HIGH SCHOOLERS INVENTED THE FIRST FPS GAME DURING A WORK STUDY AT DARPA
Video games have come a long way and there is no denying that one of the most popular genres within the industry is first-person shooters (FPS). The list of titles falling into this category is extensive and growing at a rapid rate. There are iconic franchises, and unique indie experiences, and even the genre itself has provided a variety of subgenres and cross-genres in the horror and battle royale categories. But a long-lost title made in the early days of the Internet helped play a role in making all of this a reality. We’ve come a long way from the first FPS game, but if not for a DARPA project gone experimental, who knows how long the evolution of shooting games might have taken, if it had even happened at all? Related: How Military Video Games Peek Into the Future of the Armed Forces
What Was the First FPS Game?
The first FPS game technically wasn’t a shooter at all. Known as Maze, the game was created through a work-study program at NASA's Ames Research Center in California by students who were working to create 3D images on a computer. Long before there were mobile shooters, gaming systems connecting us with strangers across the world, and just about any other device you can imagine these days, researchers were figuring out how to unlock the true potential of early computers. Back then, they were just getting started and the earliest form of the Internet was beginning to emerge. What may feel like a small accomplishment these days was a life-changing event in the year 1973, as students began pushing the Imlac PDS-1 and PDS-4 minicomputers to the limit. The game was called Maze because…well, it was a maze. You played in a first-person point of view trying to find a way out. Amazing for the time, but even back then, boredom set in fast and the player began to want more. It wasn't the government or the military that got us more, it was just a group of tech-savvy teens looking to have some fun. While NASA did want their state-of-the-art Imlac computers pushed to the limits, they figured 3D imagery would be a good enough task. Again, cool, but boring eventually. The students got used to the maze, so they took it up a notch. It was now time to add a second player by linking two computers together. This player would become a pair of floating eyes moving around the screen. After that, it was time to do what would become a classic video game pastime: use virtual bullets to shoot at each other. Suggested Read: The Stardew Valley Geneva Convention Violation Was Wild for Gamers More coding was added, additional features were added, and when Greg Thompson graduated from the program and headed to MIT, he took the game with him. It was there that he would collaborate with pioneering gaming icon Dave Lebling and create Maze War. After working on the game together, a variety of additional features were available. Eight players could now play at once, you could create your own mazes, and robot opponents were added. And that’s how we arrived at the first-ever FPS game created. But like many fun things, the government stepped in and made things complicated. Once the source code hit the U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) used by the U.S. Army and DARPA, the game grew far too big for this version of the Internet. The first FPS game ever would allow MIT to play against others from Stanford. It would revolutionize recreation and video games. It also took up half of the data on the Internet, harmed DARPA projects they were in the middle of, and created problems for the U.S. military as a result. Game over. Okay, not quite, but Maze War was forced off of ARPANET and a system for the game alone was created. Because of this, many different versions of the game were released and the massive reach of the first FPS game ever made had proven it to be an enormous success.
From Maze to Battle Royales and Beyond
It’s undeniable that the impact made with Maze War is firmly set in the history books. Two of the most influential FPS games of all time were also set in a maze-like setting and allowed players to shoot enemies. The game immediately inspired the Wolfenstein and Doom franchises respectively. Suggested Read: Military Recruitment Marketing: Using Video Games To Recruit Troops These franchises are often coined as the first 3D FPS games, but it’s clear what the first FPS game really was. Now, there are many different amazing franchises that include Blizzard's first multiplayer FPS game, Overwatch, in addition to Call of Duty, Halo, and Battlefield that provide a wide variety of gameplay both on and offline. Even when players aren’t in first-person, it’s clear that gun games continue to take a hold of the industry. There are iconic franchises such as Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption, and Gears of War that continue to captivate audiences and win awards year after year.
First FPS Game Helped Spark a Billion-Dollar Industry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF9XKRWnsTY It’s an interesting proposition to realize that the very people who created the Internet, helped us reach the stars, and are in charge of finding solutions for evolving weather patterns here on Earth, also had a hand in helping to create so many games we know and love. There have been countless parents yelling and screaming at gamers to go outside, read a book, or do science homework, and in reality, some of the top science programs in the world are responsible for a 360 no scope and building an industry that's bringing in hundreds of billions of dollars each year. Thanks for the first FPS game NASA, we appreciate you. Read Next: The Game of Life From Milton Bradley was Popularized During the Civil War
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