Your Definition of a First Person Shooter

[Mike_pi_phi]

(my opinion, remember OPINION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

An FPS is not a perspective but a genre; were the gameplay is intuitive(nearly no GUI's to contend with),the action takes place in real time( therefore a requirement for a FPS is to be realistic and fun ). I know this 'definition' let's games which are in the third person perspective become FPS's but thats my point that a FPS does not have to be in that perspective; I would classify Max Payne 2 as a FPS; a FPS is an attitude that a game possesses, an overall shoot first and ask questions later kind of attitude. I know there are other games wich have the First Person Perspective but are tactical, but these are grouped into the sub genre of tactical FPS, but the games which are bestowed with the sole acronym of FPS should possess the attributes just mentioned.
When you respond PLEASE be tactful, I have feelings too(sadly). Words do hurt more than sticks or stones, believe me.

[RHooks]

I would go along with all of that except the perspective. Has to be first person. Third person of the type you describe would be an action game imo.




When you respond PLEASE be tactful, I have feelings too(sadly). Words do hurt more than sticks or stones, believe me.

Don't worry. I almost never bite anymore.

:evil3:

[Ksaltotun]

the action takes place in real time( therefore a requirement for a FPS is to be realistic and fun )
Did you mean that the action has to take place nowdays not in the future? Or you meant that there has to be no tactical pause like in some RPG games and no bullet time?

[Rob]

A first person shooter is a perspective, hence the term First Person. A FPS has to be in the first personal, or at least that is the primary perspective. Therefore, Max Payne would be an action game as it is in the third person. The game play and many time mechanics of first vs. third person perspective create a different style and atmosphere, therefore a different genre. Elements of the game also help define the genre it will be classified in. A game can take place almost wholly in the first person while using FP combat, but still not be a FPS such as Morrowind (RPG).

Once the perspective is defined, sub categories will then be applied.

Serious Sam, original Doom and many others would be seen as a straight up FPS where the goal is to get from point A to B while blowing up many baddies.

Ghost Recon, whose slower paced, team oriented and realistic atmosphere become emphasized would be classified as a Tactical FPS.

Doom 3's slower pace, low light and many 'Holy Crap!' moments define it as a horror FPS in the same vein as System Shock 2.

And Duke Nukem would be classified as Ain't Gonna Happen FPS.

[Gaim Mastr]

I really don't have much of an opinion on the FPS genre, since I just go by the industry standard that is recognized by game developers and publishers.

FPS = First-Person Shooter

It's broken into two parts. The term "First-Person" describes the perspective that the player sees. This automatically eliminates any attempts to include a third-person perspective. Though some FPS games allow for that as a non-default option.

Secondly, the game has to be a "Shooter". In other words, the primary focus of the game is to shoot stuff. The more puzzels there are that need solving, the more that you're able to pick & choose your character's growth and leveled improvements, the less of a 'shooter' it becomes.

Some examples...

Morrowind is played from a first-person perspective and involves shooting (or aiming with weapons & spells). However, the game's primary focus leans much more heavily on character creation and development, while adventuring. Therefore this game is actually a First-Person Role Playing Game (FP RPG).

Max Payne is played via third-person perspective. This automatically eliminates it from the FPS genre, regardless from any other attributes that it does or doesn't have. The gaming industry doesn't recognize a genre known as TPS (Third-Person Shooter), though that could change any year now. For the time being though, it is classified as an Action game.


The reason that I don't have much of an "opinion" on this is because I always go with the industry standards. Doing otherwise would likely only serve to confuse myself when reading articles about games or making my purchasing decisions. And I get confused enough.
:p:

[Mike_pi_phi]

By real time i meant no pauses during gameplay.