I was curious as to how first person shooter games came about, and how they became so popular, so I found this website that has five parts about the time history of first person shooter games. It’s not incredibly detailed, but it does touch on major games and the major software developers. Part one talks about the origins of the genre, and then each part after that takes a specific time frame and the developments made during those years.
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That was a pretty thorough article. It covered just about every major selling-FPS out there. I’m a little afraid of thinking about how many hours I have sunk into FPS’s. Goldeneye, Star wars Battlefront 2, Halo 2, Call of Duty 4, Medal of honor, Halo 3, and Battlefield Bad company have probably eaten up thousands of hours of my life. They are incredibly simple games though, just put the aimer where you want and pull the trigger. I think what makes them so enduring and entertaining is playing against other players.
I remember Kostner suggesting that the fun in FPS’s comes from mastery rather then from learning a pattern. There is always room for improvement in an FPS, or just about any game between players that allows for a complex set of interactions. For me, the skill mastery was part of what I enjoyed, but I also got a huge thrill out of reacting to the tactical situations that the game created. Tricking another player into a trap in Halo using grenades and corners is extremely satisfying. Or blowing through a wall to flank my opponents in Bad company. Ahh…so much nostalgia