<P> First - person shooters may feature a multiplayer mode, taking place on specialized levels . Some games are designed specifically for multiplayer gaming, and have very limited single player modes in which the player competes against game - controlled characters termed "bots". Massively multiplayer online first - person shooters allow thousands of players to compete at once in a persistent world . Large scale multiplayer games allow multiple squads, with leaders issuing commands and a commander controlling the team's overall strategy . Multiplayer games have a variety of different styles of match . </P> <P> The classic types are the deathmatch (and its team - based variant) in which players score points by killing other players' characters; and capture the flag, in which teams attempt to penetrate the opposing base, capture a flag and return it to their own base whilst preventing the other team from doing the same . Other game modes may involve attempting to capture enemy bases or areas of the map, attempting to take hold of an object for as long as possible while evading other players, or deathmatch variations involving limited lives or in which players fight over a particularly potent power - up . These match types may also be customizable, allowing the players to vary weapons, health and power - ups found on the map, as well as victory criteria . Games may allow players to choose between various classes, each with its own strengths, weaknesses, equipment and roles within a team . </P> <P> The earliest two documented first - person shooter video games are Maze War and Spasim . Maze War features on - foot gameplay that evokes modern first - person shooter games . Development of the game began in 1973 and its exact date of completion is unknown . Spasim had a documented debut at the University of Illinois in 1974 . The game was a rudimentary space flight simulator, which featured a first - person perspective . They were distinct from modern first - person shooters, involving simple tile - based movement where the player could only move from square to square and turn in 90 - degree increments . Spasim led to more detailed combat flight simulators and eventually to a tank simulator, developed for the U.S. Army, in the later 1970s . These games were not available to consumers, however, and it was not until 1980 that a tank video game, Battlezone, was released in arcades . A version of the game was released in 1983 for home computers and became the first successful mass - market game featuring a first - person viewpoint and wireframe 3D graphics, presented using a vector graphics display . </P> <P> MIDI Maze, an early first - person shooter released in 1987 for the Atari ST, featured maze - based gameplay and character designs similar to Pac - Man, but displayed in a first - person perspective . Later ported to various systems--including the Game Boy and Super NES--under the title Faceball 2000, it featured the first network multiplayer deathmatches, using a MIDI interface . It was a relatively minor game, but despite the inconvenience of connecting numerous machines together, its multiplayer mode gained a cult following: 1UP.com called it the "first multi-player 3D shooter on a mainstream system" and the first "major LAN action game". </P>

When was the first first person shooter game