Genre – First Person Shooter (FPS)

A first-person shooter, or FPS for short, is a type of game that puts the player in the character’s POV for most if not all of the game. In addition, the objective usually involves moving through an area (often labyrinthine in nature) filled with adversaries that must be dispatched using any variety of weapons. Minor RPG and puzzle solving elements are sometimes present, as are occasional changes to a 3rd person perspective. The core concept behind the FPS is to put a player in the character’s shoes and arm them with some sort of (mostly) projectile weapon with which to dispatch multiple enemies.

Wolfenstein 3D is often credited as the first proper FPS, with other early titles like Doom and Quake pushing the series into the mainstream through controversies such as occult imagery and “murder simulation.” Half-Life and GoldenEye 007 brought major advancements to the genre with precision aiming, more detailed environments, and increasing narrative elements. Halo: Combat Evolved and the franchise in general added further elements of realism and helped establish the FPS as one of the most popular and best-selling genres of video games.

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