14 1. Introduction
First-person shooters typically focus on technologies, such as
z effi cient rendering of large 3D virtual worlds;
z a responsive camera control/aiming mechanic;
z high-fi delity animations of the player’s virtual arms and weapons;
z a wide range of powerful hand-held weaponry;
z a forgiving player character motion and collision model, which oft en
gives these games a “fl oaty” feel;
z high-fi delity animations and artifi cial intelligence for the non-player
characters (the player’s enemies and allies);
z small-scale online multiplayer capabilities (typically supporting up to
64 simultaneous players), and the ubiquitous “death match” gameplay
mode.
The rendering technology employed by fi rst-person shooters is almost
always highly optimized and carefully tuned to the particular type of envi-Figure 1.2. Call of Duty 2 (Xbox 360/PLAYSTATION 3).