The true milestones of FPS history?

[nokori3byo]

I recently happened upon this entry from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-person_shooter#Selected_important_games_in_FPS_development

It offers a surprisingly comprehensive overview of the FPS, stretching back to games which preceded Wolfenstein by many years. Now, obviously, some of these games [Doom comes to mind] were truly genre-defining. Others made significant contributions to the evolution of the FPS without truly revolutionizing it, as was the case with Descent and the original Dark Forces.

I must confess my own knowledge of the development of FPS to be full of holes. Some games, like System Shock and its sequel, I never played at all, others like the Quake series, I experienced only in multi-player form. As such, I don't feel qualified to make a top ten list of "The Most Innovative FPS Games", or what have you. I simply don't have the coverage.

Even so, I find it interesting to see which game elements are cited as having been having been more important that others. On the one hand, it seems a little laughable that the low-tech, 2.5D Duke Nukem ever could have competed with the original Quake, but from a design perspective, it added a level of interactivity that made other game environments seem sterile by comparison. For all its warts, Duke definitely had something going for it and its influence can still be seen today.

What aspects of the Half-Life games should we consider "revolutionary"? Could both of them feasibly be considered for inclusion as seperate entries in a single top ten list? Are their any games which should be added to the Wikipedia list? (I'd put in a vote for Jedi Outcast, myself) Lastly, have the techinal and design revolutions of recent years been of a greater or lesser magnitude than those of the past?

 

[Asknoone]

Whilst Half-life 2 wasn't truly revolutionary, it was evolutionary in its approach to perfectly tuned, varied and polished gameplay. It successfully moved the genre away from 'move from room to room, shoot' rinse, repeat, and instead provided ever changing gameplay per scene. The change came pretty fast, at least in my opinion, and I'm not sure it clicked with most as well as it should, but I'm positive we'll move out of this phase in a few years when shooters begin to show evidence of the tired and weary formula they all seem to adopt these days.
Of course, what can be considered revolutionary is the narrative delivery. The whole damn thing is genius, and the only flaw would be that its a little daunting for the average gamer, and it came totally out of the blue. I'm not sure people expected to have to invest so much effort into the game to properly understand what was going on.

What the **** Sin Episodes is doing on that list is beyond me. I don't give a damn whether it was the first episodic release; that game sucked.

 

[Lt. Drebin]

Good to see Metroid Prime getting some love. It was awesome seeing all the aspects of prior Metroid games being captured by a FPS. That and Theif immediatly struck me. Other than Sin Episodes, this is a respectable list.

I think the Wii has potential to revolutionize FPSs...as they are now anyway.

I think Castlevania is next to get the treatment. For better or worse....should be interesting.

 

[Warbie]

Good to see Metroid Prime getting some love.

Agreed. There's certainly no other fps that does what Metroid does. It's also nice to see Golden Eye too. It may not have been a revolutionary leap for the genre, but imo the most significant evolutionary one in terms of combat and steering gameplay away from the Doom corridor shooters we were playing untill then. Halo carried this on years later, and us such is as much a milestone as any other fps for me.

The original Half Life obviously deserves a mention - it being the only game i've played that's truly stuck me in the shoes of the protagonist - and RTCW multiplayer deserves all the praise it could possibly get - it's still the pinnacle of teambased fps.

 

[CyberPitz]

Good to see Rise of the Triad on there. <3<3

 

[nokori3byo]

Good to see Rise of the Triad on there. <3<3

Heh heh. I have fond memories of ROTT. Hearing the background music swapped for Christmas carols when playing on December 25th was a hoot. In the end though, I think it was doomed to mere cult status by the fact that the rooms were constructed entirely of 90 degree angles.

Dark Forces was my favourite FPS of that era. It featured tight level design, an interesting storyline, and some early assays at the kind of counter-intuitive puzzles that would become common in later shooters. Of course, it wasn't until HL1 that level design and the storyline would be merged together into a shapely whole.

It just occured to me that what HL1 did, in a sense, was to bridge the great FPS schism of '96 by taking the best elements of Quake (true 3d environment) and Duke 3D (interactivity and tight level design) and combining them. Like all genius moves, it was obvious only in hindsight.

 

[CyberPitz]

Heh heh. I have fond memories of ROTT. Hearing the background music swapped for Christmas carols when playing on December 25th was a hoot. In the end though, I think it was doomed to mere cult status by the fact that the rooms were constructed entirely of 90 degree angles.

Dark Forces was my favourite FPS of that era. It featured tight level design, an interesting storyline, and some early assays at the kind of counter-intuitive puzzles that would become common in later shooters. Of course, it wasn't until HL1 that level design and the storyline would be merged together into a shapely whole.

It just occured to me that what HL1 did, in a sense, was to bridge the great FPS schism of '96 by taking the best elements of Quake (true 3d environment) and Duke 3D (interactivity and tight level design) and combining them. Like all genius moves, it was obvious only in hindsight.

Oh man, I miss the days of multiplayer ROTT. Getting the Triads, shooting people...oh man. I loved how they modeled the bad guys as staff members...and El Oscuro was one hard mother fker to kill.

 

[Javert]

Good to see Dark Forces on there. They had so much innovation in hindsight.

-Grenades and mines
-Looking up and down
-Back-tracking across an ENTIRE map
-Infrared goggles
-Cinematics (I think)

 

[Asknoone]

Dark Forces was the first FPS I ever played. I really should get back to it one day.

 

[repiV]

I can't take that list seriously considering that it doesn't have Quake II (revolutionary at the time) and Quake III (widely regarded as the best competitive game ever and still sporting a huge community - the benchmark upon which all competitive games are judged, first game to require a 3D accelerator, years ahead of its time in many ways) on it.

 

[Vegeta897]

Yeah, articles like this don't belong on Wikipedia, there is far too much opinion involved.

 

[repiV]

Yeah, articles like this don't belong on Wikipedia, there is far too much opinion involved.

Agreed.
Common sense dictates certain games above others though...Quake III literally redefined online gaming. It was the first FPS designed solely for online play, it was and remains to this day the most refined and balanced game ever created, netcode that no other game has ever matched, an insanely enormous mod community so successful that after a couple of years, noone played the base game anymore. A community so much more skilled than that of any other FPS on the planet (excepting previous Quakes). A flawless game engine that is still used. It remains the game of choice for the CPL. In a nutshell, it's perfect.

Yet Doom 3 is on that list?
Doom 3 has a great engine and I actually quite like the game, but it really isn't revolutionary in any sense other than graphical and it hasn't changed the face of gaming whatsoever. If Quake III is OK Computer, Doom 3 is Hail to the Thief...

 

[DEATHMASTER]

Unreal tournament really brought the attitude.

 

[repiV]

Unreal tournament really brought the attitude.

UT is like a Honda CBR125...it's sleek and sexy, but serious gamers only use it as a step up to bigger things.

Unreal Tournament:

Quake III:

 

[Asknoone]

Yet Doom 3 is on that list?
Doom 3 has a great engine and I actually quite like the game, but it really isn't revolutionary in any sense other than graphical and it hasn't changed the face of gaming whatsoever. If Quake III is OK Computer, Doom 3 is Hail to the Thief...

This I agree with. I felt Doom 3 was on there simply for namesake.

 

[repiV]

This I agree with. I felt Doom 3 was on there simply for namesake.

I remember reading the PC Gamer review. They claimed it completely revolutionised singleplayer gaming and that nothing before it even remotely compared.

Bullshit. Were they on crack? It was a good game, but talk about overselling it...

 

[Asknoone]

You kid? I can't believe they'd say something like that. :-/

 

[repiV]

You kid? I can't believe they'd say something like that. :-/

I think it was the US PC Gamer.

 

[Asknoone]

That would explain it. US PC Gamer have been writing bollocks for years now; their Episode 2 preview was a joke. I remember reading their list of things they'd like to see answered, when all of them were actually answered in HL2. Tis a shame they let morons run a high profile publication.

 

[Beerdude26]

They claimed it completely revolutionised singleplayer gaming and that nothing before it even remotely compared.

I dunno, DooM 3 blackness looked really realistic...

 

[repiV]

That would explain it. US PC Gamer have been writing bollocks for years now; their Episode 2 preview was a joke. I remember reading their list of things they'd like to see answered, when all of them were actually answered in HL2. Tis a shame they let morons run a high profile publication.

The print gaming press is generally shit anyway, they have no clue what they're talking about and they especially have no idea what constitutes a good multiplayer game.

 

[kupocake]

Pathway's into Darkness hmm? Why is this included? Just because it's the first Mac FPS? What does the Mac have to do with FPS evolution?

Marathon's inclusion shows further evidence of editing by Mac Zealots. Because something is 'the most popular series among veteran Mac users' doesn't make it worthy of inclusion in a list of milestones. Other machines (far less niche than the Mac) don't get their 'most popular' FPS, so why is Marathon included?

Duke Nukem 3D doesn't belong on the list for any conceivable reason.

Jedi Knight's blurb about being 'The first FPS to implement lightsaber duels and force powers.' betrays how stupid the list is.

UT'S inclusion is great, but lip-service does need to be paid to Quake III as well. They were two brilliant but different courses for different horses.

Halo PC's inclusion is hilarious.

Doom 3's inclusion is technical, and has no relevence to the evolution of the genre.

SiN Episode 1 shouldn't be on the list simply because it ISN'T the first episodic release. Or else there would be a SiN Episodes 2.

 

[Javert]

Duke Nukem 3D doesn't belong on the list for any conceivable reason.

You can't diss the Duke, and it joined Quake that year as a standard-setting FPS.

 

[nokori3byo]

Duke Nukem 3D doesn't belong on the list for any conceivable reason.

While I agree with some of what you said, I disagree with this point. Despite having been flawed in any number of ways, Duke was innovative. I'd even go as far as to say that many of the innovations for which HL1 was praised originally appeared (albeit in crude, embryonic form) in Duke. Consider the way that HL's levels flow into each other seamlessly to give the game the appearance of being uninterrupted. Duke achieved a similar effect by having the beginning of one level resemble the end of the level that preceded it. In the second stage of Chapter 3, you can actually see into an area of the next level by peering through a crack in the wall. Closer inspection reveals it to be an illusion created with flat, textured facades, but it was cool idea nonetheless. There were other touches like the ability to swim (originally seen in Marathon ), jumping and crouching (borrowed from Dark Forces), and crawling through vents (a first, as far as I know) which were combined to create what was arguably the first Doom-clone to surpass its illustrious predecessor.

I hasten to qualify all this by saying that HL deserved the praise it had heaped on it for one simple reason: it took game elements which had been incomplete in earlier games and applied them rigorously, assimilating them into an integrated, organic whole. HL was not the first game to use scripted events to enhance gameplay. Duke had done it half a generation before, just not as well. The greatest single inspiration of HL may have been eschewing the gawky FMV cut scenes which had marred the otherwise excellent Jedi Knight and replace them with it's hallmark in-game presentation of the story.

Part of what I'm getting at here is that the question of what constitutes a genuine "revolution" may be more problematic that it's typically thought to be. Why does HL2 get all the props for pioneering the physics puzzle? It wasn't the fist game to foreground this element as anyone who remembers Trespasser can attest. It was, however, the first game to make physics puzzles integral to gameplay in a way that would create a truly satisfying gaming experience. Doing something first isn't as important as doing it right.

 

[99.vikram]

Are you dissin' Duke? It was the only noteworthy FPS in all history to bring some laughs to the (then stale) genre.
Serious Sam tries to do the same, but falls short IMO.

My problems with that list include -

a) Marathon and Goldeneye - I can understand the inclusion of Halo for it's vehicular combat, but WTF are these two games doing up there alongside Doom? :x

b) Doom 3 - Spectacular engine, lacklustre game. 'nuff said.

c) Zero Tolerance?! Not only have I never heard a mention of it, it didn't even bring any new technology or content to the genre!

d) Unreal?? This game was a failure on so many levels, it's not even funny. It wasn't until Unreal Tournament that this game series got any love.



What I agree with is the exclusion of Quake 3. Q3 is just a fresh coat of polish on the Deathmatch style which Doom invented, and Q2 later refined. :hmph:

 

[nokori3byo]

My problems with that list include -

a) Marathon and Goldeneye

I can see why they included Marathon. In the first place, it's not a top ten list, but simply a list of notable shooters. And Marathon was notable for shaking up the mission element in FPS, which prior to that had consisted of hitting an auto-destruct switch at the end of the level.

 

[Jintor]

The print gaming press is generally shit anyway, they have no clue what they're talking about and they especially have no idea what constitutes a good multiplayer game.

Good thing you said generally. Most Print Media I don't like, but Next Media tends to put good stuff out on a regular basis.

That's PCPowerPlay and Hyper for any Aussies out there. They're nice. Good magazines.

 

[Bad^Hat]

One I just thought of for Half-Life: damage indicators. I liked knowing where I was being shot from :O

Assuming it was the first. Don't remember seeing it in anything before that. But damn, must be one of the most ripped features ever if you think about it.

Edit - Yeah, I always liked PC Powerplay. Only have a few Hyper mags from way back, but they seemed alright too.

 

[Warbie]

a) Marathon and Goldeneye - I can understand the inclusion of Halo for it's vehicular combat, but WTF are these two games doing up there alongside Doom? :x

You can't be serious. GE is easily one of the best fps to come out on any platform, ever.

 

[Asknoone]

Goldeneye isn't as special as it's made out to be.

 

[Cormeh]

Yes it is. It showcased that FPS can be executed perfectly on consoles. Realistic and balanced with a good learning curve.

It pretty much started the console 4-way multiplayer game, and for me it's yet to be bettered in that aspect.

 

[MiccyNarc]

Where the hell is Far Cry?

One notable thing about 2004 was all the hype surrounding Doom III and HL2, then early in '04 Far Cry comes out with all the next gen graphics and features that were hyped for those other two games which came out months later.

Far Cry was like the first next-gen title to come out in '04, it certainly deserves to be on there more than DIII.

 

[CyberPitz]

Where the hell is Far Cry?

One notable thing about 2004 was all the hype surrounding Doom III and HL2, then early in '04 Far Cry comes out with all the next gen graphics and features that were hyped for those other two games which came out months later.

Far Cry was like the first next-gen title to come out in '04, it certainly deserves to be on there more than DIII.

I will agree, Far Cry was better than Doom3 IMHO...

But that isn't saying much to me

 

[kupocake]

d) Unreal?? This game was a failure on so many levels, it's not even funny. It wasn't until Unreal Tournament that this game series got any love.

Sure, it was pretty crap, but its inclusion for its large, impressive areas is justifiable IMO. The list isn't about how much 'love' a title got, though i'd dispute how successful Unreal was. Being an exciting new engine, countless people joining the 3D Graphics revolution have played the game, it was well reviewed and was enough of a success to launch an entire franchise (which constantly references the game that birthed it). I'd say it was quite probably the most successful game that fell in between the releases of Quake II and Half-Life.

You can't diss the Duke, and it joined Quake that year as a standard-setting FPS.

The list isn't about 'standards' and neither are my objections to its inclusion. I'm not 'dissing' the game, the list isn't about how cool or how well received these games are, hence I cannot be accused of slaughtering sacred cows. To me, Duke 3D was among the last of the first generation of FPS, probably the perfection of that generation. nokori3byo puts up a good defence, but it amounts only to Duke's inclusion of connected level-loads and vent crawling, both of which I'd argue are in System Shock 1, 2 years earlier (and Shock 1 isn't on the list).

 

[Warbie]

Yes it is. It showcased that FPS can be executed perfectly on consoles. Realistic and balanced with a good learning curve.

It pretty much started the console 4-way multiplayer game, and for me it's yet to be bettered in that aspect.

Agreed. On top of that it crapped all over pc fps of that age, and still betters most in many ways today (combat, weapons, hit animations - and just feeling good to play). GE is one of the most complete games i've played - single player was superb, filled with gadgets, weapons, varied missions/objectives, was really tough and took ages to finish, and multiplayer was as good as it gets. Despite having a campus network at uni and Quake/Doom/GTA/HL to play, it was GE that got by far the most play. The whole floor would get together almost daily, and that lasted for around 4 years.

GE is a medieval banquet of a fps, in comparison HL2 is a snack (albeit a very tasty one)

 

[Asknoone]

Warbie, you so old school. :imu:

Where the hell is Far Cry?

One notable thing about 2004 was all the hype surrounding Doom III and HL2, then early in '04 Far Cry comes out with all the next gen graphics and features that were hyped for those other two games which came out months later.

Far Cry was like the first next-gen title to come out in '04, it certainly deserves to be on there more than DIII.

Whilst I agree that Far Cry was more entertaining than Doom 3, that doesn't mean it belongs on that list. Far Cry didn't really do much at all.

 

[Warbie]

Warbie, you so old school. :imu:

Damn right :sniper:

 

[nokori3byo]

To me, Duke 3D was among the last of the first generation of FPS, probably the perfection of that generation. nokori3byo puts up a good defence, but it amounts only to Duke's inclusion of connected level-loads and vent crawling, both of which I'd argue are in System Shock 1, 2 years earlier (and Shock 1 isn't on the list).

For your part, you put up a good argument for SS1 being included on the list. What I've read about it makes it sound significant (though SHODAN has to be the stupidest name ever devised for a villain).

The thing is, Duke didn't only include connected level loads and vent crawling. It also had:

--Video monitors displaying different areas in the level.

--Innovative, highly functional weapons which could be used to solve puzzles.

--Scripted sequences which altered the structure of a level (earthquakes, etc.)

--Destroyable items, and a high degree of interactivity with the game's environment (you could actually play that pool table in the strip club).

And a load of other stuff...

To tell you the truth, I'm not delighted about being thrown into the position of defending Duke. It was never my favourite game, and I always felt as though it could have been truly great if only the developers hadn't let their own jackassery get the better of them at every turn. Still, I think it deserves credit, not only for what it brought to the FPS genre, but also for what it brought to computer gaming as a whole.

A big part of the game's contribution was drawing people's attention to elements of level design that (while not contributing directly to gameplay) made an area feel real and lived in. Take the lavatories, for instance. Dark Forces had included a single sequence in which stormtroopers and a Gamorean Guard were encountered in an (Imperial?) rest rooom, clearly for comic effect. Duke, on the other hand, included toilets in nearly every level. Why? Because they would be there--just like the bath's in Episode 1's hospital area. What function do they serve other than to make the environment more convincing?

*edited for spelling

 

[Jintor]

...and to let Duke go 'ahhhhh...' and raise his health by 10 points.

I think.

 

[Loke]

...and to let Duke go 'ahhhhh...' and raise his health by 10 points.

I think.

Then destroy the toilet and drink the water. :E