In 2004, the first-person shooter reached the zenith of its popularity. PC gamers worldwide were buzzing with anticipation for two massive games. In the left corner was Doom 3, id Software’s first entry in the series for a decade that looked set to deliver a revolution in graphics technology. In the right was Half-Life 2, the preposterously inventive sequel to what was generally considered the best shooter ever made. Already titans of the genre, both sequels promised cutting-edge visuals, new advances in FPS storytelling, innovations in physics and interactivity, and of course, mind-melting action.
But there was another shooter released that year, bearing no such pedigree, that you could argue was ultimately more influential than either of these games. Set across a lush archipelago of tropical islands, Far Cry blew a gaping hole in the FPS’ corridor constraints, showing the world the sandbox potential in hitherto the most linear of genres. It spawned not one, but two of the most successful first-person shooter series of all time, and helped pave the way for the modern open world game as we know it. It may even have changed how games were made, ushering in an era of faster, more dynamic game development.
All that, and it was created by a team barely out of school with zero professional experience. “Our team had absolutely no clue how to make games,” says Cevat Yerli, founder of Crytek and Far Cry’s director. “And [I was] asking them to compete against the very best in the world.”
CRY BABIES
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Special Report- Stacked Deck - Monster Train, a deckbuilding roguelike that firmly entrenched itself as the crown prince to the kingly Slay the Spire back in 2020, was the kind of smash success you might call Champagne Big.
Monster Train, a deckbuilding roguelike that firmly entrenched itself as the crown prince to the kingly Slay the Spire back in 2020, was the kind of smash success you might call Champagne Big. Four years later, its successor Inkbound’s launch from Early Access was looking more like Sandwich Big.I’m not just saying that because of the mountain of lamb and eggplants I ate while meeting with developer Shiny Shoe over lunch, to feel out what the aftermath of releasing a game looks like in 2024. I mean, have I thought about that sandwich every day since? Yes. But also, the indie team talked frankly about the struggle of luring Monster Train’s audience on board for its next game.
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