As a FPS fan for many long years, there's definitely been an evolution. No longer the FPS genre is primary dominant for the PC platform, games being enthusiastically arcadey (games being simple and fast paced), arena shooters being relevant, and many more to list. Nowadays, we see a focus on both console and PC platforms and gamers seem to craze a more "realistic" experience in their shooting games. There's also games that try to include story which was forbidden back in the '90s.
So what's next for the future of first person shooters? Should we go back to the world war settings? Should we combine both the modern and old elements of the two styled shooters? Well, my friends, I personally believe the next step to the future of shooters is eSports.
He's no longer competing, but he makes electrical products for gamers.
I never thought eSports would be so big when I was first exposed to gaming as a living by watching an episode of MTV's True Life: I'm A Gamer back in 2003. The man's named was Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel. This fascinated me because I always thought there were only gamers like me who just played the game as a hobby, but not as a job. He would go through tournaments with a decent amount of money on the line and win them. He was doing well with a lot of these tournaments where he was able to make a living off of it. I also thought it was kind of a fad at that time, but I was so completely wrong looking back then.
Fast forward to today's times, it's gotten so much more mainstream success as colleges and universities are supporting scholarships to these kinds of games. Not only that, but developers are starting to have more focus on trying to push competitive gaming or eSports as an official sport like basketball or football. On January 28-31 2016, ESPN aired a Halo 5 X Games Aspen tournament on their main channel.
Your new gold medalists: the Evil Genius Halo team.
Professional players are getting many sponsors to help them for traveling expenses and providing them a bonus income. Also, a website called Twitch. allows professional players to play for their fans and they can also make some money if their watchers are interested in donating money to them. This just shows you how eSports is becoming more bigger and alive than ever. Viewership is much bigger than ever as this article will explain everything to you: http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2015/12/11/monstrous-viewership-numbers-show-league-of-legends-is-still-esports-king/#1453b5394021
It looks like the growth of eSports or exposure only seems to continue.
The production value of these tournaments aren't too shabby.
With that said, first person shooters are starting to make a comeback in the eSport scene which been primarily dominated by mobas (multiplayer online battle arena). The prize pool are also getting bigger for these games like Call of Duty Championship 2016 has a prize pool of more than $3 million dollars based on multiple events and tournaments. Counter Strike: Global Offensive is also going to have its first $1 million dollar tournament at the end of March to beginning of April.
Due to all of this is happening, it inspired me to write my investigative story on eSport scholarship for colleges/universities. It's definitely going well and I've been getting a lot of interesting answers. I am happy to see a bright future for eSports, but personally, I do hope to see first person shooters not get completely focused on this style of games.
Cyberpunk is beautiful.
I believe there is still room for future based or cyberpunk driven first person shooters. I always dream of lingering myself and being able to walk around the beautiful cities of Blade Runner, and just shooting whatever nasty thing is a threat to me. There are some games that have done that, but it just didn't click with me completely. I still believe there is room for more experimentation or perfection.
Why not bring more female protagonists to the genre? We have so many male protagonists and it could be interesting to have a strong heroine throw into the mix. I hope to see single player games still being a main focus to the future of the shooter genre. I come from it and I don't want to see it die as I am aware of how popular multiplayer can be versus playing by your self against AI. It would be a travesty to see the FPS genre only focusing on multiplayer because there are many games I can think of where the single player aspect is extremely well done.
It's always great to play your favorite Xbox 360 games without needing to hook up your actual console to play these games. I was probably the only guy who was more interested for being able to play the original Doom and its sequel on my Xbox One than playing the highly anticipated Fallout 4 back in 2015. As you are reading this blog, there are many games that are highly requested for future backwards compatibility updates. Red Dead Redemption and the original Dark Soul were recently updated and what's next is yet to be confirmed from Microsoft.
I do have my own games that I would want to support, but since this blog is mostly comprised of first person shooters, why not mention the first person shooters that I would love to see and be able to play conveniently without needing my Xbox 360.
Quake Arena Arcade - I never ever thought that a game like Quake III Arena would actually end up coming to Xbox 360 back in 2009. Once I found out the rumors were true, I was definitely excited as you people should know; it was my first taste of first person shooter multiplayer carnage. This port was quite controversial when it was first released. There was already a free to play version called Quake Live released on the PC and most gamers generally prefer to play these frantically fast paced shooters with a mouse and keyboard due to the whole popular belief that aiming with a mouse is easier and more precise than aiming with a controller. Most people just didn't feel like it was worth the $15 at that time, but it's been reduced to $5.
I have my own opinions when it comes to that debate, but that's for another story. I pick this game because I had a great time playing it when there were a lot of people playing it back in late 2010 when it was released. The game itself was kind of like a recollection of Quake III Arena and its expansion's best maps including new maps which were mostly good. I really did enjoy playing it with a controller and I personally feel the fact that most people are going to have a challenge playing this game with a controller where I actually don't increases the enjoyment factor. It's just fun to stomp on kids and leave them feeling aggravated while playing. I also want this game to be picked because it's one of my favorite games and one of my favorites from id Software too. If this game gets updated, I can see more people will be playing it online and that means I can enjoy myself even more when playing against players rather than bots or AI controlled players.
Duke Nukem 3D - This game was one of my earliest games I've played as a child with Doom. It is fairly similar to Doom, but it's also just as awesome too. I pick this one because I do think it's great that we have the classic Doom games being playable on Xbox One, but it's just kind of wrong not to have Duke Nukem. It definitely needs to be here and it's a game that stands the test of time and easily one of the best single player driven first person shooter I've played. Also, Duke Nukem is probably the coolest protagonist to a video game ever.
My all time favorite Call of Duty map: Crash.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - My all time favorite Call of Duty! I generally don't care much for single player when it comes to the Call of Duty series, but I absolutely loved the multiplayer when I was instantly hooked on Modern Warfare 2 and it made me want to go back and try out the original Modern Warfare which is this game. Call of Duty 4 definitely fits more of my style than Modern Warfare 2 as the game is more "run and gun" friendly. Basically, I'm trying to say it's more faster paced and require more aggression than Modern Warfare 2. I just think it's a better game when it comes balance and map design.
I pick this game because I do feel like it needs this update to populate the game. It does have a decent amount of players still playing, but I do feel like it isn't the same when I was playing it rather religiously back in 2011-2012. I do miss the days when I can actually find games of Headquarters. It will also be nice if I can find multiple ground war lobbies and not just only 1 or 2 most of the time. Most importantly, if I need to find a lobby with better connection, having more players playing will resolve the issue.
Marathon: Durandal features an exclusive mode called Survival. It's total carnage man.
Marathon: Durandal: - My favorite Marathon game. Obviously, it needs to be playable on the Xbox One just because of that. On a more serious note, I do want it to be updated to let people try it out because as a '90s first person shooter, it didn't really gain much attention compared to Doom or Duke Nukem 3D. I think if this game is backwards compatible, there's definitely going to be attraction if people find the game interesting enough while researching it. This game was like Quake Arena Arcade, the console port was fairly controversial as Bungie (the actual game developers) did release the entire trilogy all for free, but this port was very well done and the guys who did this port (Freeverse) were hardcore Marathon fans as themselves. It's basically a love service and that $10 was fairly priced.
That's pretty much it. I do got a lot more I can list, but I don't find them as beneficial or meaningful compared to the ones I wrote about. What will I write about next on this blog? Tune in next week.
During my younger years, I played a little computer game called "Doom." I never thought this simple game would be much of a life changing moment at that time, but as time progressed, I learned to realize I had and still have a excessive amount of passion for gaming. Not only that, it made me discover my love to the company who made Doom, id Software.
After playing the Doom games, I became really interested in other games they had developed like Wolfenstein or Quake. They have made other games that aren't first person shooters, but they're known for being godfathers or the pioneers of first person shooters. I never seem to have too much interest in their non first person shooters games from what I've seen on Youtube. After playing and studying their games for many years, I come to realize there are so many things that makes me really love this company and why I am still a fan to this day.
I love how their games have been so action-packed and fueled with so many meaningful design structure whether it's how the levels are designed or how the game's have so much replay value. I find it crazy that a lot of their well recognized first person shooters are generally from the early to late '90s, and they still hold up so extremely well. There are many first person shooters that try to make players feel like your typical '80s action hero like Rambo. Someone who's fearless, dominant, independent, and most importantly, lethal. Id on the other hand just seems to nail it down with their games if you really want to have that kind of experience.
KILL OR BE KILLED!
You're generally alone, you are given with a lot of weaponry, you have access to some unorthodox weapons, there's a lot of shooting to be done, and there's always something that just keeps enhancing the one man army vibe throughout their single player driven games. It could be certain power ups or just the feedback you get when you kill a hostile target. There's just too many to list and these guys are just masters at doing this kind of job.
There were many memorable combat sections where id really showed off how talented they are when it comes to creating fun and interesting firefights. The one that comes to my mind is Doom II's seventh level: Dead Simple or MAP07. This level was one of the most memorable levels in Doom II because it introduced two new enemies to the series. They were the Mancubus and Arachnotron. However, the combat really shined by the well and proper placements of these enemies and it had somewhat of an arena feel to like going into a gladiator arena. Once you kill the all the Mancubi, the game surprises you by throwing an abundance amount of Arachnotrons to keep you on your toes again. There were many of these kinds of great combat throughout Doom II.
I am mostly focusing on the single player aspect so far, but I also do enjoy the multiplayer component too. Quake 3 Arena was actually my first multiplayer driven first person shooter I've played back when I was really into single player driven first person shooters. Quake 3 Arena may seemed fairly simplistic compared to other big multiplayer games at that time like the original Unreal Tournament, but I always loved how the game played. It had a great movement system, the maps were well done, and of course, the shooting felt great and satisfying just like the games they made before this one. Just like their single player driven games, you can feel like a walking force; only if you're able to play the game well though.
The Longest Yard: first map I played Quake III on.
It is a shame that these kinds of games don't seem to be too popular nowadays. Both on consoles and PC seem to favor the more "military and realistic" kinds of shooter. There isn't anything wrong with those games as long they play well, but I hope to see it come back one day because it was really my first love for multiplayer in the first person shooter genre. It's where I come from and I do believe there is still room for these kinds of shooters to be successful.
Rage got the looks, but lacks substance.
I've always believed Id's glory days were around the early to late '90s. Let's say it started with Wolfenstein 3D (1992) and their last excellent game was Quake III Arena (1999). Their other games like Doom III and Rage has been okay in terms the enjoyment factor, but I do feel like they're not in the same league as the games they made in the '90s. Rage left me with concern because I thought the game was a disappointment and it didn't live up to the standards of the Wolfenstein, Doom, and Quake games as it was a new IP from id. There was so many questionable design choices I had with the game whether it's the main missions, side objectives, the balance between the player and AI and many more.
Their older games always felt like they were pushing the boundaries of what first person shooters can be and also setting up benchmarks of what excellent first person shooter design is. Rage just didn't feel like that unfortunately, but I do hope they will continue the series. There's definitely potential and I do believe there will be a future for this series to be just as good as their older games.
They are currently working on the new Doom which I am extremely excited for. I've been pleased with all the news that I've been keeping up with. I was also fortunate to be a part of the closed alpha and I hoped the feedback I gave to Id Software meant something to them because I truly did enjoy every moment of it. I can't wait for May 13 because I know I'm going to be playing until my eyes bleed. I really hope this game will bring massive success whether it's commercially, critically, to new and old fans. I just want to this game to succeed. It does hurt me when I see a lot of gamers nowadays generally look at id Software to be a "relic of the past" when I truly believe they can still make good games deep inside. They just need a sense of motivation and I believe Rage's disappointing sales and success will allow Id to truly deliver the next Doom game with a lot of heart and soul.
Ultra Violence.
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood was my favorite one out of the two.
I do want to mention a bit about Wolfenstein: The New Order and it's expansion, The Old Blood. Both of these games were new installments to the Wolfenstein series, but id didn't make them. A new company called MachineGames did and they did an astounding job! I do believe the fact that these guys rebooted the series and made it successful also brings a lot of positive energy to Doom. Doom is being publish by the same publisher who published the last two Wolfenstein games, Bethesda. However, Doom is in the same situation like Wolfenstein was: a old first person shooter series trying to stay relevant to the new age gamers, but stay true to its roots at the same time. It's very possible it could end up following the same footsteps too.
As a long time fan of this company, I feel like id Software as a company is a friend I never met or know personally, but at the same time, deep down in my heart, I feel like we can get along with each other so easily. I say this because the style and design that these guys strive for in their games makes me realize I think similarly too.
Selfish advertisement...A video I made for Doom's 20th anniversary.
Through out the gaming community, there are people who love first person shooters and how there are so many to choose from. It's like going to a buffet, so many options to choose what you want to eat. All the stuff you eat is food. However, sometimes a buffet might lack balance. What if you aren't a meat eater and you're a vegetarian? From my experience, it seems like "normal" buffets generally don't care about that type of stuff. This can be said the same for the first person shooter genre.
There are so many of them and it seems like developers are more interested in making first person shooters than making real time strategy or survival horror games. Is it wrong for developers to not "challenge themselves" and try to do something that's not a shooter?
Without a doubt, first person shooters have been so popular in the last 10 years or so. It's always been a competitive market and there could be many reasons why it is. It could be the fact that most first person shooters are easy for people to get into and learn the basics. It could be the gargantuan success of Call of Duty whether it's breaking record sales on launch day or being one of the most played games. There are so many reasons to list. Why would developers not make them if they've been so successful for many years?
With that said, I personally think first person shooters in this day and age don't seem to push the boundaries. Even John Romero, one of the pioneers of the genre, admits we haven't scratched the surface of the genre. Click here.
Many shooters to this day just seem to play it safe rather than really taking some risks to breathe a new sense of life to the genre. Perhaps it's done for a business related decision, but that's also another issue at the same time. Why not try to do something that people aren't expecting your everyday first person shooter is doing? I still believe there's room for a first person shooter to mess around in a cyberpunk setting. What about co-op? We've got some successful co-op shooters, but there's still room to experiment and create new experiences to the genre.
Aim Down Sight. I'm sure you've seen this a lot in current first person shooters.
I always loved how Quake was an unorthodox game. It takes place in the medieval ages and you have guns..Yes, you read that clearly. It's a ridiculous setting, but it's something different and it's also something that the genre hasn't experimented enough. Speaking of unorthodox games, that's one of the main reasons why I love Bungie.
The original Marathon was released during the early days of first person shooters. Basically, when the genre was an infant and developers were still figuring out what they can do with this genre and push it to its fullest potential. Marathon was inspired by Doom which is basically the first game that popularized the genre and pushed the standards even higher after Wolfenstein 3D. Doom mostly followed the same formula from Wolfenstein 3D and basically perfected it. Marathon started taking cues from Doom, but added it's own unique characteristic to it. It included duel-wielding, story, secondary functions to the weapons, and included techniques that'll be a stable feature for future first person shooters like rocket jumping. All of these features were nearly or nonexistent at the time! Not only that, the game didn't play anything similar despite of having influences.
Halo is no different. I remember when first person shooters were considered more of a PC platform and it was generally the favorable platform for gamers to play on and developers to create on. Halo: Combat Evolved completely changed it all. I was mostly a PC gamer due to my love for first person shooters, but I definitely started playing more consoles games because of the original Halo. What made me love the original Halo was how different the game was from what I was playing before or the games it was competing at the time. It had a different weapon system which allowed you to have two weapons only and you had to scavenge for weapons which added a new sense of strategy. It's famous for standardizing health regeneration which wasn't a common feature for shooters at that time and an emphasis on story which was still not a common feature for shooters back in the late '90s to early 2000s. I literally might go off topic if I start focus on the things that makes Halo different from shooters before Halo existed.
To keep things brief, Halo followed the same footsteps of Marathon. It didn't play anything similar around other games at its time, but it had a lot of influences from other games that were out before its inception like Doom or Marathon. Basically, these two games from Bungie are prime examples of what I feel the first person shooter genre needs to do to keep itself from being stagnant. It's a shame I can't speak the same for Bungie's recent Destiny, but if there is a time where a revolution needs to happen for the first person shooter genre, the time is now.
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