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Amarens

FPS

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Hey guys,
I am a student from the Netherlands and at the moment I am doing some research about FPS games and particularly about my oldtime favourite Doom II.
I have got a couple of questions and was wondering if you could help me out.
First of all, what do you like about FPS games?
And how would you compare FPS to cinema?
How is Doom immersive for you and for what reasons?
And specifically, do you find the status bar annoying or useful? Do you look at it often or do you delete the status bar during play? Does it effect your concentraion at all?
Hope you can help me out by writing a few lines,
Thanx,
Ama

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Amarens said:

First of all, what do you like about FPS games?


Easy to pick up and play a "no brainer" game to use up 10 minutes, yet immersive and complex enough to get you involved and keep you glued to the screen for hours. Depends on which game, obviously, and the levels being played, but there is a wide range of game styles fitting into the genre. Also, the action is more immediate than a strategy game and you are more "in it" than a side scroller or top down game.

And how would you compare FPS to cinema?


They are totally different media. One puts me in control and "I" move around, "I" affect the outcome, and "I" am being attacked. With a movie, no matter how involving, entertaining and enjoyable, is a more passive experience where I am entertained by things I have no control over. I'm not saying I prefer a game to a good movie. I'm saying they are different.

How is Doom immersive for you and for what reasons?


I'm not sure exactly how. Maybe the way the view moves, maybe because it is FP and you are looking through "your" eyes. I don't know what that certain "I don't know what" (as the French would say) is, but if a game has you physically ducking when a missle comes towards you, or peering round the monitor to get a better view around the corner, then it's immersive and Doom (and other FPS's) do(es) that.

And specifically, do you find the status bar annoying or useful? Do you look at it often or do you delete the status bar during play? Does it effect your concentraion at all?


I find it useful, I look at it fairly often. In fact, as well as regular checking, kind of like driving and the rear view mirror, it's in my periferal view and I notice changes in it that draw my attention to it when something needs my attention. I do not delete it - in fact I have it stretched to full size on hi-res ports (where possible). It does not affect my concentration, it focusses my mind. I cannot feel ill when my character is unhealthy, I cannot feel the weight of my ammo in my back pack, I can't see how shabby my armour is getting - the status bar fills that gap for me. If it tells me my health, ammo, whatever are low I'll play differently to when I'm "at full" and I need something to tell me that. For that, my preference is the bar, rather than a hud or some other reduced view style.

BTW, that was more than a "couple" of questions:-P

Also, it might help if you edited your post and numbered the questions.

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>> First of all, what do you like about FPS games?

mainly the fact that they're simple, the majority are fairly straight forward with little or no managment of inventory and such.

>> And how would you compare FPS to cinema?

I wouldn't really.

>> How is Doom immersive for you and for what reasons?

it's not really any more, and I'm not even sure if it ever really was, it was mainly just a fun game where you killed a bunch of things, sort of a stress reliever if anything. I do enjoy mods people make that change the look and feel of Doom, however, those can be immersive if not for any other reason than because they're different.

>> And specifically, do you find the status bar annoying or useful? Do you look at it often or do you delete the status bar during play? Does it effect your concentraion at all?

I suppose it's useful, I never play with a totally blank screen as I like the weapon/ammo feedback. However on modern source ports with a HUD (ZDoom, JDoom, Legacy) I don't use the status bar, I use their HUD instead.

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Amarens said:

First of all, what do you like about FPS games?

I really enjoy the ability to explore other worlds, and the first person perspective helps that. Nowadays you can walk around a town or explore mountainous areas and it looks very believable.

And how would you compare FPS to cinema?

Like Cyb said, you can't really compare these two primarily because of your perspective in the environment. Movies very rarely use a first person perspective of a character. Now, if you mean in terms of overall look and plot, I think it's starting to get there. The next generation of first person games use graphics that start to come close to what many 3d rendering programs are capable of, but this is all in realtime. A splash in the water, the sun and clouds, the creature designs, and so on all are becoming more life-like. I wouldn't be surprised if in 5-8 years time games will be interactive movies in a sense.

How is Doom immersive for you and for what reasons?

Well, Doom USED to be immersive when I was younger, and it was certainly the first fps I played seriously. Nowadays I may jump in for 5 minutes and pop off some demons, but other than that it's really just a nostalgia thing. That and the modifications. A few minutes poking around these forums will show you that people have done a lot with the engine, and I find that fascinating. That's why I keep Doom around, to see what new twist will come on an old engine.

And specifically, do you find the status bar annoying or useful? Do you look at it often or do you delete the status bar during play? Does it effect your concentraion at all??


I used to use the status bar, but as games moved away from that and introduced a HUD system (whereby only the most important information is shown taking up less space than a full bar) people have added that to various doom engine ports. Now I use the hud all the time, and almost find the status bar a bit annoying. The HUD takes up less space, while still providing you with the vital information you need.

Good luck on your paper.

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Amarens said:

First of all, what do you like about FPS games?

Immersion.

Amarens said:

And how would you compare FPS to cinema?

How would you compare ice cream and fried chicken?

Amarens said:

How is Doom immersive for you and for what reasons?

Doom was immersive because:

  • it is a FPS
  • it was graphically stunning at the time

Amarens said:

And specifically, do you find the status bar annoying or useful? Do you look at it often or do you delete the status bar during play? Does it effect your concentraion at all?

Statistics are useful. You need them to know if you have enough health to take some risks or enough ammunition to enter a room with a given weapon. The fact it takes a whole part of the screen, however, is unnecessary. Stats rendered on top of the scene are the way to go IMO. I find it amusing that Augmented Reality applies the same paradigm of synthetic informations added to real scenery.

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First of all, what do you like about FPS games?

The fact that youre "In there", back when the only gaming machines i had where a BBC micro and a Megadrive(Genesis) i really wanted to play games where you could view the action through the eyes of the character you where playing, doom was really revoulitionary for me, then (never really knew about wolfenstien..well, i knew OF it, cause my brother had a poster in his room, but when i saw pictures of it it didnt look much different to 'maze' on the BBC, whereas doom was a real step forward)

And how would you compare FPS to cinema?

Well as everyone has said, it cant really be done...now anyway, most FPS games are notoriously low on storyline (doom, ect, where you basically just kill and kill and dont think too much about why), or have really cheesy storylines (SoF series.."oh no teh terr0rists atakked!!!"), but games like system shock, half life and a certian two upcoming ones are going to be much more life-like and follow a story, but still, with the advanced AI enemies will react differently every time, and it will become much better than a movie cause the same thing never happens twice

How is Doom immersive for you and for what reasons?

Its the only game that makes me duck fireballs in my seat, w0rd

And specifically, do you find the status bar annoying or useful? Do you look at it often or do you delete the status bar during play? Does it effect your concentraion at all?

Two words: The getaway, you just cant enjoy a game without knowing whats going on, no matter how inch-perfect the streets in it are

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Amarens said:

How is Doom immersive for you and for what reasons?

I find Doom immerseive in it's unique style of gameplay which I find rare in other games of the FPS genre: You're fighting against dozens of monsters at one time, but it's still easy enough to have confidence that you'll make it to the next level alive, if you have the basic level know-how. I also like Doom's balence in weapon and enemy attributes.

Amarens said:

And specifically, do you find the status bar annoying or useful? Do you look at it often or do you delete the status bar during play? Does it effect your concentraion at all?

Hell no. Knowing my health/armor/ammo levels determines the amount of caution I use room to room. I know I can minimize the bar itself and have the basic stats in the corner of the screen, but I'm used to the classic Doom layout and find it in no way a distraction.

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Amarens said:

First of all, what do you like about FPS games?

Tactics, survival, challenge... beautiful simplicity in concept. I like my fair share of adventure games as well, but you can't go without a quick blast now and then.

And how would you compare FPS to cinema?

Games are the new cinema. I know that sounds so pretentious, but its true to a degree. Around the start of this century, films were the new big thing in entertainment, and now near the end, we have a new toy that commands more attention. Note that this answer isnt just using FPS games - there are plenty of games that tell a good story, it just happens that FPS games dont count for many of them.

How is Doom immersive for you and for what reasons?

I wouldnt call FPS games immersive, they are too arcadey for that. The thing that keeps me playing is the challenge; I cant stop playing a level before I have beat it.

And specifically, do you find the status bar annoying or useful? Do you look at it often or do you delete the status bar during play? Does it effect your concentraion at all?


A game must have a statusbar, that is a given. The only game that gets away with not having one is Myst, because theres nothing in that game you need constant feedback on. Although, alot of the statusbar function in an FPS could be replaced by visual effects, like blurry screen when your near death, checking your ammo belt etcetera. As long as the information is represented in some way, it doesnt matter. It would be intresting to see what this would be like.

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>>>> And specifically, do you find the status bar annoying or useful? Do you look at it often or do you delete the status bar during play? Does it effect your concentraion at all?

Cyb>I suppose it's useful, I never play with a totally blank screen as I like the weapon/ammo feedback. However on modern source ports with a HUD (ZDoom, JDoom, Legacy) I don't use the status bar, I use their HUD instead.

I usually activate the statusbar when I need info about another weapon, i.e.
how much cells there are left while beating a Baron with the SSG. Other than
that, I keep the setting (Status vs. HUD) as it currently is until I think I
need to change it. Unscaled status bar for me.

Or, heh, use "hudlib.acs" :P

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Amarens asked:
First of all, what do you like about FPS games?

If anything, the simple, fast paced action and the challenge either against human opponents (usually one) or against finely crafted single player (or cooperative) maps.

And how would you compare FPS to cinema?

Well, the closest I ever got to cinema acting was amateur stage acting, and the closest I ever got to movie production was working in the making of a TV show simply logging or transcribing raw film, whereas for DOOM I'm an active player and have some personal experience actually editing and mapping. So I'd have to get more into the more active movie-related pursuits to be able to come up with a full fledged answer. Nonetheless, from a passive point of view watching DOOM recordings is sometimes as satisfying as watching a good movie. But, naturally, watching DOOM recording is generally more practical whereas the cinema usually elicits a much more varied response. Watching DOOM recordings is all about observing playing skill, playing style and map design, while watching a movie has a social aspect tied to it. But they both can certainly be quite entertaining as far as visual/audio-related passtimes.

How is Doom immersive for you and for what reasons?

DOOM can really get you hooked in because its fast, simple yet chaotic action is a lot of fun yet offers many varied challenges, plus the designs are elegant and good looking yet very practical and down to earth. It's not nonsense in the sense of not being something made to catch your eye and then become boring after a while, since it's once you're familiar with it that the fun really starts and you begin to pay attention to the nunaces of genuinely good map design and excellent play. I mean, after DOOM, the heart of FPS was already defined, and all you could concentrate on as a (commercial and professional) designer was (or is) elements that are secondary to the gerne and generally lean towards immersing the player on the short term, that makes for a good chance to constantly change the games people play, but not to playing a game on a stable basis... that's how the gaming scene works (they have to sell stuff after all; it's a business like most things.)

And specifically, do you find the status bar annoying or useful?

If find it useful, and its presence does not bother me.

Do you look at it often or do you delete the status bar during play?

I look at it relatively often, either to see my health and armor, to check on my ammo, or to remind me whether I have a certain weapon. I must admit that I don't look at the face much for practical purposes. It can let you know from where you've been hit, but in the heat of the moment my eyes tend to be elsewhere. I don't remove the statusbar unless I'm editing or something and I want to make sure everything looks fine even in fullscreen mode.

Does it effect your concentraion at all?

No, it doesn't. It helps it, actually: I couldn't actually play very well if I had no clue about my present condition and inventory (I'd have to be guessing a lot.)

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I just assumed statusbar/hud=same thing so discount my answer if you like. OTOH, since I generally remember my ammo counts (and thats very rough figures by the way) I dont need the stat bar so I just use the full screen hud.

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Thanks all, you have been very kind to answer my questions. My essay is hooting along and basically needed some good quotes. So thanx ever so much for all the good input.
How would I compare ice cream to fried chicken?
Well first of all, they are both food. Games and movies are both forms of media, right? Second of all they both (to some degree) are nuticious. Games and movies are to an individual degree entertaining. Plus you could argue that the gamer is some sort of actor, and therefor can be linked to cinema.
I would say that games and cinema compare in form, such as audio and visual means, use of screens, created by groups of people and used by groups of people. Contentwise (HELL YES) they are drastically different!

C u's

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