A game, after 30 years of ups and downs, has not been forgotten, in the face of this kind of work, what expressions should we show?Doom tells us the answer. 
As a classic game that debuted in December 1993 and has now entered its first year, to this day, mentioning the name "Doom" at the right time and place can still arouse a resonance far beyond expectations: in December 2023, when the masterpieces and shocking works are frequent, more than one game** issued a special article to commemorate the 30th anniversary of "Doom", which aroused a good response from readers;At the same time, among the community of players large and small, DOOM's self-made mods powered by love power generation from folk enthusiasts are still methodically updating—not the "old school reboot" DOOM released in 2016, or the controversial DOOM 3 that sparked a huge controversy in 2004, but the origin of all of the above
That's right, until 2023, there is still a group of die-hard gamers who have not forgotten their original intentions, tirelessly inheriting the mantle of the original "Doom", and developing folk mods day and night - although it seems to look the same as the original game in 1993, as long as you try it yourself, you can see that the seemingly rough pixel graphics can't hide the amazing fun of the game, and this alone is not an exaggeration to define "Doom" as "immortal". And that's far from all. In fact, after half a century of development as one of the oldest video game genres, FPS games still maintain the same vitality as in their heyday - so can we still find our place as producers of small and medium-sized games on this seemingly never-ending ride?This is a question worth pondering. FPS: Extraordinary OriginsAs a game genre, the starting point of FPS is a little further back than we remember:
In 1973, NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, held a campus-oriented technology experience that allowed local students to freely use IMLAC graphics workstations to create what interests them in order to test the computing performance of the end device. As for "why a group of students who are not familiar with the world are allowed to experience the most advanced computer terminals", the answer is actually very simple: in the 70s of the 20th century, computer graphics technology was still a "new concept with considerable potential", and whether it could play a role in the field of engineering (such as the fluid dynamics simulation that NASA had in mind at that time), even the front-line computer experts were also unsure;Since there is no path to success to rely on, simply let the new blood run freely, and maybe there will be some new sparks that have never been seen before - at least for the NASA leader who was in charge of the project at the time, the basic idea was this. 
However, the result of NASA's bold attempt did far exceed everyone's expectations: "The challenge was to figure out what IMLAC could do – could it really create a visual 3D world?"”
According to the recollection of one of the parties, Greg Thompson, although he was still a high school student who was still not deeply involved in the world at the time, he witnessed the smooth and natural vector images appearing on the screen of IMLAC PDS-1, and the feeling of "a new world slowly unfolding" instantly attracted the attention of these young people - soon, all the parties realized that if the "wireframes" composed of these vector graphics were stacked into an array, and then snooped through the perspective of "being in it", ...... snoopingOk, this is one of the monumental technological origins in the history of computer graphics, the origin of Labyrinth. Then, after all the people involved had experienced Labyrinth, the developers began to think about what it meant to be "more than just exploring": if there was more than one player who could explore Labyrinth at the same time, if players who were experiencing Labyrinth at the same time through a computer network could see each other and communicate with each other, if the theme of "communication" was not just to say hello, but to have some more interesting theme ......For example, what about the effect of the vector depicting shooting at each other?In this way, in 1973, the real originator of FPS, "Labyrinth War", was officially born: although the graphics are ridiculously simple, functions such as online PVP battles, ** leaderboards and other functions have been realized - and considering that the computer networks of that era are still in the embryonic stage of ARPANET, it is really appropriate to use the "breathtaking avant-garde" to define "Labyrinth Wars" and the FPS game behind it. 
And that's just the beginning. In the half-century since, almost every step of the way in the development of FPS games has driven the entire gaming industry forward: from hardware performance to software technology, from marketing strategies to distribution methods, we can see traces of the "main camera shooting" genre in almost every aspect of the development of the modern game industry - a trend that shows no signs of slowing down to this day. Let's zoom in a little closer. FPS: Evolutionary HistoriographyNeedless to say, just as the history of the PC doesn't have to be without Wintel and Apple, when it comes to the evolution of FPS, we can't avoid a series of thunderous headlines — and at the top of the first line of this list is destined to see this short and stellar name: ID Software. 
Founded in 1991, the studio is hard not to think of a weird group that "rock 'n' roll doesn't die": in the beginning, the entire organization had only a few second-hand computers, and the members were all young people in their early 20s, who could tirelessly squeeze themselves in front of the computer (as the person said) and produce wonderful low-budget low-capacity games with only caffeinated drinks and unlimited pizza. It sounds a bit like a game jam with no time limit, but the parties (especially the core members) basically have a lot of fun;Soon, after gaining a foothold with a series of side-scrolling action games, and discovering that "this way is possible" through one or two test works, this group of young people who rely on junk food for energy has moved out a masterpiece that shocked the industry:
Wolfenstein 3D, 1992. For the technical innovations of the game, it is clear that there is no need to dwell on the technical aspects of the game - let's pay attention to something more "realistic": at the 1992 Computer Games Developers Conference, managers from EA (yes, Electronic Arts) praised Wolfenstein 3D on the grounds that the work had achieved amazing commercial results without any advertising or marketing, ID Software's monthly revenue of up to $150,000 comes from the promotion of "Wolfenstein 3D", which does not cost a penny;As for how this kind of staggering marketing came out, in addition to id software's brand effect that was already well-known in the player circle at that time, the real key is simple: shareware. 
To put it simply, a routine similar to "the first level is free** makes everyone happy, and if you want to play the second level, please play for money", has emerged in the 80s of the 20th century, but considering the Internet bandwidth and near-no DRM methods at that time, it is basically impossible to find a second example that can reach the height of "Wolfenstein 3D" - so, what kind of magic does id software use?The answer is not mysterious: in 1992, "Wolfenstein 3D" was a well-deserved topic on Internet BBS and message boards, including Microsoft, the United States** (AOL) and even NintendoBacked by this near-unprecedented popularity, even with a payment conversion rate of only 2%, it was still a matter of course for id Software to make a significant profit – and considering the number of team members at the time, it wasn't too much to define ID as "one-step financial freedom". Not only that, in addition to the impressive commercial results of the publishing model ahead of the times, the greater contribution of ID SFOTware to the entire game industry in the early 90s was to elevate the modder spirit of "player community DIY" to unprecedented heights: "Wolfenstein 3D" was a warm-up, and in 1993, "Doom" ,The specially optimized file structure greatly facilitates the adjustment and creation of custom content by folk modders,Of course,If you really want to list the representative works of the game produced by id software at the level of "openness" and even "open source", this work will definitely not be absent:
Thor's Hammer, 1996. Unlike all the previous games produced by ID, "Quake" is a masterpiece of diversity that is completely impossible to define in one sentence: first of all, from the perspective of game mode and actual content, "Quake" completely defines all aspects of "Old School FPS" - the diversified gameplay brought by the diversified ** system, which seems simple and crude, but is actually accurate to the consumption of counting in frames The supply resource system, based on the incredible level of operation that the engine can achieve in an unthinkable way (even exceeding the developer's expectations), in a word, while id software has a lot of criticism about the final release of Quake, for players who have made it all the way from Wolfenstein 3D, there is no doubt that Quake is a gift full of surprises.
Secondly, at the product level, Quake became the flashpoint for id Software to fall apart;In terms of industry impact, the game successfully transformed "eSports" from a niche player subculture into a commercially valuable entertainmentOn the technical level, with the new port introduced in the improved version, this work directly makes 3DFX's Voodoo 3D accelerator card the best solution for all core playersOf course, if you have to list the most core impact of "Quake" on the entire gaming industry, it is clear that there is only one answer:
Quake Engine, the game engine for Quake. Although the Quake Engine seems to be much less famous than the more versatile modern game engines such as Unreal and Unity, with the open source advantage of open source**, the improved Quake Engine, which is constantly iterated to adapt to the new development environment, has begun to appear in the developer community one after another, and even until 2023, we can still find new games made with this engine on Steam;For example, in 1998, a group of developers from Microsoft developed a new game engine GoldSRC through a large-scale magic change of the Quake Engine, and used this as the starting point to create a legendary FPS series known as "nothing more than three".It didn't take long for the official debut of this legendary new series, a mod that changed the landscape of FPS eSports and even the market, based on this legendary new series:
Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike. Compared to most of the IPs listed above, Counter-Strike should have the least introduction to be introduced - for the vast majority of players who are keen on subjective shooters, this title is almost the entire definition of "FPS battle" or even "FPS esports": very different from the ultra-fast-paced ultra-difficult "arena" FPS duel laid by "Quake", Counter-Strike The relatively flat pace of the game and the demand for operation volume at the micro level, as well as the strategic thinking that must be carefully selected at the macro level, directly make "Counter-Strike" bring a new trend of "even the layman can watch the fun" FPS e-sports - it can be said that without "Counter-Strike", what the current e-sports landscape would become, it is really not certain.
In addition, in terms of commercialization, Counter-Strike is also impressive - there is no need to delve into the content of specialized fields such as "free games" and "out-of-box economics", just in terms of the dimension of "mod to positive", "Counter-Strike" has inspired more than one generation of modders: although it is not the first in the industry, it is now mentioned that "DIY content from the private sector with love has been officially incorporated by the game, and then reshaped the industry" The first impression of most friends is still "Counter-Strike";In a sense, without the example of "Counter-Strike", whether "The Forgotten City" and "Portal" could take shape, and whether "Dota 2" would be born, I am afraid that there will be a lot of variables. To sum up, the impact of the classic game genre FPS on the entire game industry is obvious to all - so let's get back to the topic: in this track that has accumulated too many technical and conceptual thresholds, can we find our place as small and medium-sized developers with limited capital?It's really hard. However, it is true that there are more ginseng than expectedFPS: The possibility of differentiating the track
《mouse》In mid-December 2023, this retro-style FPS game produced by Poland's Fumi Games collected millions of ** in a single day with just a demo trailer - considering that the production team does not have any notable completed works (all games are currently in development), this achievement is indeed a bit remarkable: the reason for this is that the visual effects that look like Disney animation in the early 20th century are undoubtedly the main reason - Even without mentioning the specific feel and level design, the feeling of operating "Steamship Willy" alone is more than enough to win enough early attention for this seemingly small work.
《superhot》If a yet-to-be-released title like "Mouse" isn't enough to be used as an argument, then in terms of sales results, "Superhot" is clearly more convincing - judging from the name of the development team of SuperHot Team, it is not difficult to see that this is a typical "masterpiece for a lifetime" small team, but even so, with highly stylized alternative visuals and a unique "real bullet time" Interactive, this lightweight FPS has sold phenomenal over the past decade (the first prototype was born in 2013) – the VR version alone sold 2 million copies in 2020. In any measure, this business achievement is something to be proud of.
《compound》There may also be friends who will question that the sales of "Superhot" are the result of the accumulation of the long-tail effect, and the overly alternative features also greatly reduce the reference value - then, the official version of "Compound" released in 2022 , which is obviously a more convincing example: with the exception of the BGM part, the game was developed by a single person, from the art to the program, and was produced for a total of six years, and finally received rave reviews (1824 reviews, 97% positive) on Steam - as a modern game that is completely retro in terms of graphics and gameplay, there is only one reason for this: on a design level, Compound Almost all the features of the early 90's retro fps have been reproduced;In terms of genre characteristics, as a VR native game, "Compound" allows all FPS old-school players who wear a VR headset for the first time to perfectly recreate the complete impression of experiencing "Doom" for the first time - although the graphics are too far behind the times at first glance, and although the content is very simple, in a certain dimension, "Compound" really makes us move towards the "ultimate goal of FPS" One step further: this is what Carmack has been striving for all his life, this is the science fiction dream written by the best artists from Aldous Huxley to William Gibson, this is the holographic imaging table in "Star Trek", the computer space in "Neurowanderer", the variant in "Snow Crash", this is virtual reality, it has many names, but the technology mastered by humans has never been able to turn it into reality, even if it is only a prototype. —D**ID Kushner, "Doom Revelations."That being the case, it makes sense to pay for a "new prototype that comes from scratch" like Compound. In the final analysis, although the mainstream FPS track has become a red ocean of technology and content involution, as a mature game type with a wide range of generalizations, there is still a lot of gap between the real potential of FPS and the exhaustion of it - since new platforms and new technologies are still emerging, bold attempts to carefully demonstrate the basic strategy still work on the FPS track. Exploring the possibilities on the "differentiated" track may be where our opportunity lies for the majority of small and medium-sized FPS development teams. (text North by Northwest).