Third-person shooter (TPS) is a subgenre of
3D shooter games
Shooter video games or shooters are a subgenre of action video games where the focus is almost entirely on the defeat of the character's enemies using the weapons given to the player. Usually these weapons are firearms or some other long-range ...
in which the
gameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and pla ...
consists primarily of shooting. It is closely related to
first-person shooters
First-person shooter (FPS) is a video game genre, sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a First person (video games), first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eye ...
, but with the
player character
A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
visible on-screen during play. While
2D shoot 'em up
Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs
) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of chara ...
games also employ a third-person perspective, the TPS genre is distinguished by having the game presented with the player's avatar as a primary focus of the camera's view.
Definition
![Number-person views](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Number-person_views.png)
A third-person shooter is a game structured around shooting,
[Nate Garrets, '']The Meaning and Culture of Grand Theft Auto
''Grand Theft Auto'' (''GTA'') is a series of action-adventure games created by David Jones and Mike Dailly. Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan and Sam Houser, Leslie Benzies and Aaron Garbut. It is primarily ...
: critical essays'' (McFarland, 2006)
159
and in which the player can see the
avatar
Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...
on-screen in a
third-person view
In 3D video games, a virtual camera system aims at controlling a camera or a set of cameras to display a view of a 3D virtual world. Camera systems are used in video games where their purpose is to show the action at the best possible angle; m ...
.
[Anne-Marie Schreiner,]
Does Lara Croft Wear Fake Polygons? Gender and Gender-Role Subversion in Computer Adventure Games
'' Leonardo Journal'', Vol. 34, No. 3 (2001): 222. Third-person shooters are distinguished from other shooter games that may present the game from a third-person view such as
shoot 'me ups, as the game is presented with the player's avatar as a primary focus of the camera's view.
Third-person shooters are analogous to
first-person shooter
First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the pl ...
s in terms of immersion, but simply displace the camera from being at the eyes of the character to a point slightly above and behind them in most cases.
Design
It is a 3D genre that grew to prominence during the 2000s, especially on
game consoles
A video game console is an electronic device that outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home consoles, which are generally placed in a permanent location connected to a t ...
. It features
shooter game
Shooter video games or shooters are a subgenre of action video games where the focus is almost entirely on the defeat of the character's enemies using the weapons given to the player. Usually these weapons are firearms or some other long-range ...
elements, sometimes combining these with the jumping and climbing elements of
puzzle-based games and
brawlers. Third-person shooter games sometimes incorporate an aim-assist feature to compensate for the difficulty of aiming from a third-person camera. Many include some form of first-person view, which allows precise shooting and looking around at environment features that are otherwise hidden from the default camera. In early examples of the genre, the player would often be required to stand still to use first-person view, but newer titles allow the player to play like a FPS.
Relationship to first-person shooters
These games are closely related to
first-person shooter
First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the pl ...
s,
which also tie the perspective of the player to an avatar,
distinguished only in a minor change of position of the
player camera. While the first-person perspective allows players to aim and shoot without their avatar blocking their view,
the third-person shooter shows the protagonist from an "
over the shoulder shot
The over-the-shoulder shot (OTS) is a camera angle used in film and television, where the camera is placed above the back of the shoulder and head of a subject. This shot is most commonly used to present conversational back and forth between two ...
" or "behind the back" perspective.
[Blache, Fabian & Fielder, Lauren]
History of Tomb Raider
, GameSpot, Accessed 1 April 2009 Thus, the third-person perspective allows the game designer to create a more strongly characterized avatar
and directs the player's attention as in watching a film. In contrast, a first-person perspective provides the player with greater immersion into the game universe.
Third-person shooters allow players to see the area surrounding the avatar more clearly.
This viewpoint facilitates more interaction between the character and their surrounding environment, such as the use of a tactical system in ''
Gears of War
''Gears of War'' is a media franchise centered on a series of video games created by Epic Games, developed and managed by The Coalition, and owned and published by Xbox Game Studios. The franchise is best known for its third-person shooter vide ...
'', or navigating tight quarters. As such, the third-person perspective is better for interacting with objects in the game world, such as jumping on platforms, engaging in close combat, or driving a vehicle. However, the third-person perspective can interfere with tasks that require fine aiming.
Third-person shooters sometimes compensate for their distinct perspective by designing larger, more spacious environments than first-person shooters.
The boundaries between third-person and first-person shooters are not always clear. For example, many third-person shooters allow the player to use a first-person viewpoint for challenges that require precise aiming, while others simply allow a player to freely switch between first and third-person perspectives at will.
The first-person shooter ''
Halo: Combat Evolved'' was actually designed as a third-person shooter, but added a first-person perspective to improve the interface for aiming and shooting. The game switches to a third-person viewpoint when the avatar is piloting a vehicle,
and this combination of first-person for aiming and third-person for driving has since been used in other games. ''
Metroid Prime
''Metroid Prime'' is an action-adventure video game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. ''Metroid Prime'' is the fifth main installment in the '' Metroid'' franchise and the first game in the series to use 3D c ...
'' is another first-person shooter that switches to a third-person perspective when rolling around the environment using the morph ball. Many games in the genre such as the
ARMA series and its descendants (including the popular battle-royale shooter
PUBG
''PUBG: Battlegrounds'' (previously known as ''PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds'') is a battle royale game developed by PUBG Studios and published by Krafton. The game, which was inspired by the Japanese film '' Battle Royale'' (2000), is based ...
) allow players to freely transition between first and third-person perspectives at will.
Alexander R. Galloway writes that the "real-time, over-the-shoulder tracking shots of
Gus Van Sant
Gus Green Van Sant Jr. (born July 24, 1952) is an American film director, producer, photographer, and musician. He has earned acclaim as both an independent and mainstream filmmaker. His films typically deal with themes of marginalized subcultur ...
's ''
Elephant
Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...
'' evoke third-person shooter games like ''
Max Payne
''Max Payne'' is a neo-noir third-person shooter video game series developed by Remedy Entertainment (''Max Payne'' and ''Max Payne 2'') and Rockstar Studios (''Max Payne 3''). The series is named after its protagonist, Max Payne, a New York Ci ...
'', a close cousin of the FPS".
History
2D and pseudo-3D shooters
2D third-person shooters have existed since the earliest days of video games,
dating back to ''
Spacewar!
''Spacewar!'' is a space combat video game developed in 1962 by Steve Russell in collaboration with Martin Graetz, Wayne Wiitanen, Bob Saunders, Steve Piner, and others. It was written for the newly installed DEC PDP-1 minicomputer at the Mas ...
'' (1962);
third-person perspective shooting is also featured in its
clones
Clone or Clones or Cloning or Cloned or The Clone may refer to:
Places
* Clones, County Fermanagh
* Clones, County Monaghan, a town in Ireland
Biology
* Clone (B-cell), a lymphocyte clone, the massive presence of which may indicate a pathologi ...
, ''
Galaxy Game
''Galaxy Game'' is a space combat arcade game developed in 1971 during the early era of video games. ''Galaxy Game'' is an expanded version of the 1962 ''Spacewar!'', potentially the first video game to spread to multiple computer installations ...
'' (1971) and ''
Computer Space
''Computer Space'' is a space combat arcade game developed in 1971. Created by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney in partnership as Syzygy Engineering, it was the first arcade video game as well as the first commercially available video game. ''Comput ...
'' (1971).
Arcade
Arcade most often refers to:
* Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine
** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware
** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board
* Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games
* ...
shooters with a 3D third-person perspective include
Nintendo
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles.
Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
's ''
Radar Scope
is a 1980 shoot 'em up arcade game developed by Nintendo R&D2 and published by Nintendo. The player assumes the role of the Sonic Spaceport starship and must wipe out formations of an enemy race known as the Gamma Raiders before they destroy t ...
'' (1979),
Atari
Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French publisher Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc. (1972–1992), Atari, Inc., ...
's ''
Tempest
Tempest is a synonym for a storm.
'' The Tempest'' is a play by William Shakespeare.
Tempest or The Tempest may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''The Tempest'' (1908 film), a British silent film
* ''The Tempest'' (1911 film), a ...
'' (1981),
Nihon Bussan
was a Japanese video game developer and publisher headquartered in Kita, Osaka. In the past they had also manufactured and sold yachts.
The main video game brand of the company was Nichibutsu (日物、ニチブツ), with adult video games (ma ...
's ''Tube Panic'' (1983),
Sega
is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
's ''
Space Harrier
is a third-person arcade rail shooter game developed by Sega and released in 1985. It was originally conceived as a realistic military-themed game played in the third-person perspective and featuring a player-controlled fighter jet, but techni ...
'' (1985),
Atari
Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French publisher Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc. (1972–1992), Atari, Inc., ...
's ''
Xybots
''Xybots'' is a 1987 third-person shooter arcade game by Atari Games. In ''Xybots'', up to two players control "Major Rock Hardy" and "Captain Ace Gunn", who must travel through a 3D maze and fight against a series of robots known as the Xybots ...
'' (1987), and
Square
In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90-degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length adj ...
's ''
3-D WorldRunner'' (1987). and ''
JJ'' (1987) Third-person shooters for home computers include Dan Gorlin's ''
Airheart
''Airheart'' is an action game designed and programmed by Dan Gorlin for the Apple II and published by Broderbund in 1986. It requires a 128K Apple IIe (or later) to run, as it uses the 16-color double hi-res graphics mode. After three years of ...
'' (1986) and Paul Norman's ''
Beyond Forbidden Forest'' (1986).
Konami
, is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...
's
run & gun shooter ''
Contra
Contra may refer to:
Places
* Contra, Virginia
* Contra Costa Canal, an aqueduct in the U.S. state of California
* Contra Costa County, California
* Tenero-Contra, a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland ...
'' (1987) featured several third-person shooter levels where the player trudges through indoor enemy bases. Konami's ''
Devastators'' (1988)
[Kurt Kalata]
Konami Run 'n Guns
Hardcore Gaming 101 is a third-person shooter where, rather than moving forward automatically, the player walks forward by holding the Up direction, as the background slowly scales toward the screen. ''Devastators'' also featured various obstacles that could be used to
take cover from enemy fire,
[ as well as ]two-player
A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...
cooperative gameplay Cooperative game may refer to:
* Cooperative board game, board games in which players work together to achieve a common goal
* Cooperative game theory, in game theory, a game with competition between groups of players and the possibility of cooperat ...
. A similar shooter released that same year was ''Cabal
A cabal is a group of people who are united in some close design, usually to promote their private views or interests in an ideology, a state, or another community, often by intrigue and usually unbeknownst to those who are outside their group. Th ...
'' (1988), which inspired many of its own "''Cabal'' clones," such as ''NAM-1975
is a war shooting gallery arcade video game developed and originally published by SNK on April 26, 1990. It was one of the launch titles for both the Neo Geo MVS (arcade) and Neo Geo AES (home) platforms, in addition to being the only tit ...
'' (1990) and ''Wild Guns
''Wild Guns'' is a 1994 space Western shooting gallery video game developed by Natsume for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Set in the Wild West with steampunk and sci-fi influences, the story follows Annie and her bounty hunter Cl ...
'' (1994). Kurt Kalata of Hardcore Gaming 101 cites Sega's ''Last Survivor'' (1988), released for arcades and then ported to the FM Towns
The is a Japanese personal computer, built by Fujitsu from February 1989 to the summer of 1997. It started as a proprietary PC variant intended for multimedia applications and PC games, but later became more compatible with IBM PC compatibles. ...
and FM Towns Marty
The FM Towns Marty is a fifth-generation home video game console released in 1993 by Fujitsu, exclusively for the Japanese market. It is often claimed to be the first 32-bit CD-based home video game system, although it has a 16-bit data bus, just ...
, featuring eight-player deathmatch. He notes that it has a perspective and split-screen similar to ''Xybots'', but with entirely different gameplay and controls.
3D polygon shooters
In 1993, Namco
was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Na ...
released a two-player competitive 3D third-person shooter vehicle combat game, ''Cyber Sled
is a two-player 3D vehicle combat shooter game released by Namco for arcades in 1993. The game's perspective is third-person by default, but can be switched to a first-person perspective. The game was nominated for Most Innovative New Techno ...
''. A year later, Elite Systems Ltd. released ''Virtuoso
A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'' or , "virtuous", Late Latin ''virtuosus'', Latin ''virtus'', "virtue", "excellence" or "skill") is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as ...
'' on the 3DO. This was an early example of a home console third-person shooter which featured a human protagonist on-foot, as opposed to controlling a vehicle, and made use of polygonal 3D graphics along with sprites in a 3D environment. '' Fade to Black'' (1995) was also a fully 3D third-person shooter released around this time, but as well as featuring an on-foot protagonist rather than a vehicle, utilised entirely polygonal 3D graphics.
''Tomb Raider
''Tomb Raider'', also known as ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' from 2001 to 2008, is a media franchise that originated with an action-adventure video game series created by British gaming company Core Design. Formerly owned by Eidos Interactive, th ...
'' (1996) by Eidos Interactive
Square Enix Limited (formerly Domark Limited and Eidos Interactive Limited) is a British subsidiary of the Japanese video game company Square Enix, acting as their European publishing arm. The company formerly owned ''Tomb Raider'', which was in ...
(now Square Enix Europe
Square Enix Limited (formerly Domark Limited and Eidos Interactive Limited) is a British subsidiary of the Japanese video game company Square Enix, acting as their European publishing arm. The company formerly owned ''Tomb Raider'', which was in ...
) is claimed by some commentators as a third-person shooter,[Anne-Marie Schleiner,]
Does Lara Croft Wear Fake Polygons? Gender and Gender-Role Subversion in Computer Adventure Games
'' Leonardo Journal'', Vol. 34, No. 3 (2001): 222.[Jonathan S. Harbour, ''Microsoft Visual Basic game programming with DirectX'' 2002][Peter Cohen, "Bring out the big guns.(The Game Room)", '']MacWorld
''Macworld'' is a website dedicated to products and software of Apple Inc., published by Foundry, a subsidiary of IDG Inc. It started life as a print magazine in 1984 and had the largest audited circulation (both total and newsstand) of Macint ...
'', 1 September 2003 and Jonathan S. Harbour of the University of Advancing Technology
University of Advancing Technology (UAT) is a private for-profit university in Tempe, Arizona. Founded in 1983, UAT integrates technology into its general education requirements. The institution offers core classes (e.g., Legal Issues in Technol ...
argues that it's "largely responsible for the popularity of this genre". Other commentators have considered it influential on later third person shooters such as ''BloodRayne
''BloodRayne'' is a media franchise that originated with an action-adventure video game series originally developed by Terminal Reality and published by Majesco Entertainment which began with the game of the same name in 2002.
The franchise ...
'' (2002), ''The Contra Adventure
''C: The Contra Adventure'' is a 3D action game produced by Konami and developed by Appaloosa Interactive that was released for the PlayStation in 1998. It was the second of two ''Contra'' games Konami of America co-produced with Appaloosa, fol ...
'' (1998), ''MDK
''MDK'' is a 1997 third-person shooter video game developed by Shiny Entertainment for Microsoft Windows. It was ported to Mac OS by Shokwave, and to the PlayStation by Neversoft. It was published on all systems by PIE in North America, with S ...
'' (1997), '' Duke Nukem: Time To Kill'' (1998), ''Burning Rangers
is a 1998 action game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Sega Saturn. ''Burning Rangers'' is set in a futuristic society in which fire is the remaining danger. Players control one of an elite group of firefighters, the ...
'' (1998), and '' Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K. 2'' (2000). The game eschewed the popular first person perspective of games such as ''Doom
Doom is another name for damnation.
Doom may also refer to:
People
* Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed
* Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist
* Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher
* ...
'', instead making use of "third person" viewpoints, wide 3D environments and a control system inspired by ''Prince of Persia
''Prince of Persia'' is a video game franchise created by Jordan Mechner. It is built around a series of action-adventure games focused on various incarnations of the eponymous Prince, set in ancient and medieval Persia.
The first two games i ...
''. ''Mega Man Legends
''Mega Man Legends'' is a series in the ''Mega Man'' franchise. While the classic series is known for its 2D side-scrolling platformer gameplay with very little story, this series instead features 3D action-adventure gameplay and a robust story ...
'' (1997) by Capcom
is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...
is another early 3D third person shooter which took a different approach to the genre, mixing this with a role-playing game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
influence. Around the same time, '' Deathtrap Dungeon'' (1998) by Eidos Interactive
Square Enix Limited (formerly Domark Limited and Eidos Interactive Limited) is a British subsidiary of the Japanese video game company Square Enix, acting as their European publishing arm. The company formerly owned ''Tomb Raider'', which was in ...
and ''MediEvil
''MediEvil'' is an Action-adventure game, action-adventure hack and slash video game developed by SCE Studio Cambridge and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation. The game is set in the medieval Ki ...
'' (1998) by SCE Cambridge Studio
Guerrilla Cambridge (formerly SCE Studio Cambridge) was a British video game developer based in Cambridge, England. The studio was founded under Sony Computer Entertainment in July 1997 through the buyout of the game development division of Cyb ...
(then ''Millennium Interactive'') were some of the first 3D games in the genre to include third person shooter influences in a fantasy setting, with fictional or alternative weapons achieving the same effect as a gun for the player. ''Die Hard Trilogy
''Die Hard Trilogy'' is an action video game based on the first three installments of the ''Die Hard'' series of action movies. ''Die Hard Trilogy'' features three games in one, each based on a movie installment and featuring a different genre ...
'' (1998) by Fox Interactive
Fox Interactive was an American video game publisher based in Los Angeles, California. The company published games based on 20th Century Fox properties, yet also published several original titles, such as '' Croc: Legend of the Gobbos''.
History ...
was met with critical acclaim at the time of its release, and the section of the game based around the first ''Die Hard'' film in the trilogy was another early take on a 3D third person shooter.
''Syphon Filter
''Syphon Filter'' is a third-person shooter stealth video game series developed by Bend Studio (formerly Eidetic) and published by Sony Computer Entertainment (previously 989 Studios), for PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and the PlayStation Portab ...
'' (1999) by Eidetic
Eidetic memory ( ; more commonly called photographic memory or total recall) is the ability to recall an image from memory with high precision—at least for a brief period of time—after seeing it only onceThe terms ''eidetic memory'' and ''pho ...
(now Bend Studio) combined the perspective of ''Tomb Raider'' with action elements of games such as '' GoldenEye 007'' (1997) and ''Metal Gear Solid
is a series of techno-thriller stealth games created by Hideo Kojima. Developed and published by Konami, the first game, ''Metal Gear'', was released in 1987 for MSX home computers. The player often takes control of a special forces operat ...
'' (1998). Richard Rouse III wrote in GamaSutra
''Game Developer'', known as ''Gamasutra'' until 2021, is a website founded in 1997 that focuses on aspects of video game development. It is owned and operated by Informa and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine '' Gam ...
that the game was the most popular third person shooter for the PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
.[Rouse, Richard]
Postmortem: The Game Design of Surreal's The Suffering
''GamaSutra'', 9 June 2004, Accessed 1 April 2009 The Nintendo 64 version of '' Army Men: Sarge's Heroes'' by The 3DO Company
The 3DO Company (formerly THDO on the NASDAQ stock exchange), also known as 3DO, was an American video game company. It was founded in 1991 by Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins, in a partnership with seven other companies. After 3DO's flagshi ...
was released the same year as Syphon Filter, and is an early example of a popular third person shooter which introduced the player being allowed to control aiming of their weapon themselves by means of two control sticks. In ''Tomb Raider'' and ''Syphon Filter'', on the other hand, the protagonists automatically aimed at antagonists. Forcing or allowing the player to control aiming themselves, either using control sticks or a mouse, would go on to become commonplace in later games in the genre, such as ''Oni
An is a kind of ''yōkai'', demon, orc, ogre, or troll in Japanese folklore. Oni are mostly known for their fierce and evil nature manifested in their propensity for murder and cannibalism. Notwithstanding their evil reputation, oni possess i ...
'' (2001), ''Max Payne
''Max Payne'' is a neo-noir third-person shooter video game series developed by Remedy Entertainment (''Max Payne'' and ''Max Payne 2'') and Rockstar Studios (''Max Payne 3''). The series is named after its protagonist, Max Payne, a New York Ci ...
'' (2001) and '' SOCOM'' (2002). ''Max Payne'' (2001) was acclaimed as a superlative third person shooter, inspired by Hong Kong action cinema
Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. Action films from Hong Kong have roots in Chinese and Hong Kong cultures including Chinese opera, storytelling and aesthetic traditions, which Hong Ko ...
. Several platform games with third-person shooter elements were also released during that time; examples included ''Ratchet & Clank
''Ratchet & Clank'' is a series of action platformer and third-person shooter video games. The franchise was created and developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation consoles, such as PlayStation 2 ...
'' and most of the games in the ''Jak and Daxter
''Jak and Daxter'' is an Action-adventure game, action-adventure video game franchise created by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin and owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The series was originally developed by Naughty Dog with a number of install ...
'' series, both of which were designed for younger audiences than most third-person shooters.
''Resident Evil 4
''Resident Evil 4'' is a 2005 survival horror third-person shooter game developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by Capcom. It was originally released for the GameCube on January 11, 2005. Players control U.S. government special ...
'' (2005) was influential in helping to redefine the third-person shooter genre, with its use of "over the shoulder" offset camera angles, where the camera is placed directly over the right shoulder and therefore doesn't obscure the action. An important gameplay mechanic that helped revolutionize third-person shooters in the past decade was the cover system
A cover system is a video game gameplay mechanic that allows a virtual avatar to hide from and avoid dangers, usually in a three-dimensional world. This method is a digital adaptation of the real-life military tactic of taking cover behind obst ...
. Koei
Koei Co., Ltd. was a Japanese video game publisher, developer, and distributor founded in 1978. The company is known for its ''Dynasty Warriors'' games based on the novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', as well as simulation games based on p ...
's ''WinBack
''WinBack'' (known as ''WinBack: Covert Operations'' in North America and ''Operation: WinBack'' in Australia and Europe) is a third-person shooter video game developed by Omega Force (a division of Koei) and published for the Nintendo 64 in 199 ...
'' (1999) has a cover system. ''Kill Switch
A kill switch, also known as an emergency stop (E-stop), emergency off (EMO) and as an emergency power off (EPO), is a safety mechanism used to shut off machinery in an emergency, when it cannot be shut down in the usual manner. Unlike a normal ...
'' (2003) features the cover system as its core game mechanic, along with a blind fire mechanic. ''Gears of War
''Gears of War'' is a media franchise centered on a series of video games created by Epic Games, developed and managed by The Coalition, and owned and published by Xbox Game Studios. The franchise is best known for its third-person shooter vide ...
'' (2006) and '' Uncharted: Drake's Fortune'' (2007) employed tactical
Tactic(s) or Tactical may refer to:
* Tactic (method), a conceptual action implemented as one or more specific tasks
** Military tactics, the disposition and maneuver of units on a particular sea or battlefield
** Chess tactics
** Political tacti ...
elements such as taking cover, influenced by ''Kill Switch'', using off-center viewpoints inspired by ''Resident Evil 4''. The game also employed grittier themes than other titles and used a unique feature which rewarded the player for correctly reloading weapons. ''Gears of War'', as well as games such as ''Army of Two
''Army of Two'' is a third-person shooter video game series developed by EA Montreal. The first game in the series, ''Army of Two'', was released on March 6, 2008 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles. Focusing on cooperative strategies, ' ...
'' (2008), place a greater emphasis on two player cooperative play, as does ''Resident Evil 5
''Resident Evil 5'' is a third-person shooter video game developed and published by Capcom. It is a major installment in the ''Resident Evil'' series, and was announced in 2005—the same year its predecessor ''Resident Evil 4'' was released. ' ...
'' (2009).[Faylor, Chris & Breckon, Nick]
Resident Evil 5 to Sport 2P Co-op, Cover System
(22 May 2008), Shacknews, Retrieved on 22 May 2008. As of 2009, the third-person shooter genre has a large audience outside Japan, particularly in North America.[Nutt, Christian]
That Tecmo Flavor: Kikuchi And Shibata On Surprising The Audience
''GamaSutra'', 8 January 2009, Accessed 1 April 2009 '' Vanquish'' (2010) by PlatinumGames
PlatinumGames Inc. is a Japanese video game developer that was founded in October 2007 as result of a merger between two companies, Seeds Inc. and Odd Inc. Shinji Mikami, Atsushi Inaba, and Hideki Kamiya founded Seeds Inc. after the closure of ...
featured a gameplay style reminiscent of bullet hell
Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs
) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of charac ...
shooters, with bullets and missiles coming from all directions.Vanquish an intense sci-fi shooter
''Toronto Sun
The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices is located at Pos ...
''
The third-person shooter genre is still quite popular in contemporary gaming circles. In 2012,
Rockstar Games
Rockstar Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in New York City. The company was established in December 1998 as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, using the assets Take-Two had previously acquired from BMG Interactive. Foun ...
released ''
Max Payne 3
''Max Payne 3'' is a 2012 third-person shooter video game developed and published by Rockstar Games. It was released on May 15, 2012 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360; a Microsoft Windows port was released on May 29, 2012, followed by an OS X p ...
'', which was praised for its refined gameplay. In 2015, Nintendo published multiplayer third-person shooter game ''
Splatoon
is a third-person shooter video game franchise created by Hisashi Nogami, and developed and owned by Nintendo. Set in a post-apocalyptic Earth inhabited by anthropomorphic marine animals, the series centers around fictional cephalopods known a ...
'' for the
Wii U
The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4.
The W ...
, which was followed by a
sequel
A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
for
Nintendo Switch
The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
in 2017, which has become one of the console's highest selling games. In the late 2010s, the third-person shooter
battle royale game
A battle royale game is an online multiplayer video game genre that blends last-man-standing gameplay with the survival, exploration and scavenging elements of a survival game. Battle royale games involve dozens to hundreds of players, who sta ...
''
Fortnite Battle Royale
''Fortnite Battle Royale'' is a free-to-play battle royale video game developed and published by Epic Games. It is a companion game to '' Fortnite: Save the World'', a cooperative survival game with construction elements. It was initially re ...
'' saw huge popularity. The
survival horror
Survival horror is a subgenre of survival of the players as the game tries to frighten them with either horror graphics or scary ambience. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical ac ...
games ''
Resident Evil 2
''Resident Evil 2'' is a 1998 survival horror video game developed and published by Capcom for the PlayStation. The player controls Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield, who must escape Raccoon City after its citizens are transformed into zom ...
'' and ''
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis'' were remade in
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
and
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
respectively, featuring third-person shooter gameplay similar to ''Resident Evil 4''.
See also
*
List of third-person shooters
Third-person shooter (TPS) is a genre of 3D action video game in which the player character is visible on-screen, and the gameplay consists primarily of shooting.
__TOC__
Legend
List
See also
* Third-person shooter
References ...
*
Shooter game
Shooter video games or shooters are a subgenre of action video games where the focus is almost entirely on the defeat of the character's enemies using the weapons given to the player. Usually these weapons are firearms or some other long-range ...
References
{{Video game genre
Video game genres
Video game terminology