A first-person shooter (FPS) is a video game focused on weapon-based combat seen from a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action directly through the eyes of the main character. This genre shares multiple common traits with other shooter games, and in turn falls under the action games category. Since the genre's inception, advanced 3D and pseudo-3D graphics have proven fundamental to allow a reasonable level of immersion in the game world, and this type of game helped to push technology progressively further, challenging hardware developers worldwide to introduce numerous innovations in the field of graphics processing units. Multiplayer gaming has been an integral part of the experience and became even more prominent with the diffusion of internet connectivity in recent years.
Wolfenstein 3D (1992) and Doom (1993) helped establish and popularize the modern first-person shooter, while later titles such as Quake, GoldenEye 007, and Halo contributed to advances in 3D graphics, multiplayer gameplay, and the genre's growth on consoles.
Definition First-person shooters are a type of shooter game that relies on a first-person point of view with which the player experiences the action through the eyes of the character. The primary design focus is combat, mainly involving firearms or other types of long range weapons. First-person shooters differ from third-person shooters in that, in a third-person shooter (including twin-stick shooters), the player can see the character they are controlling (usually from behind, or above), i.e., the game is played from a third-person perspective.
A defining feature of the first-person shooter genre is "player-guided navigation through a three-dimensional space." This is a defining characteristic that clearly distinguishes the genre from other types of shooting games that employ a first-person perspective, including light gun shooters, rail shooters, shooting gallery games, or older shooting electro-mechanical games. First person-shooter games are thus categorized as being distinct from light gun shooters, a similar genre with a first-person perspective which uses dedicated light gun peripherals, in contrast to the use of conventional input devices.Casamassina, Matt, Controller Concepts: Gun Games , IGN, September 26, 2005, Accessed February 27, 2009 Light-gun shooters (like Virtua Cop) often feature "on-rails" (scripted) movement, whereas first-person shooters give the player complete freedom to roam the surroundings.
The first-person shooter may be considered a distinct genre itself, or a type of shooter game, in turn a subgenre of the wider action game genre. Following the release of Doom in 1993, games in this style were commonly referred to as "Doom clones";Turner, Benjamin & Bowen, Kevin, Bringin' in the DOOM Clones, GameSpy, December 11, 2003, Accessed February 19, 2009Doom , Encyclopædia Britannica, Accessed February 25, 2009 over time this term has largely been replaced by "first-person shooter". Wolfenstein 3D, released in 1992, the year before Doom, has been often credited with introducing the genre, but critics have since identified similar, though less advanced, games developed as far back as 1973. There are occasional disagreements regarding the specific design elements which constitute a first-person shooter. For example, titles like Deus Ex or BioShock may be considered as first-person shooters, but may also fit into the role-playing games category, as they borrow extensively from that genre.Perry, Douglass C., BioShock: Ken Levine Talks First-Person Shooters , IGN, September 15, 2006, Accessed February 25, 2009 Other examples, like Far Cry and Rage, could also be considered adventure games, because they focus more on exploration than simple action, they task players with multiple different objectives other than just killing enemies, and they often revolve around the construction of complex cinematic storylines with a well defined cast of secondary characters to interact with. Furthermore, certain puzzle or platforming games are also sometimes categorized as first-person shooters, in spite of lacking any direct combat or shooting element, instead using a first-person perspective to help players immerse within the game and better navigate 3D environments (for example, in the case of Portal, the 'gun' the player character carries is used to create portals through walls rather than fire projectiles). Some commentators also extend the definition to include combat flight simulators and space battle games, whenever the cockpit of the aircraft is depicted from a first-person point of view.Cifaldi, Frank, The Gamasutra Quantum Leap Awards: First-Person Shooters, GamaSutra, September 1, 2006, Accessed February 16, 2009
Game design
Like most shooter games, first-person shooters involve an avatar, one or more ranged weapons, and a varying number of enemies. Because they take place in a 3D environment, these games tend to be somewhat more realistic than 2D shooter games, and have more accurate representations of gravity, lighting, sound and collisions. First-person shooters played on personal computers are most often controlled with a combination of a keyboard and mouse. This system has been claimed as superior to that found in console games,Beradini, Cesar A., Play Halo on Xbox with a Keyboard & Mouse , Team Xbox, October 4, 2004, Accessed February 23, 2009Schiesel, Seth, Balletic Finesse Amid the Science-Fiction Carnage , The New York Times, March 2, 2009, Accessed March 7, 2009 which frequently use two analog sticks: one used for running and sidestepping, the other for looking and aiming.Treit, Ryan, Novice Guides: First Person Shooter, Xbox.com, Accessed February 23, 2009 It is common to display the character's hands and weaponry in the main view, with a heads-up display showing health, ammunition and location details. Often, it is possible to overlay a map of the surrounding area.Lahti, Martti, "As We Become Machines: Corporealized Pleasures in Video Games", Wolf, Mark J. P. & Perron, Bernard (eds.), The Video Game Theory Reader, Routledge, p. 161
Combat and power-ups First-person shooters generally focus on action gameplay, with fast-paced combat and dynamic firefights being a central point of the experience, though certain titles may also place a greater emphasis on narrative, problem-solving and logic puzzles. In addition to shooting, melee combat may also be used extensively. In some games, melee weapons are especially powerful, as a reward for the risk the player must take in maneuvering his character into close proximity to the enemy.Hong, Tim, Shoot to Thrill: Bio-Sensory Reactions to 3D Shooting Games, GamaSutra, December 2, 2008, Accessed February 23, 2009 In other games, instead, melee weapons may be less effective but necessary as a last resort.Quake Wars Guide, IGN, Accessed March 10, 2009 "Tactical shooters" tend to be more realistic, and require the players to use teamwork and strategy in order to succeed; the players can often command a squad of characters, which may be controlled by the A.I. or by human teammates,While generally better than Spec Ops, Rainbow Six carries its own baggage, especially where the conflict of realism versus gameplay rears its ugly head. and can be given different tasks during the course of the mission.
First-person shooters typically present players with a vast arsenal of weapons, which can have a large impact on how they will approach the game. Some games offer realistic reproductions of actual existing (or even historical) firearms, simulating their rate of fire, magazine size, ammunition amount, recoil and accuracy. Depending on the context, other first-person shooters may incorporate some imaginative variations, including futuristic prototypes, alien-technology or magical weapons, and/or implementing a wide array of different projectiles, from lasers, to energy, plasma, rockets, and arrows. These many variations may also be applied to the tossing of grenades, bombs, spears and the like. Also, more unconventional modes of destruction may be employed by the playable character, such as flames, electricity, telekinesis or other supernatural powers, and traps.
In the early era of first-person shooters, often designers allowed characters to carry a large number of different weapons with little to no reduction in speed or mobility. More modern games started to adopt a more realistic approach, where the player can only equip a handheld gun, coupled with a rifle, or even limiting the players to only one weapon of choice at a time, forcing them to swap between different alternatives according to the situation. In some games, there is the option to trade up or upgrade weapons, resulting in multiple degrees of customization. Thus, the standards of realism are extremely variable. The protagonist can generally get healing and equipment supplies by means of collectible items such as first aid kits or ammunition packs, simply by walking over, or interacting with them.Staff, The Wednesday 10: First-Person Shooter Cliches , IGN, February 11, 2009, Accessed February 23, 2009 Some games allow players to accumulate experience points in a role-playing game fashion, that can generally be used to unlock new weapons, bonuses and skills.
Level design First-person shooters may be structurally composed of levels, or use the technique of a continuous narrative in which the game never leaves the first-person perspective. Others feature large sandbox environments, which are not divided into levels and can be explored freely. In first-person shooters, protagonists interact with the environment to varying degrees, from basics such as using doors, to problem solving puzzles based on a variety of interactive objects. In some games, the player can damage the environment, also to varying degrees: one common device is the use of barrels containing explosive material which the player can shoot, harming nearby enemies. Other games feature environments which are extensively destructible, allowing for additional visual effects.Reed, Kristan, Black , EuroGamer, June 2, 2005, Accessed February 23, 2009 The game world will often make use of science fiction, historic (particularly World War II) or modern military themes, with such antagonists as aliens, monsters, terrorists and soldiers of various types. Games feature multiple difficulty settings; in harder modes, enemies are tougher, more aggressive and do more damage, and power-ups are limited. In easier modes, the player can succeed through reaction times alone; on more difficult settings, it is often necessary to memorize the levels through trial and error.Boutros, Daniel, Difficulty is Difficult: Designing for Hard Modes in Games, GamaSutra, September 16, 2008, Accessed March 10, 2009
Multiplayer
First-person shooters may feature a multiplayer mode, taking place on specialized levels. Some games are designed specifically for multiplayer gaming, and have very limited single player modes in which the player competes against game-controlled characters termed "bots". Massively multiplayer online first-person shooters like those in the PlanetSide series allow thousands of players to compete at once in a persistent world.The Worlds First MMOFPS is nearly complete , IGN, May 5, 2003, Accessed February 23, 2009 Large scale multiplayer games allow multiple squads, with leaders issuing commands and a commander controlling the team's overall strategy.Kosak, Dave, Battlefield 2 (PC) , GameSpy, June 17, 2005, Accessed February 23, 2009 Multiplayer games have a variety of different styles of match.