After a brief intermission in the eighties, gaming once again rose to prominence with the invention of the Nintendo Entertainment System. This system featured some basic games such as Super Mario, Mega Man, and the renowned Final Fantasy. As rudimentary as those games where, they were still much better than the ones offered by its predecessors and gaming was reignited around the world.
It's hard to believe how far we've come since those days. Can you believe it's been more than ten years since John Carmack wowed us all with the shareware version of DOOM? That lightning fast 'virtual reality' simulator that pitted you against the forces of hell on Mars. That game, and Wolfenstein 3D have moved us toward a brilliant future of 3D models, polygons, spectacular effects, and things in the future that people can barely even imagine at this point.
Since we have moved past the 2D era of side scrolling shooters, things have become a little different. Games have become more realistic; their character models becoming more and more detailed, and some of the worlds have become more open. A lot of things have happened and it would be impossible to go through all of them; so instead we'll have a look at the evolution of one of the most popular genres: the first person shooter or FPS.
The Beginning
Wolfenstein: The original First Person Shooter released by ID Software and Apogee. It was a two dimensional shooter that followed the story of a British agent named BJ on his quest to escape Castle Wolfenstein. The demo was released in 1992 and it featured eight levels, plus one secret level that was accessible from the first floor.
Blake Stone: Intended to be a sequel to Wolfenstein but later changed to an independent shooter with a few sequels.
Rise of the Triad: Developed by Apogee to be the successor to Wolfenstein 3D, it was the first shooter to include the ability to look up and down in combat, and was the first to involve jump pads. It also had a pistol with unlimited ammunition that certainly appeased the combat appetites of many people.
The Middle
Quake: The original 3D shooter that actually used 3D models and full 3D environments. It lacked a story but that doesn't make it a bad game. It used many concepts that were implemented in DOOM, one of which was the BFG 9000.
Quake II: The sequel to Quake, using 3D models and actually featuring a story that was to be continued in a later sequel.
Quake III: Yet another sequel that was more like Quake 1 in that it did not feature any sort of story.
Return to Castle Wolfenstein: A retelling of the original Wolfenstein built on the technology of Quake III. This was a great game, though many believed that it went outside the bounds of reality.
Half Life: Gordan Freeman and his trusty crowbar blazed a trail toward the future using ID Software's Quake engine and showing that a game didn't have to be split up into levels.
Red Faction: The first game with fully destroyable terrain, following the plight of oppressed miners on the red planet.
Today
DOOM 3: The long awaited retelling of the original DOOM in a brand new engine was an overall disappointment, but in its time, it was a sure indication of what the future could look like. ID Software had once again shown the world what was possible.
Prey: This game had an excellent story and was a fairly different game, many people didn't like it, but everyone is still awaiting the sequel.
Half Life 2: The long awaited sequel to Half Life 2. Built on the source engine and featuring a full campaign that was broken into short intervals, this game took people on the ride of their lives. It is succeeded by two stand-alone expansions and gamers are expecting to receive a fourth installment in this series shortly.
Red Faction 2: The sequel to Red Faction that proved to be a disappointment, but was still a necessary installment in the series.
Far Cry: One of the first open world shooters that had a realistic environment. It was succeeded by a remake and sequel on the Xbox platform.
This is only a little bit of the history of video games. There is so much more to cover, and in fact, it would probably take over a thousand pages to explain every single game in explicit detail. For now, I leave you with this sample and hope that someday you will find the missing pieces.
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