First-person (video games)

This article is about the visual perspective. For the no representation of the avatar to block the players view.
narrative perspective, see rst-person narrative.
However, the absence of an avatar can make it dicult
to master the timing and distances required to jump beand may cause motion sickness in some
In video games, the rst person refers to a graphical tween platforms,
players.[1][2][3]
perspective rendered from the viewpoint of the players
character. In many cases, this may be the viewpoint Players have come to expect rst-person games to accufrom the cockpit of a vehicle. Many dierent genres rately scale objects to appropriate sizes. However, key
have made use of rst-person perspectives, ranging from objects such as dropped items or levers may be exaggeradventure games to ight simulators. Perhaps the most ated in order to improve their visibility.[1]
notable genre to make use of this device is the rst-person
shooter, where the graphical perspective has an immense
impact on game play.
2 History

2.1 Early examples

Game mechanics

While many games featured a side-scrolling or top-down

perspective during the 1970s and 80s, several early
games attempted to render the game world from the perspective of the player.
While light gun shooters often have a rst-person perspective, they are distinct from rst-person shooters,
which use conventional input devices for movement.[4]
It is not clear exactly when the earliest such rst-person
shooter video game was created. There are two claimants,
Spasim and Maze War. The uncertainty about which
was rst stems from the lack of any accurate dates for
the development of Maze Wareven its developer cannot remember exactly.[5] 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
A screenshot from S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, a
their way through a simple maze of corridors rendered usshooter game played from the rst-person perspective
ing xed perspective. Multiplayer capabilities, with players attempting to shoot each other, were probably added
Games with a rst-person perspective are usually avatarbased, wherein the game displays what the players avatar later in 1973 (two machines linked via a serial connecwould see with the avatars own eyes. Thus, players typ- tion) and in the summer of 1974 (fully networked).
ically cannot see the avatars body, though they may be Spasim was originally developed in the spring of 1974.
able to see the avatars weapons or hands. This viewpoint Players moved through a wire-frame 3D universe, with
is also frequently used to represent the perspective of a gameplay resembling the 2D game Empire. Graphically,
driver within a vehicle, as in ight and racing simulators; Spasim lacked even hidden line removal, but did feature
and it is common to make use of positional audio, where online multiplayer over the worldwide university-based
the volume of ambient sounds varies depending on their PLATO network. Spasim had a documented debut at the
University of Illinois in 1974. The game was a rudimenposition with respect to the players avatar.[1]
simulator, which featured a rst-person
Games with a rst-person perspective do not require so- tary space ight
[6]
Another
notable PLATO FPS was the tank
perspective.
phisticated animations for the players avatar, nor do
game
Panther,
introduced
in 1975, generally acknowlthey need to implement a manual or automated cameraBattlezone.
edged
as
a
precursor
to
[1]
control scheme as in third-person perspective. A rstperson perspective allows for easier aiming, since there is In 1975, Sega released the early co-operative light gun
1

2
shooter video games Balloon Gun[7] and Bullet Mark,
where light guns are used to hit a variety of moving
targets displayed on the monitor, with dierent points
awarded/deducted for hitting/missing dierent targets.[8]
That same year, Taito released Interceptor, an early
combat ight simulator that involved controlling a jet
ghter while moving a crosshair to aim and shoot at enemy aircraft that move in formations of two and scaled in
size depending on their distance to the player.[9] In 1976,
Segas Road Race extended the car racing video game
genre into three dimensions with a rst-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.[10]

2 HISTORY
Taitos Gun Buster was an innovative rst-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 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.[24]
In 1992, Ultima Underworld was among the rst 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 dierent weapons
that can be switched between using the keyboards number keys, and ammo conservation. 1996 saw the release of The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall for MS-DOS
by Bethesda Softworks, featuring similar graphics and
polygonal structures to other games at the time and furthering the rst-person element included in 1994s The
Elder Scrolls: Arena, to which it was a sequel.

In 1980, Sega's arcade space shooter Space Tactics also

allowed players to take aim using crosshairs and shoot
into the screen at enemies coming towards them.[11] A
few other shooters with a rst-person perspective were
released during the early 1980s, including Taitos Space
Seeker in 1981,[12] Bandai's Mobile Suit Gundam: Last
Shooting in 1984,[13] and several Sega releases, including the vector space simulator game Star Trek[14] and
stereoscopic 3-D game SubRoc-3D[15] in 1982, and the
laserdisc video game Astron Belt in 1983.[16] First-person
light gun shooters would rise in popularity during the mid1980s,[17][18] with Nintendo's Duck Hunt being a muchloved example.[4] In 1986, the rst-person shooter ZGundam: Hot Scramble[19] allowed the player to aim and
lock-on to enemies while shooting and gave the illusion
2.2
of six degrees of freedom in its open space levels.[13]

3D gaming

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 oered a networked multiplayer deathmatch (communicating via the
computers MIDI interface).
In 1988, Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode featured various
rst-person shooter levels and is notable for introducing a
sniper rie, used in unique missions requiring the player
to assassinate an enemy agent from a long distance using an unsteady sniper scope.[20] In 1990, SNK released
beat 'em ups with a rst-person perspective: the hack &
slash game Crossed Swords,[21] and the ghting & shooting game Super Spy.[22] 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.[23] In late 1991, the edgling id Software released Catacomb 3D, which introduced the concept of
showing the players hand on-screen, strengthening the
illusion that the player is viewing the world through the
characters eyes.

Zeno Clash features beat 'em up gameplay from a rst-person

perspective

In 1980, Sega's arcade space shoot 'em up Space Tactics allowed players to take aim using crosshairs and re
lasers into the screen at enemies coming towards them,
creating an early 3-D eect.[11] In 1982, Segas SubRoc3D also featured a rst-person perspective and introduced
the use of stereoscopic 3-D through a special eyepiece.[15]
In 1988, Arsys Software's Star Cruiser,[25] an early rstperson shooter,[26] was an innovative game that introduced the use of fully 3D polygonal graphics as well as

3
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,[25] and ported to
the Sega Mega Drive in 1990.[26]
In 1994, Virtua Cop popularized the use of 3D polygons
in rst-person perspective shooter games.[27] That same
year, Exact released the Sharp X68000 computer game
Geograph Seal, a fully 3D polygonal rst-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.[28]

[4] Casamassina, Matt, Controller Concepts: Gun Games,

IGN, Sept 26, 2005, Accessed Feb 27, 2009
[5] Stories from the Maze War 30 Year Retrospective: Steve
Colleys Story of the original Maze. DigiBarn Computer
Museum. Retrieved January 19, 2016. It may be that
the networked version didn't happen until '74 because I
[developer Steve Colley] can't remember exactly when the
network was put on the Imlacs.
[6] Garmon, Jay, Geek Trivia: First shots red, TechRepublic,
May 24, 2005, Accessed Feb 16, 2009
[7] Balloon Gun at the Killer List of Videogames
[8] Bullet Mark at the Killer List of Videogames
[9] Interceptor at the Killer List of Videogames

In December 1994 From Software released Kings Field [10] Road Race at the Killer List of Videogames
for the Sony PlayStation console; a title which seems to
predate all other full polygon, free-roaming, real-time, [11] Space Tactics at the Killer List of Videogames
rst-person, action games. It contains RPG elements and [12] Space Seeker at the Killer List of Videogames
a mix of close and long range combat gameplay.
The 1995 game Descent used a fully 3D polygonal graphics engine to render opponents, departing from the sprites
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, pitch, roll, and yaw). Thus, Descent was
the rst rst-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. Racing games also use rst-person gameplay
and the only installment in the Mario Kart franchise to use
that is Mario Kart 7.[29] Other 3D racing games which use
rst-person mode include Juiced, Need for Speed, Ridge
Racer and Gran Turismo.

See also
Over the shoulder shot
3D graphics
First-person shooter engine

[13] Carlo Savorelli, Z Gundam, Hardcore Gaming 101

[14] Star Trek at the Killer List of Videogames
[15] SubRoc-3D at the Killer List of Videogames
[16] First-person at Allgame
[17] When Two Tribes Go to War: A History of Video Game
Controversy, GameSpot, Accessed Feb 26, 2009
[18] Sta, The 30 Dening Moments in Gaming, Edge, Aug
13, 2007, Accessed Feb 27, 2009
[19] Mobile Suit Gundam Z: Hot Scramble at Allgame
[20] Playing With Power, 1UP
[21] Crossed Swords at Allgame
[22] The Super Spy at Allgame
[23] Silent Debuggers. Hudson Soft Virtual Console. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
[24] Gun Buster at the Killer List of Videogames
[25]

(translation), 4Gamer.net

[26] Star Cruiser at Allgame

[27] Virtua Cop, IGN, July 7, 2004, Accessed Feb 27, 2009
[28] Geograph Seal (X68000), The Next Level

References

[1] Rollings, Andrew; Ernest Adams (2006). Fundamentals

of Game Design. Prentice Hall.
[2] Miller, Ross (17 July 2008). How Mirrors Edge ghts
simulation sickness. Engadget. Retrieved 24 February
2016.
[3] Ashcraft, Brian (16 July 2008). Mirrors Edge Motion
Sickness. Kotaku. Retrieved 24 February 2016.

[29] Kart Controls: First Person, Mario Kart 7 North American website

5 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

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