Dude your a gamer... and its okay not to like fps, as far as i know rpg might be 'better'
im not a huge fan of rpg's (except for diablo and titan quest). but when it comes down to it... in both genres your simply clicking on peoples heads to kill them.
I am a pretty hardcore gamer... i love sports, racing, adventure, rts and especially shooter games.
There is no reason why myself and so many others love shooting people in games, therefore i wouldnt recommend trying to get a black or white answer from fps players like myself.

 

[ZeroMachine]

so, i take it it's a preference to game play over storyline and immersion?

I'm almost 100% sure it isn't your intention, but I don't think you could sound more condescending if you tried.

My favorite fictional universe of all time is Halo, born from a first person shooter. I get very immersed in those. I also get very immersed in the Modern Warfare games and I love the story they tell (I have a guilty pleasure for good action movies, which is basically what it is). Metro 2033 has a damn good immersion factor as well.

A majority of the hardcore community that was gaming earlier last decade will also swear to the Half Life series being one of the most immersive games with one of the best told stories.

And let's not forget Portal.

So no, it's just a preference of gameplay. It's rare I can play a game that I don't enjoy the story of, and yet I LOVE first person shooters.

Again, I'm sure your intention wasn't to condescend. Trust me when I say that, for a lot of us, we enjoy the story and immersion of first person shooters as much, if not more, than other gametypes.

Enough about me though. Help me explain the "hype" about fps games, and if it is just hype. I need to figure it out. Modern Warfare had good controls, but the storyline just cuts off. and the rest, i can't even play without boredom. It's all the online play I guess. Camp here, shoot there, and the infamous, "I call sniper!"

You know what, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you've never actually played Modern Warfare. How can I make that accusation, you say? Because you can't "call" sniper in a game where everyone can be a sniper at the same time.

He may have played Halo. My friends and I call sniper every now and then. Or, we did... when we thought we were good with 'em

I meant by immersion "your choices have consequences." instead of "you have a reason to shoot mr guy", although my judgement may be due to the fact my definition wasn't "sucks you into the world" so, it was a miscommunication on my part. and i played both modern warfare and halo reach, and the calling sniper was from reach, i was referring to the whole genre, with different parts from different games. I never did play battlefield though, just MW and Reach. plus, my memory of them may have been corrupted due to self-admitted fanboyishness towards the elder scrolls. I AM A TES FANBOY! i admit it. daggerfall was my favorite, morrowind my least. please shoot the target on my chest. I just couldn't get into shooters I guess cause it was point-click-kill, all guns looked the same, no loot, no puzzles, and i wanted magick that did different things and had multiple uses. I think I went into FPS games looking for rpg's. I am an idiot for doing so, and it killed any chance of loving the genre. I have a problem. I need help fixing it, and to do so, understand FPS games. I do not, it is like a foreign language from mars to me.

Do you need to enjoy every genre?

It just isn't your style. No big deal. I think you're missing out on some good games, but the thing is, they're good to me. Not necessarily you.

A wise man once told me, "You like what you like". Ignoring the fact that this was a fictional wise man on a life-long search for sexual nirvana created by a hilarious friend of mine, his words ring true.

No reason for you to search to understand FPS games unless you plan on developing them, reviewing them, etc.

EDIT: Just saw your edit regarding Half Life. Although Portal doesn't entirely count as a first person "shooter", Half Life 100% does. It is, in every sense of the word, a first person shooter.

You can't pick and choose how to use words like that. Immersion and FPS have specific definitions. Use those definitions.

 

[LilithSlave]

I, alas, do not enjoy FPS games.

I'm very glad to know that I'm not alone.

I don't have anything against them or anything. But seeing shelves lined with them and a lot less of the games I like can feel depressing. Also, gaming sites, which I like to go to since I like video games, seem to always be talking about them. Especially titles like Team Fortress 2(I know my fellow "bronies" love this thing, but it's personally not my thing).

 

[violinist1129]

Sure, Half-Life 2 had the occasional platforming, but about 75% of gametime was point and click gunfighting. I'm not a huge fps fan myself, but I do enjoy it as a singular aspect of a more multi-faceted game (e.g. Fallout 3/New Vegas). Fpses are pretty good on the adrenaline factor though, so that is probably a draw.

 

[Tupolev]

so, i take it it's a preference to game play over storyline and immersion?

You're not looking in the right directions.
Much of FPS storytelling is very much in the feel and the flow of the gameplay and aesthetics, and there are plenty of shooters out there that have quite sophisticated writing.

For a totally awesome early example, this [http://marathon.bungie.org/story/durandal.html#12]. That's some terminal text from one chapter of Marathon. It was released in 1994, years before most people think FPS games even started telling stories.
Yeah.

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

What about a first person RPG like Elder Scrolls!? I think one of the main things is I do enjoy the immersion of a first person game.

 

[LilithSlave]

Well, I wouldn't exactly call Elder Scrolls a first person RPG. It gives you the option, but it's just optional. Admittedly, I think some third person things are sadly underdeveloped.

Or do the older titles not allow you to play in third person?

 

[Jegsimmons]

I, alas, do not enjoy FPS games. I can't figure out why. I'm more into RPG's, but only if the story AND game-play is good, like Baldur's gate, or Strahd's possession. Also, witty, humorous adventure games, like the first Spyro, and Psychonauts. I also couldn't enjoy WoW due to continuous grinding.

Enough about me though. Help me explain the "hype" about fps games, and if it is just hype. I need to figure it out. Modern Warfare had good controls, but the storyline just cuts off. and the rest, i can't even play without boredom. It's all the online play I guess. Camp here, shoot there, and the infamous, "I call sniper!"

I want to know what makes people play them, why they enjoy it, if these games have a future, or if they're just hype, and how they could be improved.

First problem, dont use Call Of Duty as a basis for the FPS genre, use Halo, Half-life or another respectable game.

And i fully understand your opinion. I personally have a hard time with RPGs and their gameplay. not always but i naver finished a bioware game.

the thing is, a first person shooter lets us have an action filled experience from the characters eyes makeing us more immersed. unfortunately the FPS genre has been watered down with games made by people who think its ok to cop out on the story. I personally dont care for FPSs with bad story, characters and pacing, hence why i prefer halo and half-life. I blame alot of this behavior on the audience though you rather see shit blow up a guns go off without knowing the reason WHY. Online play is another advantage the FPS genre has, but it shouldn't be the focus.

 

[zehydra]

The combat is fun. Some people could care less about combat, and it seems you're one of them...?

I for one love fps's, particularly class-based/team-based fps's. I generally dislike fps's that focus on rewarding individual players as opposed to the team.

 

[Peteron]

People like shooting stuff. Great stress reliever. (Or gainer, depending on gamer's skill) As long as there are guns to shoot, people will shoot them.

 

[Peteron]

so, i take it it's a preference to game play over storyline and immersion?

Well...yeah. Its a game, people like good gameplay. FPSs are about shooting people and blowing stuff up. Nobody plays MW for the plot, and if they say they do they are lying to themselves. People love competitive online games, FPS games feed that need.

 

[The Heik]

I, alas, do not enjoy FPS games. I can't figure out why. I'm more into RPG's, but only if the story AND game-play is good, like Baldur's gate, or Strahd's possession. Also, witty, humorous adventure games, like the first Spyro, and Psychonauts. I also couldn't enjoy WoW due to continuous grinding.

Enough about me though. Help me explain the "hype" about fps games, and if it is just hype. I need to figure it out. Modern Warfare had good controls, but the storyline just cuts off. and the rest, i can't even play without boredom. It's all the online play I guess. Camp here, shoot there, and the infamous, "I call sniper!"

I want to know what makes people play them, why they enjoy it, if these games have a future, or if they're just hype, and how they could be improved.

Methinks that the FPS just isn't your type of game. You seem to prefer story and characterization, while most FPSs are centered around gameplay. It's more about hectic firefights, finding a zen like state of awareness in battle and reacting by instinct rather than through carefully thought out planning. It's for people who want something simple, where they don't need to spend hours building up a character/army. It's just you, your gun and the enemy stuck in an arena, with all the fun coming from how your apply those factors.

It's also a lot about the challenge, as most shooters have multiplayer that pits you against a real human mind, not just some AI that only has a few base reactions. Fighting the same bot can get pretty tedious after a while, but going up against something that can adapt to whatever you're throwing at it promises to never be the same whenever your play it.

if these games have a future, or if they're just hype

OK I really have to ask: have you been absent from the gaming scene for the last 15 years by any chance? Because that's how long first person shooters have been a staple genre of gaming. It's not going anywhere, and it's certainly not hype, especially considering that the Call of Duty series has actually world broken sales records twice over (first with MW2, then beating it's own record with Black Ops)

 

[ResonanceGames]

Up until about 4 years ago I could have given the OP a lot of compelling reasons to play first person shooters, but the design has gotten so bad lately that I can't even recommend the "good" ones like Metro 2033. The genre has devolved all the way back to Duck Hunt and House of the Dead as far as mechanics go.

 

[Lilani]

so, i take it it's a preference to game play over storyline and immersion?

Half-Life 2 is an FPS, and nobody in their right mind would call it lacking in story. As for immersion, that's a matter of personal taste and experience.

There are many different kinds of FPS's out there, and different modes of them to play. Halo has story campaigns, but also the online multiplayer. What players want in a game depends entirely on them. Some like narrative, and others like just the immersive killing.

But I think the FPS has become the new platformer. Back in the 2D era, platformers were arguably the most common types of games on the market. Think about it, many of the major franchises started out as platformers: Sonic, Mario, Metroid, Mega Man. It was a simple yet highly variable format that could be easily accessible to new or novice. FPS's fulfill those same roles in many ways--though the controls can be different the concept is always the same (point the crosshair and fire), and many engines such as Unreal are loaded with premade templates and settings to make FPS's quickly and efficiently.

 

[Squilookle]

Enough about me though. Help me explain the "hype" about fps games, and if it is just hype. I need to figure it out. Modern Warfare had good controls, but the storyline just cuts off. and the rest, i can't even play without boredom. It's all the online play I guess. Camp here, shoot there, and the infamous, "I call sniper!"

Ahh I think I see the problem here- you're looking at current gen multiplayer shooters to understand the whole genre. There's no point looking for the good bits in modern shooters because there isn't any. They're all carbon copies of each other. To understand the appeal of FPSes you need to play a good one, and there hasn't been a universally good one since Timesplitters 3.

 

[CulixCupric]

if these games have a future, or if they're just hype

OK I really have to ask: have you been absent from the gaming scene for the last 15 years by any chance? Because that's how long first person shooters have been a staple genre of gaming. It's not going anywhere, and it's certainly not hype, especially considering that the Call of Duty series has actually world broken sales records twice over (first with MW2, then beating it's own record with Black Ops)

Up until about 4 years ago I could have given the OP a lot of compelling reasons to play first person shooters, but the design has gotten so bad lately that I can't even recommend the "good" ones like Metro 2033. The genre has devolved all the way back to Duck Hunt and House of the Dead as far as mechanics go.

What i mean by if they have a future was that they seem to be losing originality, and by hype is that it seems they keep coming out, and then get numbers added to the end and re-released. I meant a hype pertaining to the industry making these games a lot, and if gaming will continue to be mostly floods of fps games all over.

so, let me rephrase the question: "will they continue to make unoriginal fps clones, or will they get some originality(not saying all are unoriginal, just most, ex. sequels), or just die out?"

Ahh I think I see the problem here- you're looking at current gen multiplayer shooters to understand the whole genre. There's no point looking for the good bits in modern shooters because there isn't any. They're all carbon copies of each other. To understand the appeal of FPSes you need to play a good one, and there hasn't been a universally good one since Timesplitters 3.

Ok, you got me there. I just felt like looking at the modern ones because they are simply what seems to be coming out of the industry "en masse" as of late. No one I know seems to mention older fps games because no one seems to know they exist. Blood, for example. list anymore if you think of them. I've been living in a dungeon in the middle of nowhere since gaming went downhill a bit 5 years ago. decided to peak out a bit, and was blinded by new releases. I'm a bit of a hermit.

edit: It depends on your perspective when gaming, or even if gaming, started going downhill. i said 5 years because that's when I kind of vanished of the planet for a while, only to recently return from circa 1445, and no, I don't have a time machine, it's a metaphor.

 

[Nexus4]

Shooters happen to be one of the most popular genres at the moment. That is kinda it...

 

[Aprilgold]

so, they're easy to make, and a simple cash-in for companies, and for players, they just enjoy sniping people over the internet. THIS is why i think they'd be better with melee weapons, armor, mages with magick and nothing but robes, and no cover. think of it like this:

Mages nuke you from afar, but you stab him just once and... DEAD.
You tank against the mages, keep away from buddies to avoid area-of-effects, and sstab him in the gut.
warriors can armor themselves vs weapons, but spells fry them, and mages fry the warriors, but a single sword slash and they're dead. so very simple rock paper scissors. you could throw in rogues for stealth-nuts. (note: i liked thief the dark project)

I'm just going to say, THATS THE BEST IDEA FOR A FPS I'VE EVER HEARD! It basically makes it a LOT more tactical, Shooters are adrenaline filled fun, its just the modern ones that are boring.

 

[CulixCupric]

I was trying to "parody" to express that i can't think of a better idea than what they publish, but I'm glad you like it.

edit: wait... are you being sarcastic? i realize i can't tell sarcasm unless it's verbal...