I remember the first time I played Doom. I can honestly say no FPS experience has been as unsettling or as fun since. Part of this was the complexity of the maps, which made the levels even creepier. You really had to spend the time to get through.
Then again, I hate cutscenes, so I’m biased.
I picked up Duke Nukem Forever today at lunch.
I have no idea what to think.
Actually, while driving home, I realized that there’s an essay in here.
So gimme some time.
I look forward to it.
I think a more fair assessment of FPS maps in 2010 would be a multi-player map for Call of Duty, Battlefield 2 or Counter-Strike. The majority of hours played in FPS are online games and probably have been since 2000 or so.
I think it’s very likely that the linear/cutscene model has evolved in no small part because the MP experience files the desire for pure movement/reaction gameplay and provides the replay value that one mainly lay in exploring and finding secret rooms/Easter Eggs.
True enough. I enjoy the online shoot ’em up games the most these days anyways. I have so little time for games now that they’re the only ones I have patience for.
I tried to play DOOM on my cell phone the other day. I was not successful.
(I was reminded of DOOM to play it because, I swear, one of the high schools I have been substituting at reminded me of a DOOM level, organizationally speaking. Seemingly pointless stairs, corridors that lead to nowhere, doors that won’t open.)
DOOM had a multi-player competitive mode, not unlike the competitive modes in today’s HALO and similar games.
I can recall going to a friend’s apartment, lugging my massive desktop computer and doing a daisy-chain network to get all the computers talking to each other without a hub. And calling my friends the foulest names when they shot me with the rocket launcher.