Why is Wolfenstein 3D considered the first "proper" FPS game.

Probably because Wolfenstein 3D was more controversial at the time when it was released as opposed to the 2 others that were released prior to Wolf 3D. It was also banned in Germany because of their national law that prohibits the use of NAZI imagery or anything relevant to it. That is just my opinion, I could be wrong.

Solid answers guys - thanks!

The availability argument seems the strongest to me. Like you said - it's the first game the majority of people remembers and could lay their hands on.

So another question - if Catacomb 3D had been released by iD using the same model as Wolfenstein 3D, would it have become as popular as Wolfenstein, or was it lacking in some areas (dynamics? EGA graphics? fantasy theme?)

From what ive seen of C3D, it was really REALLY slow. The speed of Wolf3D is probably a big factor

myk said:

That arm with a gun belongs to you, not some Pole called Blazkowicz.

For you, he was "some Pole called Blazkowicz"... for us, Polish, he was a national hero... *takes out a handkerchief*

By the way. Now I remembered that according to Wolfenstein RPG, the Doomguy is Blazkowicz's descendant... which technically also makes him at least partially a Pole. GO POLISH! :D

Also, the "you're the protagonist" move worked, but it's no longer necessary for immersion as Half-Life proved it. The game was praised for immersion even though you play a guy named Gordon Freeman.

Aliotroph? said:

It's like how a lot of people consider the Apple II to be the first real personal computer. It wasn't the first on a desk, it wasn't the first sold in 1977 that was easy to set up, it wasn't the cheapest, but it sucked less and became so popular it stuck around in many schools for 20 years.

That's like trying to explain to some people how come Angry Birds became a big hit, while Crush The Castle and GORILLAS.BAS didn't ;-)