The endangered species – The FPS Gamer

ET is dead, so i dont really care about FPS anymore

CSGO is awful. Like all other modern FPS games. Even someone like unforgiven could make a better game!

I think it is matter of a 'fashion' in eSports, FPS games were most important since the beggining and ppl somehow got bored of it thats why they moved to other genre of games. Also there are also much more kiddos who likes spells, buffs, hundreds of characters, teleportation etc etc than 'boring ET with 5 classess and 20guns'

Important thing is also that there isnt any new noteworthy FPS game. And all the dope FPS games are 2 old for esport canons nowdays

And the last thing - consoles - it isnt possible to make good FPS games aimed for consoles and PC's aswell. And in case of games like starcraft, LoL, WoW etc it is. Thats why developers dont have any real business in making good FPS because they won't earn enough money only for PC versions of games, and FPS adapted for console is crap like for example Wolfenstein

note: it is just my point of view - a man who has been playin et for few years but never really following the eSports.

sry for low eng

once shootmania will be released the fps games scene will be saved

is this real life

We need a completely new title to the FPS. Not sequel of some older since it just ends up splitting the communities (like CSGO). Shootamania could be one but I honestly doubt that it will be new CS 1.6.
Nowadays titles seems to be aimed for a casual audience. Games are always made to many platforms which leads to the fact that PC side of the game endure.

Hopefully there will be a new big title for the FPS games soon!

1.6 is still by far the best game around its a shame its not supported by anyone anymore. I guess we need to wait if 2GD delivers with reborn project, otherwise i cant see any game making a real splash. Maybe firefall can buy their way in depending how their esports project is done but still pretty cautious about that.

Concerning ET, less people watch ETTV because it's hard to get entertained by a game you've been playing for years imo. Well, with a decent coverage and a shoutcast it could help bringing more interest though.
It's also a shame that ET is TOO difficult to install for someone who has no clue about ET. (I know what I'm talking about. I had to explain my irl friend how to play ET with tzac and stuff and I was like $!$!$!$!$!$!$!) I think videostream is a good option then but the problem is how to make the potential new ETplayers watch that stream!

I won't talk about other FPS since I find them boring compared to ET. However, people seem less interested by FPS compared to RTS/RPG. I think it's a fact. We'd need to let them understand it's much more than shooting electronic bullets, there's a real team strategy hidden e.g.

Back in the days we did only have a couple titles to choose from but by now gaming has grown into a very large industry. Companies like Activision who are able to sell a new installment of a franchise on an annual basis and platforms like steam/gog/destructoid allow us to over-saturate our need for games without any real effort.
I have so many games on steam, i cant physically play them all.
i currently want to play more gw2 but i find myself torn between playing bl2 and tl2.
we became variety gamers and casuals.
playing a different game every week is the opposite of what is needed to build a community and develope expertise in a specific game. cs:go for example is gonna do well regarding that. they have got the support of the devs (monetary but also in service for the community and simply in functionality) and a large, loyal scene behind it. CS in general is struggeling because its community is spread across 3 different games and there is no massive influx in new players (CS has been around for long enough, people who didnt play it so far wont start now) but its gonna do just fine in its own ways. many of us might not care for it for different reasons (e.g. limited gameplay variety for me) but enough people do.
LoL is another example you used and in that i cant quite agree with you. LoL has started out as introducing a very competitive concept to a broad audience. they had unbelievable success with that and as a result we have new moba games being announced every other week. LoL itself has not had an esport approach to it at all tho, apart from all the changes to the original dota which simplify the game the whole system of leveling up and customizing an account is in no way a competitive one.
Riot games have spend millions and millions of dollars in buying their own esport scene and that has worked... to some degree. people are joining teams, perfecting their tactics and attending on- and offline events. that is esport.
however when you look at what happend in raleigh and what industry professionals have to say about it one has to aknowledge that it rather is "a gateway to real esports" and thats just fine, but cant be a good example to look at. they made tons of money by taking an idea away from a competitive environment and made it casual and now they use that money to try and go the other way.
so it appears to be all about the money, and in fact it is.
games are design to be attractive in a very short product life span. you market your game, you release patches on and after release to fix the bugs that were still in there cause your publisher forced you to release and then you get on with the next projects.
but this has not even been all that different in the past, we, the gamers, have been. CoD4 wasnt a competitive game when it game out. It took over a year of developing two different mods (pam and promod) until we finally stuck with the recepie.
we have got to ask ourselves: are there still competitive FPS players out there? Are there still modders out there?
I honestly dont believe that people play a game cause there is prizemoney to be won. the fraction of people actually getting their hands on some real chash for playing is minute, even more so in large communities, so i have never understood that argument. we need to like the game in order to stick with it. but do enough people like what we do?
if some dev was to release a remake of ET i dont think they would get their efforts worth.
"a class based shoorter" "well i can play BF for that"
"learning the game for a couple YEARS in order to be able to play it?" "but the new cod comes out next week"

tl;dr:
games have a short life span, not enough to build expertise.
gamers have a short attention span and prefer casual games to actually sticking with only one and learning that (for years).

didnt read lol!
waiting for reborn! in the meanwhile playing ET, QL, CS 1.6, CS:GO and maybe even some BF3

I think the publishers themselves have been a huge destroyer of the FPS genre as we like to think of it as. Call of Duty and it's various offshoots are spewed out at a worrying rate.... The problem here is like many people have said within this topic is the short lifespan or games, communities are forged in fire then broken up almost as quickly as they were created.

Online games are becoming bigger and bigger which means, for games that really love settling into a popular game and it's community will be left disappointed.... Profit > Community

I followed the development of Wolfenstein and Brink and I was left bitterly disappointed.

Good topic Pansy, and fantastic points hugthesub but alas, your reply is too big to read at work ;)


p.s I played League but although I am a teamplayer, sometimes I like to do my own thing which I think is impossible in league as you're totally reliant on your team......(Frustrating indeed!)

because FPS require skill -.- period.

Fps got killed by console, most of the fps which are made for casual gaming as well as "sort of" competitive one are in console lately, this is why it started to split a community of the same game into 2 different ones.
At the opposit games like starcraft or LoL are viable only on PC.

There is also all this knowledge you have to get to become "good" or to enjoy your game on fps that is different from LoL in my opinion.

Other than that, riot just made the perfect operation and so did Blizzard, they had a good marketing operation which obviously made them skyrocket to the top views esports wise.

CS:GO Is great. That's all i have.

Since I moved to sc2 almost 2 years ago I think I can give one comment about this one. For me, watching FPS is way more boring than watching a game of SC2. Just looking at the name of genre you can find the reason why sc2 is more spectator-friendly. FPS= first person shooter, RTS= real time strategy.
Even 2 players can make spectacular games, which isnt the case in for example CS:GO/ET. Yes, LoL is the most popular game now, but I think there are more reasons for it: its free, it's noob friendly but also for being top you need to be rather good, developer invested A LOT into prize moneys & spectator "abilities(ingame browser for example)".on other side, sc2 is not free, it's really not easy to get to some decent level(diamond for example),blizzard is limiting a lot of options, invested only in 1 big tournament so far and there is still no ingame streams which is a huge factor. maybe dota2 ll be biggest game in the shorter future because I do think blizzard is failing a lot at the moment.

for me, fps games at the current state have no future or whatsover..it needs a lot of good ideas to make it enjoyable to watch. there is no such fps game im interested watching atm. also, fps games in last few years got worse than before because of consoles. such case isnt happening with rts&moba because they cant be played properly on consoles, so their production was based only on PC platform.

I think spectator wise, if you know the game ofc, sc2 is the most enjoyable to watch. Money wise, DOTA2 & LoL are the future of eSports. Their numbers are much bigger than in any other game.

The problem for the majority of the community here is the two games we loved the most (RTCW and ET) were built upon arguably the best game play/physics focused engine of all time, IDTech3 (Quake 3).

The major titles from ID Software and Bethesda (Wolf2 and Brink) were built using IDTech4. The very same engine that was used for Quake Wars. What really annoyed me about all of this was not the fact that they persisted with the engine after the monstrous failings of Quake Wars in terms of compatibility and performance related issues, it was the total disregard of the communities work post sale on improving the engine to the point where it actually became playable (for this I really feel sorry for guys like Hannes and co who spent countless hours fixing paid "professionals" work). For me that is a massive slap in the face of the community that want ID/SD etc. to produce exciting titles year on end.

In essence this community in particular will not collectively accept any new title unless it "feels" like a Q3 engine based game (just throwing my hand into the lion's mouth on that one).

There are some that happily play whatever comes along next and adapt/change their style of play to suit other games. Winghaven and Reload (fna Anderson aka Beasto... just stick to one alias man!) are fantastic examples of top players willing to adapt and accept new games and maintain the high level of competitive eSports they want to continue to be involved in (Ferus being a more historical example, some 2-4 years ago).

For the future of FPS titles in eSports the shift now is to annual title releases rather than one game remaining largely unchanged (engine/graphics wise) for the next decade. The best example of this is the FIFA series. Some years they throw out the old engine and start again, some years they build on/add to the previous years effort. Primarily though they always change their marketing pitch to continue to increase sales and therefore sponsor involvement ($#).

We will not see another game from a major publisher in the likes of CS, RTCW or ET ever again if you want to see eSports grow into a sustainable venture. Sponsor popularity by association is the name of the game right now. Get on the band wagon or you will be forever waiting for Godot.

./still waits for someone to create a new game using Quake3 engine that looks and plays awesome.

Very interesting topic with some very good points made by various people.

While reading I've felt to urge to reply to some of the comments as well as the main topic, I decided not to because I wanted to read the rest first. Now I did and I've forgotten all the things I wanted to reply to which might result in my comment stating things others have said before. Sorry for not giving credit!

Contrary to what others say First Person Shooters are (or should be) the ideal game for viewers.
It has reasonably fast paced action and is easy to understand.
You don’t have to play the game yourself or have years of experience to understand what is happening, it's straight forward 'kill or be killed'.
So why isn't it the popular genre it used to be?

Keeping your players from running to the competitor
As someone pointed out before me, in current day gameland there is an incredible amount of different games available to a person with the simple click of a button.
Although it lures people away, it is not what makes people play less FPS nor does the game genre form a big obstacle for potential new players.
Here we can take World of Warcraft as a prime example. Good marketing and perfect timing created one of the biggest games to date in a genre that was but a niche of online gaming.

World of Warcraft
When Blizzard started developing World of Warcraft, they had zero experience in creating a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. They of course had a story and their Warcraft universe but that alone doesn’t create a popular game. One of the first things they did was to study existing MMORPG’s and figure out what it was that made people invest such amount of time into a game. Two of the outcomes were, the time it required to reach a certain level (the drive for more), plus the continues updates of content.
Now Blizzard as a developer already had a large group of loyal followers, people who would buy any game they’d release. This created their initial player base when they released the Beta. By marketing and word of mouth they managed to attract a lot of new players who were in search of a new game because ‘their’ game had had its glory days. The Beta was a success and millions of people bought the game when it went gold.
Up until here it could’ve been a game like any other, but it’s not. By creating a low entry barrier they managed to keep the attention of their players while they gradually started facing a steep learning curve, up to the point where ( a lot of ) people had invested too much to time to just drop it.
When people reached the maximum level part 1 of the game was finished, that’s when part 2 starts “end game content”. Blizzard was remarkably good at timing their content updates. Every time people thought they had seen what the game had to offer and were ready to leave for the next big thing, they added a new challenge. First as patches and once every few years as an expansion, where they were able to make game changing alterations.

How does this translate to FPS?
WoW learns us several things.
First: A game can be played for 8 years and still have millions of players.

Second: Content update will keep players from leaving. Game alteration can be made as long as you don’t mess with the core of the game. For FPS this translates to adding new weaponry/armor/vehicles or maps for instance, as long as the goal remains to kill the other person and reach an objective.

Third: Low entry barrier. In WoW your quest is your guide book. In a FPS it is the community.
WoW can be played alone, a FPS requires other players. There is nothing like a first impression therefore it is essential it is a good one.

Fourth: Timing. Be ahead of your player base. Know what is going on in their minds and be ready to act on it. Announce a content update, ask for feedback, and people will wait or come back for it. And of course look at your competitor, what are they doing that makes your players enthusiastic about their game!

Organization and structure
A game always creates a community, a community always creates a face.
For ET this is Crossfire, people come here to learn and talk about their game and see what is happening with it.

Organization
People play a game because they want to be entertained, if they aren’t they’ll start complaining.
Like your mother or your boss always says, if there’s a problem I want you to come to me to talk about it. The same should go for game publishers/developers.
Offer your players a place where they can actively get in touch with you. A place where they can give feedback, ask questions or make suggestions. Key to this place is commitment from the companies side. Actively engage in contact with your players and give information. If everything goes well a lot of work will be done for you by the community itself. Don’t worry about players creating another community place, you’re the developer they need you just as much as you need them. Just make sure you keep good contact with these other community hide outs.

Structure
Creating structure into a game will create possibilities for the casual and the hardcore gamer. A ranking system helps the game shift the good and bad players without either of them losing interest.

As example I’d like to grab back to some Blizzard games again.
In Starcraft II Blizzard added an ingenious ranking system for players and their teams. When a team is made they get to play 5 qualifying matches in which their skill level is determined after which they are being placed in a league according to their level. This level is reevaluated after a hidden period of time.
A similar system was used in World of Warcraft Arena matches. Here a team would start with a zero rating which could be raised by fighting other teams. The higher the rating, the better the team.
At the same time you were able to earn ‘Arena Points’ which could be spend by players on equipment upgrades.

How does this translate to FPS?
While the organization part lies with the companies, the power lies with the masses. Demand a place where you can ventilate your thoughts, questions and what not more or you won’t buy the game and it’ll get there.

As for structure, FPS’ know a long history of gaming structures. From leagues to ladders, from cups to tournaments. Communities have always been very inventive in creating these.
Although these are the things where a player can show that extra commitment to the game and community, some form of automated ranking wouldn’t hurt. Blind qualifiers are impossible but luckily there are other options.
To begin with, a team would need to sign up with a fixed line up for an entire league/ladder with (if required) one point where they may make limited alterations to their line up. This should result in a somewhat stable performance level over the course of the event. To tackle the problem of skill level, teams will be required to rate themselves on scale (could be 1-10 or low-high). Based on this rating, the qualifying matches will take place. Of course this part is prone to sabotage if good teams play bad to be entered into a league below their level. That is where the community comes around the corner again, they will be able to judge whether the ranking is justified.
It is even possible to go one step further and have players gain individual points which, added to those of the teammates, will make up the team’s level. For example, a player will gain points for each official match he plays, whether this is in his 3vs3, 6vs6, or as a recognized merc. This will create a global idea of the skill level the player performs at.

One game vs new games
Counter Strike 1.6 or Call of Duty 1-2-3-4-5-….
Some games are played until eternity, other games see a new version every one – two years.

This question has a simple answer but a challenging solution. If you create several games, you spread your players but your garner quick money. If you create one game, you’ll keep your players in one spot but how do you keep them there and how do you turn them into profit?

Quote

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

Pay to Play or Free to Play
When Markus Persson started developing Minecraft he did this on his own account, nobody asked him nobody paid him. He released a free Alpha version which was well received. The success motivated him to continue developing, more and more time went into it and soon he had to go from a full-time job to part-time just to meet the demand. To make this possible he released a Beta for which he asked a small fee. He made a game so popular people paid him to finish it.

Now if you ask me, what would work for a FPS my gut feeling says a Pay to Play service like in World of Warcraft won’t be accepted by the players. Free to Play however won’t satisfy the developers.
Keeping in mind the player needs to remain entertained and thus needs new content over a certain period of time, it is important the developer stays attached to the game.
Starting with an initial purchase price for the main game and a smaller price for content updates therefore seems a more plausible solution.
The player would be paying to keep himself interested in that one game rather than buying a new one.

Coverage
Although coverage isn’t a true necessity for a game, it just makes it so much more fun.

Killcams can be nice, so can be following the player of your desire, important is that the coverage is easy accessible. I read in an earlier comment about CS:GO having a shoutcaster friendly overlay, something that should be the standard for every new game made.
Viewers are what attracts the attention of sponsoring companies. The more people that see their name, the happier they get, the easier it becomes to ask a sponsor contribution.

Here we come to the question, what makes people spectate a game instead of playing themselves?
This doesn’t defer much from watching football on T.V. while you could’ve been playing it in the park with your mates. People want to see the best perform, they want to cheer on their team.
Football broadcasts have come a long way, from having one camera filming the entire game to having over 20 camera’s on a cup final. At first this was for the producers only, later it became possible for viewers to choose which camera angle they wanted to see the game from.
Ideally there would be a similar system available for FPS’ where viewers would be able to spectate the game from the point of view of a player of their choice, free cam or the shoutcasters point of view.

I’m no expert when it comes to technical possibilities for aforementioned way of watching a game.
I do however know that streaming games became booming business in a short period of time. Nothing as easy to type in an address in your web browser and shazam, you’re watching your friend play LoL. Perhaps it would be possible to create a recording mechanism where players would upload their game to a server while playing which in turn would stream it to the viewers. Of course there are ping issues etc, like I said I’m no expert on that matter. I took the idea from Starcraft 2 saving replays and was hoping something similar would be possible for FPS.

In conclusion
Developers/publishers should drop the idea of releasing new titles each year and instead focus on a few titles which will have a long life span with paid for content updates.

Developers/publishers should provide a platform where they can engage in conversation with the players.

A solid competition structure where teams and or players are ranked and matched versus each other.

An easy accessible spectator platform.

It’s perhaps a long read but I hope some of you will take the time to do so and come up with improvements or arguments why something will work and something’s won’t.

voice.

new fps game
duel = quake style
team = et/rtcw style

get on it developers

My opinion about a great game:

Grafic:
There is no need to play with realistic grafik. WoW is like comic. LoL is like comic. And ET wasnt that realistic...
Modern fps games try to have a reallife grafik but... do you really want to kill people ingame with HD faces and blood? Thats the spirit for an movie, but not for a game you want to play every day 3 hourse or more...

Numbers:
I dont really understand why its so common in fps, but they removed flat numbers about your damage, your hp or your sprint bar. Maybe it feels more realistic, but... for high level you want to see the numbers. And not only you, but also the spectators. For that reason i really loved hitsounds in ET. You just thought "holy shit, that guys lugers them away!"

Gameplay /Cheaters:
More or less the most important thing. The main reason to hate FPS online games: the Gameplay feels klunky. Something is slow. You knew this feeling... And ofc Cheaters. Sorry but Cheaters killed ET for me. There is absolut no fun about that shit. When you just got the feeling and the knowing, that there are cheaters around in your game, you will instantly stop having fun in public server. For me this is the most important thing to have a big player basement.

my english still sucks :(

you really want that valve shit dont you?