In his book “A People’s History of the United States,” Howard Zinn argues for an alternate (but just as valid) historical narrative that put common people at the core of its story rather than the powerful political / economic figures that “inevitably” wielded control in a historical trajectory. The truth, however, is that their power and legitimacy was disputed at every step. Much like US history, the history of game development is largely dominated by the powerful — large international publishers and industry developers dominate the conventional narrative and are its heroes. This talk will not argue whether the industry is good or evil, but the truth is always more complicated than that. The history of the first person game genre, then, can be read as a narrative arc with three eras: a “Doom” era with lots of modder / industry symbiosis, a “console” era that forced these modders to consolidate with indies, and now an “indie FPS” era that seems poised to takeover popular discourse of the genre. Today, “modding” as we understood it 10 years ago, is now dead. In this talk, attendees will hear about the rise and fall of the many modding city-states, several general critiques of the console military manshooter market, and a critical survey of over a dozen experimental indie FPS games you’ve probably never heard of.

1. A People's History of the
First Person Shooter
Robert Yang
@radiatoryang
Parsons the New School for Design

3. Some storylines:
- FPS as institution
- console FPS market
- the death of modding
- eclectic indie scene

4. “... a game that weaves together
image, sound and narrative into
a new form of experience.”

5. “... a game that weaves together
image, sound and narrative into
a new form of experience.”
– “A New Art Form May Arise From the 'Myst'”, 12/4/1994

9. CD-ROM
~6 million
sold
(1993-2003)

10. ART TECHNOLOGY

12. 1993 1993

13. DISRUPTIVE
TECHNOLOGY
DISRUPTIVE
INNOVATION

14. 1972 2010

15. FIRST PERSON FIRST PERSON

17. HARD-CODED MODULAR

18. CD-ROM The “Internet” (?)

19. INNOVATIVE INNOVATIVER

20. DEAD ALIVE

26. DEAD ALIVE

27. Some storylines:
- FPS as institution
- console FPS market
- the death of modding
- eclectic indie scene

28. Mods!
(modifications)
“UGC” (user-generated content)

29. Total Conversion
(“the moddiest”)

30. Total Conversion
(“the moddiest”)

31. Graphics “upgrade”

32. Map pack / map

33. Maps are mods.

34. Maps are mods.

35. Trends / waves

36. Trends / waves

37. Trends / waves

38. Trends / waves

39. Trends / waves

40. Mods were...
- new rules / content
- free, nonprofit
- existing assets, engine
- required retail copy

41. Mods were...
- new rules / content
- free, nonprofit
- existing assets, engine
- required retail copy

42. Mods meant
- a way to “break in”
- a commentary
- a “default audience”

43. MODS
TOTAL CONVERSIONS
NON PROFIT
DEAD

44. MODS MODS
DEAD ALIVE

45. Garry's Mod

50. 2009 2010

51. Some storylines:
- FPS as institution
- console FPS market
- the death of modding
- eclectic indie scene

52. THE INDIE FPS

54. MADE INDIE FIRST PERSON GAMES
BEFORE IT WAS COOL

55. “At A Distance”
Sense of embodiment

56. “Fotonica”
Sense of embodiment

57. “Hockey”
Sense of embodiment

58. “Valentinel Hopes”
Sense of embodiment

59. “MirrorMoon”
Vision / camera

60. “I Can't Find My Glasses”
Vision / camera

61. “Unmanned”
Vision / camera

62. “Perspective”
Vision / camera

63. “Cities of Day and Night”
Perspective / understanding

64. “TRAUMA”
Perspective / understanding

65. “TRIP”
Perspective / understanding

66. “Kairo”
Perspective / understanding

67. “Proteus”
Soundscapes

68. “FRACT OSC”
Soundscapes

69. “Dirac”
Digital mediation

70. “Memories of a Broken Dimension”
Digital mediation

71. “There's sort of
this zeitgeist
of people saying
the first-person
perspective is really
interesting. What happens if
you take out shooting?”

73. MADE INDIE FIRST PERSON GAMES
BEFORE IT WAS COOL

74. Some storylines:
- FPS as institution
- console FPS market
- the death of modding
- eclectic indie scene

75. TAKEAWAYS

76. a takeaway:
the revenge
of Myst

78. a takeaway:
the mod scene was a
proto-indie scene
fragmented by engine-
tech fundamentalism

79. a takeaway:
the “mod” “died”
because engine
licensing and modes of
distribution changed

80. a takeaway:
the indie fps
scene is HUGE and
ADVANCED.

81. THE takeaway:
“Amateur” game
developers have been
deeply involved in the
first person genre since
it first began.

82. NO

83. Game dev history...
●
Tech / engine?
●
Distribution model?
●
Geographic location?

84. WHO WILL
WRITE OUR
WIKIPEDIA
PAGE?

85. Thanks.
Robert Yang
@radiatoryang