NorthPoint Courtesy Services Development and Design Summary

Abstract

As we address the topic of games on games, we turned our focus towards first-person shooters (FPS), one of the most popular genres of computer game at the moment. Contemporary FPS games populate the genre continuum from realistic (Rainbow Six Siege, ARMA, Insurgency) to fantastic (Halo, Bioshock, Destiny). However, no matter the setting or context, a constant of the FPS genre is the horde of nameless non-player characters (NPCs) that make up the waves of grunts and cannon fodder for the player character to enact their will against through the affordances provided by the designers. This melding of player will and designer limitations, in the vast majority of instances, results in NPCs being shot and killed with some form of weaponry, thus allowing the player to progress through the game.

Keywords

• Video games
• FPS
• First-person shooters
• satire