The majority of games I play are FPS’. I love other genres, strategy in particular, but I dabble in brawlers, racers, and RPG’s. What really grabs me though, is the shooter. First or third person, I love them all. Such is my enjoyment, that I am easy to please, even many unpopular games, such as Dark Void.
What I want to talk about today is the importance of the shooter in shaping the development of gaming across the board. It doesn’t matter if you don’t like shooters, or have never played one, they have probably shaped the games you do play.
As a child I played a lot of platform games, specifically Super Mario World and its’ sequels. I played a lot of Mario Kart and Street Fighter 2 as well. As I got older I moved away from these games and began to play more and more shooting games. I thought for a while this was an evolution of my own tastes in gaming, that I found something I enjoyed more than others. On further reflection, and over the years of game development, it became clear that this movement toward shooters was not merely my own preference, but that of the gaming industry in general.
A game for children?
When video games were first released to the market, they were what we would call casual games, the likes of pong, space invaders and so on. Mario, Donkey Kong, Sonic and their ilk were aimed at the younger audience. Whilst they were undoubtedly enjoyed by many people of all ages, they all had in common bright colours and simple gameplay. They were by no means easy, but they were accessible to everyone, indeed I was far better at platform games aged seven than I am now after years of not playing them. Over the past few decades however the average age of gamers has risen steadily. More and more games these days are aimed at a more mature market, and this has resulted in more and more shooters being released to cater to this older market.
Whilst many gamers and reviewers complain about the visual aesthetic becoming increasingly brown and grey and drab, this is a reflection of the change in market. It is not a lack of innovation or imagination, it is about what people like and buy. Realistic graphics have become the aim of many mature games, natural colour palettes, particle effects and physics all combine to make as realistic an experience as possible, even if the setting is fantastical. This is not simply about gaming however, look at television, how many adult programs feature bright colours and lively music? That is the realm of children’s television, you will never see House or True Blood looking like Barney or Sesame Street. Indeed nobody would ever consider suggesting that adult tv become less realistic, but games are accused sometimes of over realism. The criteria for creativity it seems is very different, even if the purpose is the same.
bright and colourful, like early games
As the market, the developers, and the gamers have aged, it is the shooter which has sprung to life, embraced this change, and driven it on. How many genres of gaming have really pushed boundaries? I would argue that many developments to gaming as a whole have been pioneered in shooters first. This applies to all aspects of gaming, graphics are usually tested most on the shooter. Certainly games like Final Fantasy are important, but new advances are typically found in shooters. Whether it be background details, atmospherics, particles and explosions, these are usually seen first in shooters, where the gameplay is the most immediate and personal.
Incredibly beautiful. And the graphics...
Physics effect too, very important in all games, are typically pioneered in shooters, the likes of Half Life 2 and Second Sight spring to mind, with rag doll physics, accurate movements of items and objects. The Force Unleashed has some very impressive tech at work, if only the game were good enough to show it off, but it would not be in position to make those advances if the ground work were not already laid. The Force Unleashed itself is of course an evolution of Dark Forces.
Dark Forces, Jedi Academy, Force Unleashed...
Music is a little more evenly spread, again Final Fantasy has done a lot of work on that front, but the idea of music supporting the gameplay is I think something to arise from the shooter, many games previously have had set music, such as Mario where each level has its’ own tune. The shooter has a score which changes according to the situation, rising and falling according to the gamer’s actions, very organic. Sound effects too tend to be at their most deep and involving in shooters, gunshots, explosions, impacts, all vital to the immersion of the player. Again this is because the player so so immediately and personally involved, in comparison to other genres.
a legendary game composer
You might be thinking, but what about the casual Farmville player, or the WoW player? Well again, it is the shooter that has really led the way in creating online game opportunities. No game has been more important in the development of the online gaming scene than Counter Strike. This game more than any other created the phenomenon that is the online game. After Counter Strike came Battlefield 2, which built upon everything Counter Strike established. The shooter was ideally placed to begin the online rise because it is a game for instant gratification, jump in and jump out. This set the player base and created the market that allowed other genres then to see it was successful and build upon that to create online games in their own fields.
Beginner of the online phenomenon
Of course it is not all one way, many other games have had a tremendous impact upon gaming, but I believe it is the shooter more than any other which has driven the impetus of development. Just as war in real life has driven advances in many fields, so virtual warfare has driven the advances in gaming. Let me know what you think, what games have pioneered evolution in gaming? What has become standard across genres?
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