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First Person Shooter Family Tree Construction

K

kamspy

Member
I'd like to take a look at what I call the "lineage" of FPS games, and speculate on where the next breakthrough might be.

First off we've got WolfenDoom. Those games are easy to quantify. No independent movement of the crosshair would be it's most easily defined feature.

Next up the Quake/UE style. Fast movement. Arena style maps in multiplayer. Floaty jumps. Variety of hitscan and projectile weapons. This spawned a TON of clones and was daddy for years. I would say that Halo brought this style to console by slowing the gameplay down and taking some verticality out of the maps. With great success btw. It's not a knock at all. Team Fortress 2 would be the other "last survivor" from this genre.

Next up is controversial, but I don't think one can make a case for anything other than Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. Made by 2015 Studio aka Infinity Ward aka West and Zampella aka W and Z aka Respawn aka Ason Unique... wait a second. Scratch the last one. Respawn is the current form.

This model of FPS would best be defined by iron sights. Love em, hate em, indifferent, we don't care. Very few FPS games can come out today without them. I'll take them 99% of the time unless it's just painfully clear that the game shouldn't have them (which atm I'm having a hard time figuring out what scenario would benefit from a lack of stable aim at the expense of FOV, since it's a lot like shooting a real gun).

and set pieces. This was the grand daddy of "walk past this invisible line and watch an awesome building in the distance explode into bits". We can trace a ton of games back to these roots. Battlefield. Current Medal of Honor. Killzone. Resistance. etc. etc.


There are some outliers that I cannot place. Battlefield Bad Company 2 had fully destructible maps. I can't think of any other modern FPS that offers this (you suck so bad at life EA). I'd lean toward the MOH:AA family tree, but the map size and destruction kinda spin it off. If DICE had ran with the idea of destructible environments I think they'd have the next ring in the family tree. Shame they abandoned it. Counter Strike is a game I don't know much about. I suck terribly at it so I don't play it much, but I'm leaning towards crediting it to the arena lineage. Sure there's no jumping and I think all the weapons are hitscan, but the pace and emphasis on hip fire lead me to pin it there. OG Rainbow 6 and Ghost Recon games were just too real for the world. We didn't deserve them, so they have no category other than "we use to have nice things".

What do you guys think? It seems like Titanfall is blending MOH:AA with the movement of an arena shooter, which is a really cool prospect since for a long time everyone thought it was impossible to make fast precise movements on a controller. I didn't get to play the beta, but from what I've read and watched on YT it seems like they are pulling it off.


What will be the next advancement in the FPS gameplay pantheon? Am I missing on that's already here?
 
G

Gummb

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about Rayman Legends Wii U.
This is a cool writeup that is also kind of sad... it's unfortunate that there's such a lack of diversity and that we can, to some level of confidence, shrink the FPS genre down so simply.

I kind of wish that the Wii garnered more FPS attention because a Wii-mote-first FPS would have had a completely different feel (some mix between arena and precision). I still think Metroid Prime Trilogy demonstrates a level of design that no FPS has matched.
 
H

Heshinsi

"playing" dumb? unpossible
What about Halo for consoles? It made regenerating shields, and the current shooter control layout, a standard thing.
 
K

kamspy

Member
Gummb said:
This is a cool writeup that is also kind of sad... it's unfortunate that there's such a lack of diversity and that we can, to some level of confidence, shrink the FPS genre down so simply.

I kind of wish that the Wii garnered more FPS attention because a Wii-mote-first FPS would have had a completely different feel (some mix between arena and precision). I still think Metroid Prime Trilogy demonstrates a level of design that no FPS has matched.
Click to expand...

I bought Red Steel at launch and had a ton of fun with it. I totally forgot about the Wii angle. Makes me want a Super Wii even more now. I know Red Steel was rough around the edges, but I'm a FPS campaign junkie, and I loved it. Played through it several times just toying with the engine, AI, and seeing what was possible with the control scheme.

Great choice. Nintendo can get fucked with EA for not making a Super Wii so I could properly explore this potential FPS subgenre.

Any reason I shouldn't grab a copy of Red Steel 2 if I enjoyed the first one as much as I did? I'll concede that a lot of the enjoyment was the novelty of the Wii control. I was playing it more than Wii Sports or Zelda (which didn't really use it anyway).

Heshinsi said:
What about Halo for consoles? It made regenerating shields, and the current shooter control layout, a standard thing.
Click to expand...

I think Bungie found the best way to put an Arena shooter on consoles. They're the grand daddy of dual analog FPS controls, but IW took that crown with COD4. They also seem to be proving that arena style movement is possible on a dual analog pad with Titanfall. Either way, they're accomplishments in bringing FPS to the couch land them a spot high in my FPS Hall of Fame. I haven't played Destiny yet, but I do think they've fallen behind W and Z in every measurable category if we're talking right now.
 
A

atr0cious

Member
kamspy said:
Next up is controversial, but I don't think one can make a case for anything other than Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. Made by 2015 Studio aka Infinity Ward aka West and Zampella aka W and Z aka Respawn aka Ason Unique... wait a second. Scratch the last one. Respawn is the current form.
Click to expand...

MoHAA is still the best FPS of all time, because it took real world structures and made amazing maps with them. Plus it took the twitch arena style and married it with the now standard modern duck and cover corridor combat. It's also probably the last AAA fps to have lean while moving, as the expansion pack released months later would take it out. Also health packs which add for some amazing cat and mouse. I still hop on a server now and again, and it still holds up. Truly a work of art, and it's sad it's reputation is a smouldering wreck now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmdVuflSN4U
 
G

Gummb

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about Rayman Legends Wii U.
kamspy said:
I bought Red Steel at launch and had a ton of fun with it. I totally forgot about the Wii angle. Makes me want a Super Wii even more now. I know Red Steel was rough around the edges, but I'm a FPS campaign junkie, and I loved it. Played through it several times just toying with the engine, AI, and seeing what was possible with the control scheme.

Great choice. Nintendo can get fucked with EA for not making a Super Wii so I could properly explore this potential FPS subgenre.

Any reason I shouldn't grab a copy of Red Steel 2 if I enjoyed the first one as much as I did? I'll concede that a lot of the enjoyment was the novelty of the Wii control. I was playing it more than Wii Sports or Zelda (which didn't really use it anyway).
Click to expand...

Red Steel 2 is a lot better than the first. I think you'll love its campaign if you enjoyed the first.
 
nkarafo

nkarafo

Member
What about Goldeneye?

It had Sniper rifle, stealth, a decent AI compared to other FPSes at the time, silencer, non-linear mission objectives, cameras that could spot you, enemies that would run for alarms, perfect hit boxes that allowed precise targeting, you could hit enemies on legs, hands, head etc with different results and damage, movement of the gun was independent from the movement of the camera and last but not least, real dual analog control support for the first time for console FPSes (yes, with 2 analog sticks).
 
K

kamspy

Member
I don't think health packs instantly make an FPS campaign better. I like every COD campaign a lot (crucify me GAF), and there are moments I enjoy that wouldn't be possible without regenerating health.

On the same note I can appreciate games designed around health packs and the tension that comes with it.

I just don't think one design in automatically superior to the other if the game makes good use of the choice. I know it should be decided upon early in planning a game. You can't really shoehorn one health style in over the other midway through development. It needs to be a pillar of design to work properly.

The 3 way stance thing is also a genius staple IMO. Give another medal to W and Z. I think Far Cry 3 really took the style and ran with it. I haven't played Titanfall, but to me Far Cry 3 is the best feeling action FPS on a controller available today. I love the sliding and the takedown melee kills. Having to meander up to someone to knife them is so lame, When you're stabbing, you're lunging in a way that cannot be defined by the regular walk or sprint binary control speed. They did great with that. Not sure how it translate to MP since I didn't play much of it.

Goldeneye kinda stands on it's own because of the unique controller. If anything, would it be wrong to call it and Perfect Dark precursors to Halo? I know the campaign are a little more involved than Halo, but as far as making an FPS that can work on a controller... yeah. I'm open to suggestion on that one.
 
TheRedSnifit

TheRedSnifit

Member
What about System Shock? It essentially introduced the concept of "story" to the genre, so I guess I'd segment off narrative-driven FPSs like the -Shock games from the rest.
 
H

Heshinsi

"playing" dumb? unpossible
nkarafo said:
What about Goldeneye?

It had Sniper rifle, stealth, a decent AI compared to other FPSes at the time, silencer, non-linear mission objectives, cameras that could spot you, enemies that would run for alarms, perfect hit boxes that allowed precise targeting, you could hit enemies on legs, hands, etc with different results and damage, movement of the gun was independent from the movement of the camera and last but not least, real dual analog control support for the first time for console FPSes (yes, with 2 analog sticks).
Click to expand...

Are you talking about strafing with the C buttons?
 
K

kamspy

Member
TheRedSnifit said:
What about System Shock? It essentially introduced the concept of "story" to the genre, so I guess I'd segment off heavily narrative-driven FPSs like the -Shock games from the rest.
Click to expand...

Good one. Shock games. Deus Ex HR kinda. Dishonored and Thief in the same vein. Control-wise you can pin it to arena with a story, which was apparent in Bioshock 1, but the opposite in Deus Ex HR.

I'd love more games in this FPS sub genre.
 
K

kamspy

Member
nkarafo said:
No i'm talking about 2 analog sticks, just like moderns shooters. Aim with one stick and move/strafe with the other. Goldeneye was the first FPS that had this option.
Click to expand...

Is there a second analog stick on the N64 pad I overlooked? Does it play well on emulators with a dual stick pad or something? Are we getting existential here?
 
H

Heshinsi

"playing" dumb? unpossible
nkarafo said:
No i'm talking about 2 analog sticks, just like moderns shooters. Aim with one stick and move/strafe with the other. Goldeneye was the first FPS that had this option.
Click to expand...

What other stick are you talking about? The N-64 had one stick :/

n64.jpg
Click to expand...

You're tripping me out lol
 
S

speculawyer

Member
nkarafo said:
What about Goldeneye?

It had Sniper rifle, stealth, a decent AI compared to other FPSes at the time, silencer, non-linear mission objectives, cameras that could spot you, enemies that would run for alarms, perfect hit boxes that allowed precise targeting, you could hit enemies on legs, hands, head etc with different results and damage, movement of the gun was independent from the movement of the camera and last but not least, real dual analog control support for the first time for console FPSes (yes, with 2 analog sticks).
Click to expand...

And it had leaning.
 
A

atr0cious

Member
kamspy said:
Goldeneye kinda stands on it's own because of the unique controller. If anything, would it be wrong to call it and Perfect Dark precursors to Halo? I know the campaign are a little more involved than Halo, but as far as making an FPS that can work on a controller... yeah. I'm open to suggestion on that one.
Click to expand...

Almost everything Halo claimed to be, Goldeneye and Perfect Dark did first. Dual wielding, multiple weapons, bots, great maps. Perfect Dark has yet to be topped with the counter-coop mode, which Titanfall should've used for the AI bots, but I digress.
 
F

Fandangox

Member
kamspy said:
Good one. Shock games. Deus Ex HR kinda. Dishonored and Thief in the same vein. Control-wise you can pin it to arena with a story, which was apparent in Bioshock 1, but the opposite in Deus Ex HR.

I'd love more games in this FPS sub genre.
Click to expand...

There's a new game on the FPS Sub Genre. Its so sub in the genre that it even features SUBMARINES.

But yeah where would an underwater FPS like that fit. Just a regular FPS but with subs?
 
K

kamspy

Member
Mr. X said:
Red Faction had very destructible environments.
Click to expand...

I played the holy hell out of Red Faction on PS2! I couldn't afford a gaming PC at the time so I was FPS thirsty with my shiny new PS2 and the Game Informer previews had me ready to go. I remember it being the first game I anticipated on PS2, bought on launch day and loved.

Red Faction for PS2 really get's slept on as far as games that are looked at as pioneers for bringing FPS to dual analog. Halo casts a big shadow though. I was really bummed there were so few single player FPS games on Dreamcast.
 
nkarafo

nkarafo

Member
Heshinsi said:
What other stick are you talking about? The N-64 had one stick :/

You're tripping me out lol
Click to expand...

If you ever played Goldeneye on N64 you would know that it had a dual analog option using 2 pads, one on each hand, holding the middle "leg". Yes, it sounds weird but it worked great actually. It was the only way for true analog controls since there wasn't a pad with 2 sticks for the N64. But RARE wanted them in the game. What matters is that the game had dual analog support before anything else.

And if you use an emulator you can actually set it in a way to make it play just like a modern shooter, with true analog movement using a pad with 2 analog sticks :)
 
A

atr0cious

Member
Fandangox said:
There's a new game on the FPS Sub Genre. Its so sub in the genre that it even features SUBMARINES.

But yeah where would an underwater FPS like that fit. Just a regular FPS but with subs?
Click to expand...

Under the SWAT/R6 ghost recon family tree of slow methodical fps.

So glad Brink got it's sequel in Titanfall, that was my favorite FPS of last gen, so glad to see it rise again with mechs.
 
F

FyreWulff

Member
Heshinsi said:
What about Halo for consoles? It made regenerating shields, and the current shooter control layout, a standard thing.
Click to expand...

Regen shields, maybe, but Goldeneye and Turok laid the control foundation. Not Halo.

TheRedSnifit said:
That had been around before, though, as had stealth. Goldeneye doesn't actually have leaning at all: The "lean" command simply shifts your whole body a couple feet to the side.
Click to expand...

I think that was more a limitation of the RAM they had to work with. Actually having your model lean wasn't important since you couldn't see yourself lean anyway.
 
A

atr0cious

Member
EvB said:
There were a whole bunch on dual controller setups. You used 2 pads to achieve dual analog.

It seemed really crazy and outlandish at the time to me
Click to expand...

Oh man, the memories. My friend would play this way for a laugh, and it never occurred to me til now, that that was the setup.
 
A

Abounder

Banned
Tribes deserves some love in this thread as well

kamspy said:
What will be the next advancement in the FPS gameplay pantheon? Am I missing on that's already here?
Click to expand...

Oculus Rift and other VR experiences will hit the market in the near future

No Man's Sky shows off procedurally generated content, and being able to seamlessly travel on foot to your space ship and into outerspace like it was the next step for video games. I also think voxel customization like EQNext will find its way into FPS
 
J

JasonUresti

Member
Gummb said:
This is a cool writeup that is also kind of sad... it's unfortunate that there's such a lack of diversity and that we can, to some level of confidence, shrink the FPS genre down so simply.

I kind of wish that the Wii garnered more FPS attention because a Wii-mote-first FPS would have had a completely different feel (some mix between arena and precision). I still think Metroid Prime Trilogy demonstrates a level of design that no FPS has matched.
Click to expand...

The Prime games always seemed to have level design more in line with 90's PC FPS games.

It's kind of a neat chain. The original Metroid greatly inspired Manfred Trenz Turrican, which was itself a big inspiration on PC side scrollers like Duke Nukem. When those guys started making FPS games, they kept that intricate level design and made the games that formed the backbone of FPS level design on the PC for years, which the level design of Metroid Prime is most close to in the FPS space.
 
K

kamspy

Member
atr0cious said:
Almost everything Halo claimed to be, Goldeneye and Perfect Dark did first. Dual wielding, multiple weapons, bots, great maps. Perfect Dark has yet to be topped with the counter-coop mode, which Titanfall should've used for the AI bots, but I digress.
Click to expand...

Is there a such thing as really high level Goldeneye PD gameplay? I must have played the PD campaign 15 times (14 of which I abused the slo mo cheat just for fun. where's my money Remedy), but I still always kinda felt like I was shooting a basketball with chopsticks as far as the controls went.

I blame the controller and not the game design though, because it was fucking great. Perfect Dark may have the best total package of any FPS. I'm gonna have to marinate on that one. I can't think of another with a campaign that deep and MP that good. Maybe that lack of competition made the MP good. Hard to say. There weren't many MP FPS on N64.
 
G

GamerSoul

Member
kamspy said:
Goldeneye kinda stands on it's own because of the unique controller. If anything, would it be wrong to call it and Perfect Dark precursors to Halo? I know the campaign are a little more involved than Halo, but as far as making an FPS that can work on a controller... yeah. I'm open to suggestion on that one.
Click to expand...

I never thought of it like that but those were some of the only shooters I really played other than CoD and that was on the 360. lol. I definitely think Time Splitters (one of my favorite shooters ever) is in that Golden Eye/Perfect Dark lineage. iirc, Free Radical, the TS guys, had some people from Rare.
 
A

atr0cious

Member
kamspy said:
Is there a such thing as really high level Goldeneye PD gameplay? I must have played the PD campaign 15 times (14 of which I abused the slo mo cheat just for fun. where's my money Remedy), but I still always kinda felt like I was shooting a basketball with chopsticks as far as the controls went.

I blame the controller and not the game design though, because it was fucking great. Perfect Dark may have the best total package of any FPS. I'm gonna have to marinate on that one. I can't think of another with a campaign that deep and MP that good. Maybe that lack of competition made the MP good. Hard to say. There weren't many MP FPS on N64.
Click to expand...

Yea, high level used the C buttons for aiming. My friend was awfully good at goldeneye, and taught us how to play with the c buttons. Changed our life, as we were all DOS kids at the time. Perfect Dark's only flaw was the maps were lame reflections of Goldeneye's, and the guns were unrealistic so you couldn't really feel any power, except the dragon and farsight(lol).
 
A

aspiegamer

Member
My knowledge on shooters isn't exactly vast, but I'll throw in a few recommendations--
--The original Counter Strike for the idea of "yes, people do have a very finite amount of health". Loved it to death and much because the game forced you to be very careful and precise. If you died it was your fault, period, and you had to sit out the rest of the round thinking about how you could find a way to not die next time. Also, in-game currency. NPC characters (hostages). Multiplayer-only.
--Original Team Fortress for job classes/"loadouts"? At least the wide variety of them. Huge map varieties and lots of objective types.
--Bonus points to "WolfenDoom" for spawning a modding community. Half-Life would never have spawned off the classics of the genre it did had modding not been common by then.
--As others have mentioned, the gigantic steps forward in targeting and AI in Goldeneye.
 
K

kamspy

Member
Timesplitters was another FPS I sucked every last drop of content on with my PS2. I don't know why I didn't just save up for a gaming PC when the PS2 games I looked forward to the most were FPS games. lol. I was 19 and young damn it! Soldier of Fortune was pretty bad ass as far as PS2 FPS games go too.

I remember when MOH:AA came out and got that 10/10 in Game Informer. Good god. I bought a $50 to go play on my dads meager, and by meager I mean "technically able to run the game without crashing" PC when I went over there. I also bought MOH Frontline for PS2, but it was weak in comparison. It worked as my nicotine patch for when I couldn't make it over to my dad's though.
 
A

atr0cious

Member
aspiegamer said:
--As others have mentioned, the gigantic steps forward in targeting and AI in Goldeneye.
Click to expand...

I would say the AI in Playstation's first MOH was the showstopper at the time.Goldeneye was hilarious with how the NPCs reacted, even doing a roll then flopping on death.

kamspy said:
I remember when MOH:AA came out and got that 10/10 in Game Informer. Good god. I bought a $50 to go play on my dads meager, and by meager I mean "technically able to run the game without crashing" PC when I went over there. I also bought MOH Frontline for PS2, but it was weak in comparison. It worked as my nicotine patch for when I couldn't make it over to my dad's though.
Click to expand...

I did the same and beat the game relentlessly, but didn't have internet for another year . The day I got internet, I reinstalled the game, hopped on a server, and joined a clan.
 
Coreda

Coreda

Member
atr0cious said:
Yea, high level used the C buttons for aiming. My friend was awfully good at goldeneye, and taught us how to play with the c buttons. Changed our life, as we were all DOS kids at the time. Perfect Dark's only flaw was the maps were lame reflections of Goldeneye's, and the guns were unrealistic so you couldn't really feel any power, except the dragon and farsight(lol).
Click to expand...

Perfect Dark MP was far ahead of it's time in many ways. I could only get used the 1.2 layout in PD, which used the C array for movement and the analog stick for aim. Works a treat. Couldn't imagine how precise I'd be with the C buttons.

Edit: I should list some of the things found in PD:

- Customizable controller layouts, HUD, players, gameplay types and weapons per map. Amongst other options.
- Various types of offline bots, and custom teams with an array of team commands via the HUD.
- Dual wielding for certain guns, and a plethora of weapons with secondary commands (including grenades, stealth cloak, sentry bot, and the Dragon as a proximity mine).
- Optional auto-aim, enemy targeting, and crouch and lean mechanic.
- Match notification messages during play, and complete stats and unlockable achievements after play.

Probably others I'm missing, but those are the things I remember it doing well.

Also, we need some family tree graphic for the thread!
 
G

Gummb

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about Rayman Legends Wii U.
JasonUresti said:
The Prime games always seemed to have level design more in line with 90's PC FPS games.

It's kind of a neat chain. The original Metroid greatly inspired Manfred Trenz Turrican, which was itself a big inspiration on PC side scrollers like Duke Nukem. When those guys started making FPS games, they kept that intricate level design and made the games that formed the backbone of FPS level design on the PC for years, which the level design of Metroid Prime is most close to in the FPS space.
Click to expand...

That's pretty awesome. Thank you for that. :)

I wish more FPS's had not only more interesting level design, but also a wider spectrum of movement and weapons.
 
O

Oldschoolgamer

The physical form of blasphemy
Has there been any fps with as much content as Timesplitters 2? I guess the COD series? They still don't come close. TS2 even had trophies. lol.

I don't know if it actually started anything, but it's def in the, "we use to have nice things" category.
 
K

kamspy

Member
The first time I played a FPS game online was Halo 2 at my sisters house and I couldn't get past the novelty of cursing at random people.

I didn't get the internet in my place of residence until I was like 24. Excuse me. Most people get that out of their system when they're 14.

I can't comment much on MP. I played a lot of local Halo, Timesplitters and Goldeneye, but half the strategy of local co op is screen watching. lol. I don't know how many heated arguments were fought over accusations of screen watching and debates on the morality and sportsmanship of it. Good times.

I think the COD4 beta for 360 was the first time I got really into online "anonymous" MP FPS. I played the hell out of it, Probably played more of the beta than retail release. I played every COD MP up to about level 35 and then quit. I suck. The game I probably spent the most time in genuine online MP is BFBC2. Still unmatched in my opinion. Halo 3 and L4D are also up there. I'm not huge on online MP since I'm not hyper competitive and also too lazy to find a big enough group of like minded people to play with privately.

Titanfall will be interesting for me. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna buy it before the first weekend after launch, but I've never paid $60 for a MP only game. Even buying BF4, I knew I'd get value out of the campaign (which I think is very good, I have no clue what standards people hold it against when they say it's trash).

It's a weird combination of sucking, feeling like I'm holding a team back, and being frustrated that people aren't playing the game "the right way" that stops me from getting more into MP. I think if I took the time to find a good group for BF4 or Red Orchestra 2 I could get into it more. The thing that sucks for players like me is it's impossible to go back and try out older MP shooters since the only people still playing most of them are pro's. I can't even go back to Bad Company 2 since the only community left have been playing it since it came out and know every pebble of every map. This isn't bad game design. It's bad brain design. I'm just saying.

joshrholloway said:
CoD4 is definitely worth noting, even if it's only for multiplayer.
Click to expand...

The gameplay elements are all accounted for in my MOH:AA inclusion. I should have noted this is more about gameplay mechanics than online XP systems. Though I'm totally cool if the thread included that stuff. I'm just not qualified to do so because of what I posted right above this. But yeah, nearly everyone aped the perk and unlock system of COD4, but no one could grasp that it was 60fps or bust that made it as popular as it was. If they nailed every other aspect of COD4 just like they did, but it ran at 30fps I'd bet my testicles it would be a nothing more than a high quality footnote instead of the juggernaut it became. It's just crazy how so many publishers and developers completely misunderstood why it was popular (60fps). Even the average player didn't know. They just felt like it controller better without knowing it was the framerate that made it twice as responsive.
 
T

TakeItSlowDude

Member
The tree should have many more branches:

Open World Military Shooter:
Delta Force, Operation Flashpoinr, Arma, Arma2, Operation Flashpoint 2, Arma 3

Hybrid:
NOLF, NOLF2, Stalker Series, Deus Ex 1- HR

Sandbox Shooter:
Halo CE, Far Cry 1-3, Crysis, Trespasser

Tactical Shooter:
Rainbow Six Series, CS

Horror:
Avp Series, Slender, Amnesia, SCP

It would take a lot of work to construct a good tree, lots of branches would flow in and out of each other. Some branches would be defined by content or dev (Soldier of Fortune, Star Trek FPSs, Golden Eye/Perfect Dark, TimeSpliters).

Also I would argue you are missing Jedi Knight: Dark Forces 2 in your lineage. It was a pretty important FPS with regards to level design. It made a big push towards realistic level geometry, I see it as precursor to Half-Life.

Next few years could be an era of refinement and reaction, criticisms of current FPSs have been snowballing for a while. Developers are well aware of the criticisms of their games, but at the same time know that current FPSs work for many people. Look for games to alter/compromise on modern conventions like Health Regen (Hybrid Systems), Hip Fire (Still having ADS but with HIP fire that is not random spread), and a further refining of vaulting/sliding/diving animations (Crysis 2,Battlefield 3,Titanfall). I think RPG systems are here to stay and that these systems will expanded into more single player campaigns (Black Ops 2, Shadow Warrior, Far Cry 3). I do not think linear cinematic style is going away soon, though I think more games will try to keep the railroading to the start and end of levels or as transitions between arenas/sandboxes (looks at CoD:Ghosts for some of this).
 
B

bigboss370

Member
I honestly think Killzone deserves a mention, for how it seamlessly blended cover mechanics into an fps with satisfying gunplay, great AI, level design, and of course the insane visuals.


But yeah, I really hope more FPS games attempt proper cover mechanics like Killzone.
 
A

atr0cious

Member
I started reading up on some of these games, and got pulled in, so I'm putting the family tree image together.

https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1KgYEVUDmDXJwooSw7GDzK6MzKr1SrDyp690fTaT2TQg/edit?usp=sharing

It's pretty loose right now, and anyone can edit or add to it. I just dumped some images and formed a rough breakdown to start.

12yzWU2.jpg


Unreal was CliffyB's first attempt at a story driven FPS, with colored lighting, so I'm giving it the credit for going with a more cinematic route(corridors). Duke Nukem and Shadow Warrior were also story driven, but were still firmly in the arena area. Tribes was the OG of class based warfare, which the rest put their own spin on.

Counterstrike went even further going modern. Medal of Honor is there for implementing functioning AI, and Allied Assault for pushing the modern angle while retaining the twitch of Quake, which the original MoH, being on PSX couldn't have.

If you notice, after MOHAA, Splash Damage made the next three games that directly lead to Titanfall, each of which further pushes Respawn's original objective based gamepay further.
 
H

Htown

STOP SHITTING ON MY MOTHER'S HEADSTONE
It's like I slipped into an alternate universe where Half-Life doesn't exist
 
D

Dennis

Banned
Crysis was almost the perfect shooter.

9.9 out of 10

The only thing holding it back from the perfect score is the shitty last alien levels and the fact that not all levels were as open and free-form as Onslaught and Assault.

Crysis should in a non-cruel world have rendered all other shooters obsolete.
 
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