So You Want To/Write a First Person Shooter: Difference between revisions

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First-Person Shooters are, well, [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin|games about shooting people. From the]] ''[[Exactly What It Says On the Tin|first-person]]'' [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin|point of view]]. You're seeing through the eyes of a killer, and no, they're not all psychos, and yes, sometimes it's more than justified. You think those zombies are gonna kill ''themselves?''
First-Person Shooters are, well, [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|games about shooting people. From the]] ''[[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|first-person]]'' [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|point of view]]. You're seeing through the eyes of a killer, and no, they're not all psychos, and yes, sometimes it's more than justified. You think those zombies are gonna kill ''themselves?''


People play FPS games mainly to blow off steam, or because the game play is really fun. It's a visceral experience that can be gummed up by adding too much of the wrong detail. Specifically: Don't let the story get in the way of the gameplay. As [[Zero Punctuation|Yahtzee]] says in his review of ''[[Ninja Gaiden]] 2'' (not an FPS, but...):
People play FPS games mainly to blow off steam, or because the game play is really fun. It's a visceral experience that can be gummed up by adding too much of the wrong detail. Specifically: Don't let the story get in the way of the gameplay. As [[Zero Punctuation|Yahtzee]] says in his review of ''[[Ninja Gaiden]] 2'' (not an FPS, but...):
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Take it seriously: But run with it, have the players character really be an superhuman psychopath who slaughters hundreds of people. (Hey, it worked for [[Halo]].) Of course, if you paint the player as the villain, you're unlikely to be very popular, so find a constructive use for your superhuman psycho.
Take it seriously: But run with it, have the players character really be an superhuman psychopath who slaughters hundreds of people. (Hey, it worked for [[Halo]].) Of course, if you paint the player as the villain, you're unlikely to be very popular, so find a constructive use for your superhuman psycho.


[[Standard FPS Guns|Don't include the old standbys]]: Wait, [[Not a Subversion|this isn't a subversion]], this is an ''a''version. Unless you call attention to it (e.g., with finding the standard guns but not using them, or having a gun ''look'' standard but ''act'' strangely). Anyway. The standard guns are ingrained into the genre; this gives you a golden chance to ignore them and try for unique and gimmicky weaponry. But remember to make them ''good'': People complain about bad gimmicks but almost always praise good gimmicks. For a good example, look at Half-Life 2's gravity gun. Might be hard to do but if you get people to think in weird ways and jump through your silly hoops to use an arsenal of awesome gimmick guns it would be totally worth it. Alternatively, just pump the player character with [[Bio Shock|Plasmids]] or have them become the host of [[The Darkness|a demon that likes the shade]] and have him or her shoot lightning or impale enemies without having to resorting to any type of gun!
[[Standard FPS Guns|Don't include the old standbys]]: Wait, [[Not a Subversion|this isn't a subversion]], this is an ''a''version. Unless you call attention to it (e.g., with finding the standard guns but not using them, or having a gun ''look'' standard but ''act'' strangely). Anyway. The standard guns are ingrained into the genre; this gives you a golden chance to ignore them and try for unique and gimmicky weaponry. But remember to make them ''good'': People complain about bad gimmicks but almost always praise good gimmicks. For a good example, look at Half-Life 2's gravity gun. Might be hard to do but if you get people to think in weird ways and jump through your silly hoops to use an arsenal of awesome gimmick guns it would be totally worth it. Alternatively, just pump the player character with [[Bioshock|Plasmids]] or have them become the host of [[The Darkness|a demon that likes the shade]] and have him or her shoot lightning or impale enemies without having to resorting to any type of gun!


Just listen to Yahtzee, in his review of ''Painkiller'':
Just listen to Yahtzee, in his review of ''Painkiller'':
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Alternately, you can ''not'' have a person willing to kill people he's never met. At least at first. Explore what happens to a person forced to do so anyway, and maybe even give the player a chance to ''not'' kill anyone.
Alternately, you can ''not'' have a person willing to kill people he's never met. At least at first. Explore what happens to a person forced to do so anyway, and maybe even give the player a chance to ''not'' kill anyone.


Also, you can always make a female hero. How many FPS's have those? ([[Portal (Video Game)|Portal]], [[No One Lives Forever]], [[Mirrors Edge]], [[Perfect Dark]], [[Metroid]] [[Metroid Prime|Prime]], and [[Clive Barkers Jericho]] [[Body Surf|(technically)]])
Also, you can always make a female hero. How many FPS's have those? ([[Portal (series)|Portal]], [[No One Lives Forever]], [[Mirror's Edge]], [[Perfect Dark]], [[Metroid]] [[Metroid Prime|Prime]], and [[Clive Barker's Jericho]] [[Body Surf|(technically)]])


Enemy-wise, you can have [[Those Wacky Nazis|Nazis]], aliens, zombies, lots of stuff. And since most enemies are going to be onscreen for all of three seconds, they should be distinct, colorful, and interesting.
Enemy-wise, you can have [[Those Wacky Nazis|Nazis]], aliens, zombies, lots of stuff. And since most enemies are going to be onscreen for all of three seconds, they should be distinct, colorful, and interesting.
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''[[Marathon]]:'' The first game to use mouselook properly, Marathon took the FPS genre into daring new story-based directions. Rather than an excuse plot or bare sketch--did you know Quake's story was written as an afterthought while composing the manual?--Marathon's story is the heart of the game, and it's no slouch. An affecting, truly epic science fiction adventure that still sports a sense of flippant black and self-mocking humor.
''[[Marathon]]:'' The first game to use mouselook properly, Marathon took the FPS genre into daring new story-based directions. Rather than an excuse plot or bare sketch--did you know Quake's story was written as an afterthought while composing the manual?--Marathon's story is the heart of the game, and it's no slouch. An affecting, truly epic science fiction adventure that still sports a sense of flippant black and self-mocking humor.


''[[Half-Life (Video Game)|Half-Life 1, 2, and Episodes]]'': The most influential [[FPS|FPSes]] since Doom. Besides innovating storytelling, they also added an enormous injection of realism into gameplay. Reviewers marveled at how guns didn't float in mid-air, and powerups were placed logically within a seemingly-real setting. ''Half-Life'' had an enormous but functional arsenal, too. ''[[Half Life 2]]'' gutted the array of available weapons, which some critics still harp on it for, but nobody would trade the Gravity Gun for more traditional weaponry. Like Doom, these are must-plays, and perfect compliments to each other: Doom for pure arcade-style "gamist" shoot-'em-up action, level design, and difficulty, and Half-Life for an innovative, "narrativist" approach and immersion.
''[[Half-Life (series)|Half-Life 1, 2, and Episodes]]'': The most influential [[FPS|FPSes]] since Doom. Besides innovating storytelling, they also added an enormous injection of realism into gameplay. Reviewers marveled at how guns didn't float in mid-air, and powerups were placed logically within a seemingly-real setting. ''Half-Life'' had an enormous but functional arsenal, too. ''[[Half-Life 2]]'' gutted the array of available weapons, which some critics still harp on it for, but nobody would trade the Gravity Gun for more traditional weaponry. Like Doom, these are must-plays, and perfect compliments to each other: Doom for pure arcade-style "gamist" shoot-'em-up action, level design, and difficulty, and Half-Life for an innovative, "narrativist" approach and immersion.


''[[Golden Eye 1997 (Video Game)|GoldenEye N64]]:'' Called the first great console FPS (some still insist it's the only good console FPS). Goldeneye was a happy accident and [[The Problem With Licensed Video Games|a miracle]] for the early N64. Some of its innovations, like multiple objectives depending on mission difficulty, still haven't seen wide replication.
''[[GoldenEye 007 (1997 video game)|GoldenEye N64]]:'' Called the first great console FPS (some still insist it's the only good console FPS). Goldeneye was a happy accident and [[The Problem With Licensed Video Games|a miracle]] for the early N64. Some of its innovations, like multiple objectives depending on mission difficulty, still haven't seen wide replication.


''[[Perfect Dark]]:'' The only game to use the exact same engine as ''GoldenEye''. A [[Spiritual Successor]] that introduced several improvements (including an improved version of ''Goldeneye's'' multiplayer mode, several ''new'' multiplayer modes, secondary fire modes for almost all the guns and some ''very'' unique weapons) while still playing more or less the same as ''Goldeneye'', and was almost universally praised, though it failed to sell as well as it's counterpart.
''[[Perfect Dark]]:'' The only game to use the exact same engine as ''GoldenEye''. A [[Spiritual Successor]] that introduced several improvements (including an improved version of ''Goldeneye's'' multiplayer mode, several ''new'' multiplayer modes, secondary fire modes for almost all the guns and some ''very'' unique weapons) while still playing more or less the same as ''Goldeneye'', and was almost universally praised, though it failed to sell as well as it's counterpart.
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''[[Halo]]:'' While reviewer and internet opinions are split, Halo is one of the bestselling video game series ever. Even if you don't like the standard-issue (but well-written) sci-fi plot, Halo popularized a few odd game elements--limited weapons, seamless vehicle transition, a grenade button, and recharging health--in a massively entertaining package. If you scoff at Halo being innovative, recall that Half-Life 2 borrowed seamless vehicle transition from Halo--and nearly had "only two weapons + gravgun and crowbar" as its weapon inventory.
''[[Halo]]:'' While reviewer and internet opinions are split, Halo is one of the bestselling video game series ever. Even if you don't like the standard-issue (but well-written) sci-fi plot, Halo popularized a few odd game elements--limited weapons, seamless vehicle transition, a grenade button, and recharging health--in a massively entertaining package. If you scoff at Halo being innovative, recall that Half-Life 2 borrowed seamless vehicle transition from Halo--and nearly had "only two weapons + gravgun and crowbar" as its weapon inventory.


''[[Portal (Video Game)|Portal]]:'' A great subversion of the entire genre: you have one gun, it doesn't blow anything up, and the only killing you can do is through a sort of portal-judo (and then only to robots). It also features an interesting (and sorta weird) plot and amazing level design
''[[Portal (series)|Portal]]:'' A great subversion of the entire genre: you have one gun, it doesn't blow anything up, and the only killing you can do is through a sort of portal-judo (and then only to robots). It also features an interesting (and sorta weird) plot and amazing level design


''[[Quake]]:'' One of the most important, entertaining, and outlandish shooters in history. Doom popularized the FPS genre - Quake is what popularized multiplayer in shooters. It set a benchmark in pure atmosphere (helped along by Trent Reznor), and had some of the most grim, scary, and best levels and monsters ever designed. The gameplay was fast and engaging. To this day, there is a large community for modding, speedrunning, and playing Quake.
''[[Quake]]:'' One of the most important, entertaining, and outlandish shooters in history. Doom popularized the FPS genre - Quake is what popularized multiplayer in shooters. It set a benchmark in pure atmosphere (helped along by Trent Reznor), and had some of the most grim, scary, and best levels and monsters ever designed. The gameplay was fast and engaging. To this day, there is a large community for modding, speedrunning, and playing Quake.


''[[Star Trek Elite Force]]'': One of the best examples of how to use the game genre as an adaptation of another property like a series like ''[[Star Trek Voyager]]''.
''[[Star Trek Elite Force]]'': One of the best examples of how to use the game genre as an adaptation of another property like a series like ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]''.


''[[Bio Shock]]:'' Being a spiritual successor to the popular ''[[System Shock]] 2'', Bioshock makes use of similar gameplay that allows the player to utilize guns as well as customizable superpowers to defeat enemies. Although not new to videogames, the game featured multiple endings but required the player to attain them in a very unorthodox way {{spoiler|by deciding whether the player should save little mutant girls or kill them for more power}}.
''[[Bioshock]]:'' Being a spiritual successor to the popular ''[[System Shock]] 2'', Bioshock makes use of similar gameplay that allows the player to utilize guns as well as customizable superpowers to defeat enemies. Although not new to videogames, the game featured multiple endings but required the player to attain them in a very unorthodox way {{spoiler|by deciding whether the player should save little mutant girls or kill them for more power}}.


''[[Call of Duty 4]]: Modern Warfare:'' Takes the basics of ''Half-Life'''s first-person narrative and combines it with a [[War Is Hell]] story, creating an atmospheric and believable narrative, with bits of [[Nightmare Fuel]] here and there. Also has an epic multiplayer.
''[[Call of Duty 4]]: Modern Warfare:'' Takes the basics of ''Half-Life'''s first-person narrative and combines it with a [[War Is Hell]] story, creating an atmospheric and believable narrative, with bits of [[Nightmare Fuel]] here and there. Also has an epic multiplayer.


''[[Team Fortress 2 (Video Game)|Team Fortress 2]]:'' Not a huge innovator, but rather an example of what you get when you crank the standard FPS tropes [[Up to Eleven]]. An insane, over-the-top thrill ride with a perfect [[Excuse Plot]] that does nothing other than justify a bunch of quirky psychopaths brutalizing each other. The PCs are absurd parodies of stock FPS characters, but still rounded out and endearing. The game's humor is at least as important as the action.
''[[Team Fortress 2]]:'' Not a huge innovator, but rather an example of what you get when you crank the standard FPS tropes [[Up to Eleven]]. An insane, over-the-top thrill ride with a perfect [[Excuse Plot]] that does nothing other than justify a bunch of quirky psychopaths brutalizing each other. The PCs are absurd parodies of stock FPS characters, but still rounded out and endearing. The game's humor is at least as important as the action.


=== '''The Epic Fails''' ===
=== '''The Epic Fails''' ===
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