The Incredible Machine: A whole genre gender
Games FPS (First Person Shoot in English) or DPP (First Person Shooter in English), were among the most acclaimed during the nineties and marked a radical change in the player. If before this was a person rather reflective, quiet, enjoying the puzzles that were solved with the use of mind and adventure games by Lucas Arts or Sierra, thanks to FPS games, began to turn their interest in other more vulgar and carnal as extreme violence, shootings, explosions, horrific monsters and even sex.
Back in 1992 (after the successful launch of the platform game Commander Keen) the Texas ID Software released a game remarkable for both its interface as its subject matter : Wolfenstein 3D, a unique game set during World War II in which embody the American spy BJ Blazkowicz, whose mission is neither more nor less, to kill Adolf Hitler and all his terrifying minions, going through endless labyrinthine corridors. Wolfenstein 3D was one of the first games to come with a warning to parents warning of violent content and was prohibited for children under thirteen. And, for the time, the graphics were extremely explicit and extremely violent development. Had to be moving through the halls, shooting in cold blood anyone who got in the way we are. And when we killed a Nazi soldier, we saw how the blood leaping through the air and the bullet-riddled body slumped on the floor like a sack of potatoes. Sure, two-dimensional renderings were placed in a third dimension, so that there was a contrast not very convincing (especially when the bodies fell the floor), but still was very realistic. And the most realistic of all, the play never see the protagonist, is not viewed as in Super Mario games, or do not see a doll that moves, jumps and runs across the screen in two dimensions. In Wolfenstein 3D we are the protagonists, we see everything through his eyes, as if we ourselves were the ones who are advancing along these corridors crowded with Nazis who can jump from every corner. All we see is the tip of the gun barrel and the enemies that appear. We give three hundred sixty degree turns in a 3D environment and not lose perspective certainly realistic that bordered the extreme (for the time, of course).
A year later, in 1993, ID launched its new masterpiece and perhaps the best, which made Wolfestein seems the maze screen saver for Windows 98: Doom , a set of science fiction and horror, set in an apocalyptic future. In this game, we should not kill Nazis, but hideous demons and monsters out of a twilight zone open by accident by a careless group of scientists on a space station. In Doom, embody a Marine of the United States Army (or rather a mercenary) who has to deal with eradication diabolical threat through a myriad of levels. Wolfenstein 3D Doom excelled in everything. It was more violent, more explicit, with better graphics and sound with an atmosphere more oppressive. While we went through corridors Wolfestein fully lit, textured achieved only in Doom we are in a dark, almost completely dark, full of shadows that hide the dreaded demons. Beyond that, we have a chord music: heavy metal sort of dense, heavy, and sometimes frantic, which at times manages to get the creeps. The monsters are well developed and the guttural roars and sounds they produce are very compelling. The weapons we can choose (and that we collect throughout the game) are very numerous, each with varying degrees of lethality. We begin with an automatic pistol (as in Wofestein) and finally we can use a plasma rifle very destructive, to a rocket launcher and even a chainsaw (anyone who has played Doom, you know how enjoyable it is cut up a few monsters with the chainsaw, the style Jason Vorhees).
Following the successful exit of Doom, ID, in collaboration with Raven Software, has launched other less popular titles to market as Heretic and Hexen: Beyond Heretic, cut mystical adventure FPS with an air of The Lord of the Rings, set in a fantasy world in which we had to kill demons with wands, potions and books explosive Spell. In these games, the novelty was that we could choose one of three players: a wizard, a cleric and a warrior (no doubt the best of three), each with special skills.
ID could say that reached the peak with the release of Quake in 1996, a game in itself itself constitutes a revolution for the FPS. Unlike their predecessors, Quake had a three-dimensional environment entirely. Not only scenarios but also the characters were made with 3D graphics, sprites were not simple in two dimensions from which only one side could see them, so even to this day is considered one of the most realistic FPS ever made.
All went well for the boys of ID, but they were not the only ones dedicated to creating games FPSs increasingly violent and realistic. The same year the release of Quake, 1996, 3D Realms, he released no more and no less than Duke Nukem 3D, bail out an old title of Apogee Software. In DN3D, represent the role of the Duke Nukem, who, after returning to Earth after a hard mission, he discovers that his beloved city, Los Angeles, has been attacked by strange aliens. Therefore, his new mission ... Guess! Duke Nukem 3D was the FPS market cornered by ID appeared, bringing a few innovations. Maybe not in terms of graphics (still funds in three dimensions and two-dimensional characters), but in regard to subject itself game, the presentation of character and a great deal of local humor and even politically incorrect. With all respect for the creations of the guys from id Software, I would say that Duke is the protagonist of a FPS game with more personality in history. For not only screams when he is shot or injured, but tends to drop when lapidary phrases to start a mission, or when performing a feat accomplished during a game. For example, we hear him say: "Nobody steals Our chicks ... and lives "(No one steals our girls ... and lives) or" Hail to the king, baby "(hello to the king, baby), when you fly into a thousand pieces horde of aliens, or my favorite: "I is not afraid of no quake" (do not fear earthquakes), making direct reference to his rival in the ID. Besides all this, DN3D caused controversy for its adult content (for many male, which may be true) in addition to the usual violence, far more extreme case (with certain weapons, we can literally blow up our enemies) . Thus, throughout the game we can see dancers from strip clubs to which we can offer them money to teach us their "talents", admire posters of women in bathing suits that are plastered everywhere or conditional attend film screenings inside a porn theater. As if this were not enough, the game has a special ingredient that many people may seem morally questionable, especially for athletes: the fact that Duke can use steroids during a game to regain strength and have more energy. But besides all this controversial content, Duke Nukem 3D has some advantages over its predecessor in the ID, such as greater freedom of movement. Unlike what happened in Doom, where progress could only run, Duke can jump, swim underwater and even fly, if you get the jet pack is hidden there. Of course, this implies that many levels have a bit more difficult, longer and more difficult to resolve. There is no denying the success of this game in its time and is still having garnered thousands of fans, as happened with Doom at the time.
To end this article as a mere pseudo-analytical and curious, I would like to mention a game released in 1996 by some company called Capstone, which used the 3D engine of 3D Realms: Witchaven, a medieval fantasy game in which he played a warrior who must defeat a horde of demons. Much like Heretic, but with better graphics and the option to play without gore blood or if your stomach is very sensitive. I could go on citing games and more games, but the list is endless.
Yes, FPS, is certainly a beloved genre, which had its birth and height in the past decade and, no doubt, will achieve immortality, despite over time.
