The First Person Shooter genre is a stagnant pool, its waters choked thick with fat brand names that rot and turn in the sun, but never move. With so much cash pouring into the genre through Call of Duty and its fellows, the conservative caution of big money has been slowly grinding all innovation in the FPS genre into the muck. Maybe a pack of indie designers rethinking what a FPS game can be over a 7-day challenge jam can fix that? Gamasutra has the story.
One of the best times I’ve had playing FPS games came in the form of Duke Nukem 3D. Not because it was a great game, exactly, but it was the indirect weapons that made deathmatch so fun. You could plan, set up a trap, leave a surprise behind you in a chase, and use the level itself as your weapon to crush a camper under a falling ceiling. There’s a satisfaction in that. Oddly enough, perhaps what the genre that first put players right in the action needs is more interactivity with the game world.