History of the first-person shooter series (Part 3)

In the mid-90s, developers began to move from ‘3D simulation’ technology such as ‘ray casting’ to the world of polygons, taking advantage of the popularity of 3D-enabled hardware as well as manufacturing widespread of the first video cards (GPUs). Released on the Mega Drive 32X in 1994, Sega’s Metal Head is considered the first ‘true’ 3D game. The city map is large and detailed, the robots have very good animation, but the game disappoints because of the repetitive tasks. There’s also Parallax Software’s Descent, released the same year – a combination of flight simulator and dungeon-following with 360-degree mobility. But this game is considered a pioneer for the 3D polygon bombardment genre, not a first person shooter.

John Remero originally intended Quake to be a cross between the fighting game Virtua Fighter and the Western-style fantasy role-playing genre. Conceived in 1991 and named after a character from Dungeon & Dragons, the game was supposed to combine first-person exploration and third-person combat. Romero also envisions flying dragons, a giant hammer capable of sending shockwaves across the earth, and events that are triggered if the player looks in that direction, such as having eyes light up when look into the mouth of a cave. By the time John Carmack was close to perfecting his potential 3D technology in 1995, id Software’s employees had become exhausted and hesitant to change too much from Doom’s original formula. There were also arguments between the two founders over Romero’s inconsistent work practices and Carmack’s view of the studio’s technology taking precedence over its games. In the end Remero gave up and went Doom style – after the game was completed, he also resigned and left id Software.

_Quake

As Big Robot’s Jim Rossignol recalled in 2011, there’s a pang of regret in Quake even though it’s still standing. Although copying the formula from Doom – Quake for fast, violent gameplay and levels created from corridors with countless secret areas – the beauty as well as the fantasy elements in the game are very stimulating. curious: sometimes it takes place in the medieval period, sometimes in modern times. You’ll see computer screens and teleporters in the game, along with medieval sword-wielding monsters. In hindsight, Quake is a pioneer in turning this series into a money printing machine – when modern 3D shooters will add elements of fantasy in it.

On the other hand, Quake brings a breath of fresh air – the game introduces a dramatic vertical element, allowing the player to ‘flip’ in the air past opponents instead of simply going left or right. corner guard. This feature allowed online games to thrive in the late ’90s, when Ethernet connections and modems became ubiquitous and Internet usage skyrocketed. Quake’s multiplayer was originally designed for low-latency, broadband LANs – the game checks with the server before displaying player actions, resulting in ‘lag’ in the game. when the server is overloaded. Id quickly released an update, titled QuakeWorld, that added predictive functionality to the server. The result was the first ever shooter esport game – software company Intergraph sponsored the Red Annihilation tournament in the US in May 1997, which attracted around 2,000 participants.

As for Doom, Quake’s mod engine is a platform that appeals to many amateur developers – the game’s community created Team Fortress, which later became a separate game, or the first prototypes of Doom. machinima (application for making movies using game technology), a good example is ‘The Seal of Nehahra’. The Greatest Descendants from is the developer’s shooter title founded by Microsoft alumni Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington (Valve).

Created from Quake’s engine but modified, Valve Software’s Half-Life legend in 1998 is still great by blending the rules of game design with storytelling like reading a novel (the plot of the game). of the game written by writer Mike Laidlaw). Half-Life’s success over its predecessors is due to its time consistency: almost everything is experienced in real time from the protagonist’s point of view, with no pauses in between. In terms of cutscenes, Valve weaves the story through in-game dialogue and pre-programmed events such as enemies smashing through doors – a way for players to stay in control of the game’s tempo and not become overwhelmed. get bored with what’s going on around. Half-Life also gives the impression of an unprecedented large world, not by the words in the plot but through the scenes in the game world. The opening sequence shows Gordon Freeman riding a train through the Black Mesa region, receiving information about your location and character over the loudspeaker, and seeing other employees at work. Then there is a terrible accident, and you are asked to return to that area, now turned into chaotic ruins.

Half-Life created the recipe for many story-driven FPS game developers later on. Especially in terms of natural seamless design that allows studios to boldly explore more realistic settings, such as the ‘World War’ period.

MAKE A RAINBOW (makes a rainbow, Tom Clany’s Rainbow Six)

In 1996, writer Tom Clancy (best known for his best-selling book Cold War) founded the studio Red Storm Entertainment to turn the fantasy worlds filled with modern technology in his books into videos. game. The studio’s first game, Politika, an RTS (real-time strategy) game based on the novel of the same name, was nothing short of outstanding. Rainbow Six, released in 1998, was a successful phenomenon thanks to an extremely simple formula: one shot, one kill (one bullet, one life). While the games of the same year pursue large spaces and supernatural powers, Rainbow Six focuses on real-life situations, team tactics and always avoiding danger if possible. Rainbow Six has influenced shooter titles that incorporate stealth in special missions, such as Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.