Writing for the LCD: FPS games

Theme Elementals

The themes which can be explored in a FPS title are incredibly varied and virtually any topic can feasibly be tackled, though there are definite strengths and weaknesses to bear in mind.

The first weakness brings us back to whether or not to stay fixed in first-person perspective. Games which do this will often have problems dealing with topics such as romance and love as depicting a kiss from a first-person viewpoint is a forbiddingly difficult task. It was clumsy enough when Alyx Vance greets Gordon with a hug in the start of Half-Life 2: Episode One.

Some themes come more naturally to the genre though and the topic of violence and war is a definite strength of the standard FPS game, both on the grand scale seen in any level of Call of Duty 2 where war is shown for the gritty and terrible beast it is, and the smaller and more personal scale. An example of this would be when players are beaten up-close by Serial Killer X in Condemned: Criminal Origins and must feel each blow from Agent Thomas' point of view before being tossed out of a third floor window.


Topics of violence obviously lend themselves to the FPS genre, which is why it's called 'first-person shooter', and games which explore the facets of violence from this standpoint with a degree of originality tend to be very gripping to play. It doesn't matter whether they make characters feel out of place and vulnerable such as Jack Walters in Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of The Earth or if they present characters who are vastly unrealistic in their strength and capabilities, like Duke Nukem.

FPS games can vary in how they use the theme of violence though and, although it was previously common for FPS games to just feature simple run 'n' gun gameplay, players now demand something more complex for their gaming palettes and writers are all too keen to provide.

Crysis is a good example of a ‘classic’ FPS story which reads like something from a blockbuster action movie;

“In essence, Crysis is the story of one man rising up in the face of adversity to counter a devastating threat to humanity. Crysis puts you in the role of a Special Forces Operative, call sign Nomad, who is sent in to rescue a team of U.S. archaeologists held captive on a North Korean controlled island. When the situation escalates the player must adapt and utilize the full range of his abilities to succeed against near-impossible odds. In that sense, the story is thematically similar to David and Goliath.”


Crysis takes the classic storyline then of one man against an army of enemies – a setting and plot instantly familiar to anyone who’s ever seen an Arnie film, an opinion echoed by Martin;

“In my opinion, story is very important in creating an engaging single player experience for FPS games... In FPS games, pacing is crucial. Like an action movie, you can’t let up for a second, and when it comes to storytelling in an FPS, brevity is key. The trick is finding the balance between action and narrative and, wherever possible, combining the two.

“In terms of narrative, what I’m most excited about is the cinematic sequences. Crysis is a visually stunning game and the cinematics are no exception. The quality of art and animation is incredible and it’s very easy to forget you’re watching a video game and not a Hollywood blockbuster. What I like most about our cinematic sequences is the seamless transitions between cutscenes and gameplay with no drop in visual quality from one to the other.”