It was the summer of 1994. I was eight years old and infatuated with my Super Nintendo. My pals and I took turns crushing each other on Super Mario Kart daily. One particular morning, I woke up to see a floppy disk on the computer desk with a Post-it note stuck to it. On it was written, “Chris, got this game from a pal at work. Thought you might want to give it a go and shoot some aliens. Love, Dad.” Eager to try something new, I booted up the family PC, stuck in the floppy disk, and played the game. Enter Doom. I don’t think my dad had any idea that I’d actually be stomping around Mars, spilling the guts of demons. The gore was unlike anything I had ever seen in a video game. Moving fast through the corridors of each labyrinthine facility, eviscerating whatever hellspawn was right around the corner, was a wild, new experience. Later, when my dad came home from work, I showed him the game. He was just as enthralled as I was but swore me to secrecy and only to play the game when Mom wasn’t around.
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It’s hard to explain to the modern generation what it felt like to move from side-scrolling Mario adventures to a semi-three-dimensional plane where a space marine’s eyes were my very own. Weapon in hand and virtually wielding it with reckless abandon became a new and exciting pastime that’d eventually lead to the nationwide introduction of the ESRB rating system, a system that’d attempt to ensure that moms everywhere knew exactly what their kids would experience with each new game. First-person shooters emerged as a prominent gaming genre in the 90s and would go on to influence the entire industry for years to come. I’ve already covered Doom, but let’s take a look at a few more of the most consequential FPS games from that decade.
5. System Shock (1994)
In 1994, a seed was planted that’d sprout into notable titles in gaming including Deus Ex, BioShock, and Prey (2017). System Shock, developed by the now-defunct studio LookingGlass Technologies, is a futuristic first-person game set on a space station. The player takes on the role of a hacker who’s recently been granted a neural implant in exchange for illicit work for a megacorporation. The world of System Shock introduced a level of complexity that was never before seen in first-person shooters. Players would navigate the space station, solving puzzles and surviving using weaponry found along the way. System Shock heightened interactivity with environments in games, as players would read logs and find bits of lore throughout rooms and corridors of the station.
The game was produced by Warren Spector, who’d go on to direct and produce Deus Ex at Ion Storm. The sequel, System Shock 2, would be co-developed by Irrational Games and LookingGlass. Ken Levin directed System Shock 2 and would take that experience as inspiration for BioShock and future titles.The DNA of System Shock is apparent in these franchises. It showed the gaming industry that FPS games could do more than simply offer exciting gunplay. It paved the way for developers to craft deeper worlds that rewarded exploration as much as combat.
4. Goldeneye 007
Few third-party games are as synonymous with the Nintendo 64 as GoldenEye 007. James Bond has had a prosperous history in video games, and GoldenEye 007 made the secret agent a smash hit for a new generation (at the time). Mechanically, playing a game like GoldenEye 007 today might be rather difficult given that most of us are used to twin-stick coordination in both third-person and first-person titles. The Nintendo 64 only had a single analog stick, which didn’t age gracefully. Still, GoldenEye 007 refined the art of both split-screen and PvP action. The objective-based main missions that told the story of the film were great, but GoldenEye‘s fame was rooted in the multiplayer frenzy it would inspire.
Multiplayer PvP battles in the first-person shooter arena weren’t a new concept at the time of GoldenEye’s release, but there’s little doubt that the popularity of the game fueled further interest and development in that arena. Playing couch co-op with three additional friends was revolutionary. But more importantly, GoldenEye 007 proved that the frenetic competitive shooter many people had commonly associated with the PC platform could also find success on consoles.
3. Unreal Tournament
Long before Fortnite or even Gears of War, there was Unreal Tournament, a multiplayer-driven competitive arena shooter from Epic Games. While Epic is currently more focused on its storefront and household mainstays like Fortnite and Rocket League, the developer was once home to a different brand of online shooter. Unreal Tournament would continue Quake’s popularity and even become a competitor to Quake III Arena. The game also popularized multi-layered objective-based PvP matches known as the “Assault” game mode, in which players would have to accomplish specific offensive objectives against a defending team to progress the match to the next stage.
The aesthetic for Unreal Tournament, featuring bulky characters, exaggerated armor, and over-the-top characterizations, would carry forward to games like Gears of War. Famed game designer Cliff Blezinski was the connective tissue between these franchises, helping to establish an iconic visual identity that would be synonymous with Epic Games shooters for years. The Unreal Engine, a proprietary engine used a year earlier for the more single-player-focused Unreal, would become a staple of Epic. To this day, many games have licensed the use of Epic’s latest and greatest in the Unreal Engine department. To say that the entire Unreal franchise, let alone Unreal Tournament’siconic multiplayer, had even a modest influence over the future of gaming would be a disservice to the entire series.
2. Half-Life
Once upon a time, Valve Corporation was in the game-making business. Half-Life was Valve’s flagship title. The game focused on telling the story of Gordon Freeman, a physicist at a research facility known as Black Mesa who found himself amidst a crisis when an experiment gone wrong teleported hostile alien creatures into the facility. The game was a breakthrough in first-person storytelling and exploration. Half-Life focused on integrating dialogue and story exposition into the gameplay instead of constant cutscene use throughout. Scripted sequences would occur as players approached certain checkpoints, allowing the player to watch the scope of the narrative unfold before their eyes. Half-Life became notable for its grounded world and unforgettable enemy encounters.
Half-Life advanced the approach to storytelling in first-person experiences. It became renowned for delivering an engaging and immersive experience that could coexist with quality storytelling. Half-Life also inspired fan modders to use the engine and create new experiences, which is how Counter-Strike emerged. Valve would later acquire the rights to Counter-Strike. Game modding quickly gained traction during the ’90s, and Counter-Strike stands as one of the most pivotal successes to come from that expanding community.
1. Quake
After the success of Doom, id Software expanded their first-person shooting formula with Quake. The game no longer used the 2D sprites used in the original Doom games or Wolfenstein 3D. Instead, the developer crafted fully 3D environments with polygonal characters to give the experience even more visual depth. Quake really pushed the idea of arena shooters forward with dedicated servers and focused game modes like Deathmatch. The series would later add modes like Capture the Flag (CTF) that’d explode in popularity.
Like other influential shooters of the ’90s, Quake would become a community game, which inspired competition and modding among its fans. Players would study the maps and hone their craft as they sought to crush their opponents. Deathmatches would be a competition in strategy, with each side focusing on best routes and pickups while finding the best positions to frag other players. Player techniques like strafe jumping would develop as players increased their skill with the controls and movement mechanics. There’s no doubt that Quake became the home of some of the fiercest FPS players in gaming during the ’90s.
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