Big Download Blog

It may sound obvious, but for some reason a lot of game seem to miss hitting this target. Before a game can be anything more than a software experience with a ten-scale (or otherwise) review score, it needs to have something fun. It needs a repeatable experience that people consider to be a lot of fun to play. This is one of the reasons first-person shooters are so predominate on the PC: it's an activity that a ton of people enjoy if executed well.

Of course, that hasn't stopped countless generic shooters from coming out over the years and completely missing the point of the fun factor. I would argue that the strongest way to derive fun factor from a first-person shooter is to make sure the shooting mechanics feel just right. Starting from the moment a player clicks the mouse, everything needs to follow through just right. The better of an idea a player has of where their shot hits its and how the target reacts is key to making or breaking the entire experience for many people. If you play Half-life 2, Call of Duty 4 or Bioshock for a long period of time and then try to play a B-list shooter, you'll immediately notice the difference. 02/10/08