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==History== The origins of a first-person perspective in gaming can be traced back to first-person shooting [[arcade game]]s which predate the [[video game industry]]. Coin-operated mechanical shooting gallery games have existed since the early 20th century, later evolving into first-person [[Electronic game|electro-mechanical]] arcade shooters such as ''[[Periscope (arcade game)|Periscope]]'' (1965) from [[Namco]] and [[Sega]].<ref name="Therrien">Carl Therrien, [http://gamestudies.org/1502/articles/therrien Inspecting Video Game Historiography Through Critical Lens: Etymology of the First-Person Shooter Genre], ''Game Studies: The International Journal of Computer Game Research'', Volume 15, issue 2, December 2015, ISSN 1604-7982</ref> Several Sega arcade games in the 1960s and 1970s resembled first-person [[Shooter game|shooting video games]], but were in fact electro-mechanical games that used [[Rear projection effect|rear]] [[Image projector|image projection]] in a manner similar to a [[zoetrope]] to produce moving animations on a [[Projection screen|screen]]. A popular example of this was Sega's first-person [[light gun shooter]] ''Killer Shark'' (1972), which was featured in the film ''[[Jaws (film)|Jaws]]'' (1975).<ref name="Cohen">{{cite web |title= Killer Shark: The Undersea Horror Arcade Game in Jaws|author= D.S. Cohen |publisher= [[About.com]] |url= http://classicgames.about.com/od/arcadegames/p/KillerShark.htm|accessdate= 3 May 2011}}</ref> Sega's electro-mechanical [[combat flight simulator]] ''Jet Rocket'' (1970) featured shooting and flight movement in a 3D environment from a first-person perspective, a precursor to [[first-person shooter]]/vehicle combat video games such as ''[[Battlezone (video game)|Battlezone]]'' (1980) and ''[[Hovertank 3D]]'' (1991). [[Nintendo]]'s ''[[Wild Gunman]]'' (1974) featured the use of live-action [[full motion video]] footage from a first-person perspective.<ref name="Therrien"/> While many video games featured a [[Side-scrolling video game|side-scrolling]] or [[top-down perspective]] during the 1970s and 1980s, a number of games during that time attempted to render the game world from the perspective of the player. [[Light gun shooter]]s in particular often used a first-person perspective. An early first-person shooting and [[combat flight simulator]] video game was [[Taito Corporation|Taito]]'s ''[[Tomohiro Nishikado#Interceptor|Interceptor]]'' (1975), which featured enemy aircraft that [[2.5D|scaled in size]].<ref name="Therrien"/> ===Early examples=== While many games featured a [[Side-scrolling video game|side-scrolling]] or [[top-down perspective]], several early games attempted to render the game world from the perspective of the player. The earliest known examples were several [[Electro-mechanical arcade games|electro-mechanical]] [[arcade game]]s produced by [[SEGA]] which resemble first-person video games, but were in fact electro-mechanical games that used [[Rear projection effect|rear]] [[Image projector|image projection]] in a manner similar to the ancient [[zoetrope]] to produce moving [[animation]]s on a [[Projection screen|screen]].<ref name="Cohen"/> The first of these was the [[light gun shooter]] ''[[Light gun shooter#History|Duck Hunt]]'',<ref name="Duck">{{Cite web|title=1969 SEGA Duck Hunt (Arcade Flyer)|work=pinrepair.com|url=http://www.pinrepair.com/arcade/sduckhu.htm|accessdate=2011-05-03}}</ref> which SEGA released in 1969.<ref>{{MOTG|13152|Duck Hunt (1969)}}</ref> That same year, SEGA released the electro-mechanical games ''[[Arcade game#Electro-mechanical games|Grand Prix]]'', a first-person [[racing game]]<ref>{{MOTG|17382|Grand Prix}}</ref> projecting a [[2.5D|forward]]-[[scrolling]] road on a screen,<ref>Bill Loguidice & Matt Barton (2009), ''Vintage games: an insider look at the history of Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario, and the most influential games of all time'', p. 198, [[Focal Press]], ISBN 0-240-81146-1</ref> and ''[[Arcade game#Electro-mechanical games|Missile]]'', a first-person [[Vehicular combat game|vehicle combat sim]] that had a moving film strip project targets on screen and a [[Dual analog control|dual-control]] scheme where two [[D-pad|directional buttons]] move the player tank and a two-way [[joystick]] with a fire [[Push-button|button]] shoots and steers missiles onto oncoming planes, which explode when hit.<ref name="Missile">{{MOTG|10600|Missile}}</ref> In 1970,<ref>{{MOTG|5190|S.A.M.I.}}</ref> the game was released in America as ''S.A.M.I.''<ref name="Missile"/> That same year, SEGA released ''[[Arcade game#Electro-mechanical games|Jet Rocket]]'', a first-person [[Combat flight simulator|combat flight sim]] with [[Aircraft flight control system|cockpit controls]] that could move the player aircraft around a landscape displayed on screen and shoot missiles onto targets that explode when hit.<ref>{{MOTG|17309|Jet Rocket}}</ref> In 1972, SEGA released their final electro-mechanical game ''Killer Shark'', a first-person [[light gun]] game known for appearing in the 1975 film ''[[Jaws (film)|Jaws]]''.<ref name="Cohen"/> In 1974, [[Nintendo]] released the arcade light gun shooter ''[[Wild Gunman]]'', which used [[Full motion video based game|full-motion]] [[video projection]] to display live-action [[cowboy]] opponents on screen.<ref>{{MOTG|10432|Wild Gunman (1974)}}</ref> While light gun shooters often have a first-person perspective, they are distinct from first-person shooters, which use conventional input devices for movement.<ref name="concepts"/> It is not clear exactly when the earliest such first-person shooter video game was created. There are two claimants, ''[[Spasim]]'' and ''[[Maze War]]''. The uncertainty about which was first stems from the lack of any accurate dates for the development of ''Maze War''—even its developer [http://www.digibarn.com/history/04-VCF7-MazeWar/stories/colley.html cannot remember exactly]. In contrast, the development of ''Spasim'' is much better documented and the dates more certain. The initial development of ''Maze War'' probably occurred in the summer of 1973. A single player made their way through a simple maze of corridors rendered using fixed perspective. Multiplayer capabilities, with players attempting to shoot each other, were probably added later in 1973 (two machines linked via a serial connection) and in the summer of 1974 (fully networked). ''Spasim'' was originally developed in the spring of 1974. Players moved through a wire-frame 3D universe, with gameplay resembling the 2D game ''[[Empire]]''. Graphically, ''Spasim'' lacked even hidden line removal, but did feature online multiplayer over the worldwide university-based [[PLATO network]]. Another notable PLATO FPS was the tank game ''[[Panther]]'', introduced in 1975, generally acknowledged as a precursor to ''[[Battlezone]]''. ''Spasim'' had a documented debut at the [[University of Illinois]] in 1974. The game was a rudimentary space [[flight simulator]], which featured a first-person perspective.<ref name="geektrivia">Garmon, Jay, [http://www.techrepublic.com/article/geek-trivia-first-shots-fired/5710539 Geek Trivia: First shots fired], ''TechRepublic'', May 24, 2005, Accessed Feb 16, 2009</ref> In 1975, SEGA released the early [[Co-operative gameplay|co-operative]] light gun shooter video games ''Balloon Gun''<ref>{{MOTG|12795|Balloon Gun}}</ref> and ''Bullet Mark'', where light guns are used to hit a variety of moving targets displayed on the monitor, with different points awarded/deducted for hitting/missing different targets.<ref>{{MOTG|12685|Bullet Mark}}</ref> That same year, [[Taito Corporation|Taito]] released ''[[Tomohiro Nishikado#Interceptor|Interceptor]]'', an early [[combat flight simulator]] that involved controlling a [[Fighter aircraft|jet fighter]] while moving a crosshair to aim and shoot at enemy aircraft that move in formations of two and [[2.5D|scaled in size]] depending on their distance to the player.<ref>{{MOTG|8195|Interceptor}}</ref> In 1976, SEGA's ''[[EVR Race|Road Race]]'' extended the car [[racing video game]] genre into three dimensions with a first-person perspective. It displayed a constantly changing S-shaped road with two obstacle race cars moving along the road that the player must avoid crashing while racing against the clock.<ref>{{MOTG|12733|Road Race}}</ref> In 1980, [[SEGA]]'s [[Arcade game|arcade]] space shooter ''[[Space Tactics]]'' also allowed players to take aim using crosshairs and shoot into the screen at enemies coming towards them.<ref>{{MOTG|9683|name=Space Tactics}}</ref> A few other shooters with a first-person perspective were released during the early 1980s, including Taito's ''[[List of Taito games|Space Seeker]]'' in 1981,<ref>{{MOTG|9682|name=Space Seeker}}</ref> [[Bandai]]'s ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam: Last Shooting]]'' in 1984,<ref name=HG101-Gundam>Carlo Savorelli, [http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/zgundam/zgundam.htm Z Gundam], Hardcore Gaming 101</ref> and several SEGA releases, including the vector [[Space flight simulator game|space simulator]] game ''[[Star Trek (arcade game)|Star Trek]]''<ref>{{MOTG|9770|Star Trek}}</ref> and [[List of stereoscopic video games|stereoscopic 3-D]] game ''[[SubRoc-3D]]''<ref>{{MOTG|9856|SubRoc-3D}}</ref> in 1982, and the [[laserdisc video game]] ''[[Astron Belt]]'' in 1983.<ref>{{Allgame|9550|title=Astron Belt}}</ref> First-person light gun shooters would rise in popularity during the mid-1980s,<ref name="controversy">[http://uk.gamespot.com/features/6090892/p-13.html When Two Tribes Go to War: A History of Video Game Controversy], ''GameSpot,'' Accessed Feb 26, 2009</ref><ref>Staff, [http://www.next-gen.biz/features/30-defining-moments-gaming The 30 Defining Moments in Gaming], ''Edge'', Aug 13, 2007, Accessed Feb 27, 2009</ref> with [[Nintendo]]'s ''[[Duck Hunt]]'' being a much-loved example.<ref name="concepts">Casamassina, Matt, [http://uk.cube.ign.com/articles/653/653867p1.html Controller Concepts: Gun Games], ''IGN,'' Sept 26, 2005, Accessed Feb 27, 2009</ref> In 1986, the first-person shooter ''[[Kidō Senshi Z-Gundam: Hot Scramble|Z-Gundam: Hot Scramble]]''<ref>{{Allgame|14947|Mobile Suit Gundam Z: Hot Scramble}}</ref> allowed the player to aim and lock-on to enemies while shooting and gave the illusion of [[six degrees of freedom]] in its [[Open-world|open]] space levels.<ref name=HG101-Gundam/> Later in the decade, the arrival of a new generation of home computers such as the [[Atari ST]] and the [[Amiga]] increased the computing power and graphical capabilities available, leading to a new wave of innovation. 1987 saw the release of ''[[MIDI Maze]]'' (aka ''Faceball''), an important transitional game for the genre. Unlike its polygonal contemporaries, ''MIDI Maze'' used a [[raycasting]] engine to speedily draw square corridors. It also offered a networked multiplayer [[deathmatch]] (communicating via the computer's [[MIDI]] interface). In 1988, ''[[Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode]]'' featured various first-person shooter levels and is notable for introducing a [[sniper rifle]], used in unique missions requiring the player to assassinate an enemy agent from a long distance using an unsteady sniper scope.<ref>[http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=1&cId=3151392 Playing With Power], [[1UP.com|1UP]]</ref> In 1990, [[SNK]] released [[Beat 'em up video games|beat 'em ups]] with a first-person perspective: the [[Hack and slash|hack & slash]] game ''[[Crossed Swords (video game)|Crossed Swords]]'',<ref>{{Allgame|9836|Crossed Swords}}</ref> and the fighting & shooting game ''[[The Super Spy]]'',<ref>{{Allgame|11267|The Super Spy}}</ref> which introduced the concept of showing the player's hand on-screen, strengthening the illusion that the player is viewing the world through the character's eyes. In early 1991, [[Data East]] released ''[[Silent Debuggers]]'' for the [[TurboGrafx-16]]. This game featured a minimum ability to look up and down. It also allowed players to aim the gun sight when shooting at enemies.<ref name="official">{{Cite web |url=http://vc-pce.com/usa/e/title/silent_debuggers.html |title=Silent Debuggers |accessdate=2007-07-13 |work=Hudson Soft Virtual Console }}</ref> In late 1991, the fledgling [[id Software]] released ''[[Catacomb 3D]]'', which also featured the concept of showing the player's hand on-screen. Taito's ''[[Gun Buster]]'' was an innovative first-person shooter released in 1992 for the arcades. It featured on-foot gameplay and a unique control scheme where the player moves using an eight-direction [[joystick]] and [[Free look|takes aim]] using a mounted positional [[light gun]]. It was also unique in allowing two-player [[cooperative gameplay]] for the mission mode, and featured an early [[deathmatch]] mode, where either two players could compete against each other or up to four players could compete in a [[team deathmatch]], consisting of two teams with two players each competing against each other.<ref>{{MOTG|8036|Gun Buster}}</ref> In 1992, ''[[Ultima Underworld]]'' was among the first to feature texture mapped environments, polygonal objects, and basic lighting. The engine was later enhanced for usage in the game ''[[System Shock]]''. Later in 1992, id improved the technology used in ''[[Catacomb 3D]]'' by adding support for [[VGA]] graphics in ''[[Wolfenstein 3D]]''. With these improvements over its predecessors, ''Wolfenstein 3D'' was a hit. It would be widely imitated in the years to follow, and thus marked the beginning of many conventions in the genre, including collecting different weapons that can be switched between using the keyboard's number keys, and ammo conservation. 1996 saw the release of ''[[The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall]]'' for [[DOS]] by [[Bethesda Softworks]], featuring similar graphics and polygonal structures to other games at the time and furthering the first-person element included in 1994's ''[[The Elder Scrolls: Arena]]'', to which it was a sequel. ===3D gaming=== In 1980, [[SEGA]]'s [[Arcade game|arcade]] space [[shoot 'em up]] ''[[Space Tactics]]'' allowed players to take aim using crosshairs and fire lasers into the screen at enemies coming towards them, creating an early 3-D effect.<ref>{{MOTG|9683|name=Space Tactics}}</ref> In 1982, SEGA's ''[[SubRoc-3D]]'' also featured a first-person perspective and introduced the use of [[List of stereoscopic video games|stereoscopic 3-D]] through a special eyepiece.<ref>{{MOTG|9856|SubRoc-3D}}</ref> In 1984, [[Technosoft]] released ''[[Plazma Line]]'', a first-person space [[racing video games|racing game]]. Released for the [[FM-7]] computer, it is considered the first [[PC game|computer game]] with [[3D computer graphics|3D polygon]] graphics.<ref name="ohfm_plazma">{{Cite web|title=Plazma Line|url=http://retropc.net/fm-7/museum/softhouse/tecnosoft/330602600.html|work=[[:jp:Oh!FM{{!}}Oh!FM]]|accessdate=1 September 2012|archiveurl=http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fretropc.net%2Ffm-7%2Fmuseum%2Fsofthouse%2Ftecnosoft%2F330602600.html|archivedate=1 September 2012}}</ref> In 1988, [[Arsys Software]]'s ''[[Star Cruiser]]'',<ref name=4gamer>[http://www.4gamer.net/games/008/G000896/20080428044/ スタークルーザー] ([http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.4gamer.net%2Fgames%2F008%2FG000896%2F20080428044%2F translation]), 4Gamer.net</ref> an early first-person shooter,<ref name=allgame/> was an innovative game that introduced the use of fully [[3D computer graphics|3D]] [[Polygon (computer graphics)|polygonal]] graphics as well as [[action role-playing game]] elements. The backgrounds, objects and characters in the game were rendered in 3D polygons, many years before 3D polygons became widespread in the gaming industry. It was released for the [[NEC PC-8801]] computer in 1988,<ref name=4gamer/> and ported to the [[Mega Drive]]/[[Genesis]] in 1990.<ref name=allgame>{{Allgame|16126|Star Cruiser}}</ref> In 1994, ''[[Virtua Cop]]'' popularized the use of 3D polygons in first-person perspective [[shooter game]]s.<ref name="ngage">[http://uk.ngage.ign.com/articles/528/528915p1.html Virtua Cop], ''IGN,'' July 7, 2004, Accessed Feb 27, 2009</ref> That same year, Exact released the [[Sharp X68000]] computer game ''[[Geograph Seal]]'', a fully 3D polygonal first-person shooter, notable for its unique blend of free-roaming shooting and [[platform game]] mechanics. The following year, Exact released its successor for the [[PlayStation]] console, ''[[Jumping Flash!]]'', which was similar but placed more emphasis on the platforming rather than the shooting.<ref>[http://www.the-nextlevel.com/review/retro/geograph-seal-x68000/ Geograph Seal (X68000)], ''The Next Level''</ref> In December 1994 [[From Software]] released [[King's Field]] for the [[PlayStation]]; a title which seems to predate all other full polygon, free-roaming, real-time, first-person, action games. It contains [[Role-playing video games|RPG]] elements and a mix of close and long range combat game play. The 1995 game ''[[Descent]]'' used a fully 3D polygonal graphics engine to render opponents, departing from the [[sprite]]s used by most previous games in the FPS genre. It also escaped the "pure vertical walls" graphical restrictions of earlier games in the genre, and allowed the player six degrees of freedom of movement (up/down, left/right, forward/backward, [[Flight dynamics|pitch, roll, and yaw]]). Thus, Descent was the first first-person game in the modern era to use a fully 3D engine in all aspects of gameplay. A few websites allow users to play FPS games online. ''Mercenary Camp FMS'' and ''[[Quake Live]]'' are examples of such browser-based FPS games.
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