Stu Maine
@stuartmaine.bsky.social
Veteran video game designer and writer. Author of I'm Too Young To Die and Hurt Me Plenty with Bitmap Books, and Designing Video Games with White Owl.
Obscure FPS facts: Z is for Zeno Clash (2009). This isn’t as obscure as some games we’ve covered, but is stranger than all of them put together. Manages to make mutant-punching melee combat work from first-person, with guns often a liability when you're being rushed by 'things'.
May 27, 2025 at 7:24 AM
Obscure FPS facts: Z is for Zeno Clash (2009). This isn’t as obscure as some games we’ve covered, but is stranger than all of them put together. Manages to make mutant-punching melee combat work from first-person, with guns often a liability when you're being rushed by 'things'.
Obscure FPS facts: Y is for You Are Empty (2006). Despite being limited (a lot of proposed features were cut), linear, and featuring no dynamic lighting (but it does have truck-sized chickens), the game's strange, cloying atmosphere makes this alternate-reality apocalypse worth exploring.
May 26, 2025 at 9:35 AM
Obscure FPS facts: Y is for You Are Empty (2006). Despite being limited (a lot of proposed features were cut), linear, and featuring no dynamic lighting (but it does have truck-sized chickens), the game's strange, cloying atmosphere makes this alternate-reality apocalypse worth exploring.
Obscure FPS facts: X is for Xenus II: White Gold (2008). Imagine Fallout 3 took on the war on drugs, but with way less polish and, if anything, more ambition. Full of game-breaking bugs and ‘wait, what?’ moments that require patience, but make Xenus II worth sticking with.
May 25, 2025 at 9:12 AM
Obscure FPS facts: X is for Xenus II: White Gold (2008). Imagine Fallout 3 took on the war on drugs, but with way less polish and, if anything, more ambition. Full of game-breaking bugs and ‘wait, what?’ moments that require patience, but make Xenus II worth sticking with.
Obscure FPS facts: W is for WWII Online. Running since 2001, this ‘the opposite of Battlefield 1942’ FPS allows you to travel in realtime from England to Germany, with its map encompassing 135,136 square miles. Deep and obtuse, but clever design leads to concentrated fights.
May 23, 2025 at 6:58 AM
Obscure FPS facts: W is for WWII Online. Running since 2001, this ‘the opposite of Battlefield 1942’ FPS allows you to travel in realtime from England to Germany, with its map encompassing 135,136 square miles. Deep and obtuse, but clever design leads to concentrated fights.
Obscure FPS facts: V is for Valiant Comics. Purchased by Acclaim but still running after the publisher's demise (and recent rebirth), Valiant’s FPS links include 1997's Turok: Dinosaur Hunter and the almost entirely forgotten N64 FPS, 1999's Armorines: Project S.W.A.R.M.
May 22, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Obscure FPS facts: V is for Valiant Comics. Purchased by Acclaim but still running after the publisher's demise (and recent rebirth), Valiant’s FPS links include 1997's Turok: Dinosaur Hunter and the almost entirely forgotten N64 FPS, 1999's Armorines: Project S.W.A.R.M.
Obscure FPS facts: U is for Utopia City (2005). Despite attempting a choice of combat or stealth, energy management and superpowers, this somehow manages to waste the imaginative potential of its ‘enter virtual reality to ‘rescue’ people from utopia’ premise.
May 20, 2025 at 7:43 AM
Obscure FPS facts: U is for Utopia City (2005). Despite attempting a choice of combat or stealth, energy management and superpowers, this somehow manages to waste the imaginative potential of its ‘enter virtual reality to ‘rescue’ people from utopia’ premise.
Obscure FPS facts: T is for The DinoHunters (2006). Paid for and prominently featuring various sponsors, DinoHunters revolves around a bunch of hillbilly stereotypes travelling back in time to shoot dinosaurs. Runs on Valve’s Source technology and features a karate-kicking T-Rex.
May 19, 2025 at 8:37 AM
Obscure FPS facts: T is for The DinoHunters (2006). Paid for and prominently featuring various sponsors, DinoHunters revolves around a bunch of hillbilly stereotypes travelling back in time to shoot dinosaurs. Runs on Valve’s Source technology and features a karate-kicking T-Rex.
Obscure FPS facts: S is for Shattered Horizon (2009). One of a string of multiplayer shooters that failed to gain an audience, Shattered Horizon was doomed by a steep learning curve and a reliance on DirectX 10, with no support for the then infinitely more widespread DirectX 9.
May 17, 2025 at 9:08 AM
Obscure FPS facts: S is for Shattered Horizon (2009). One of a string of multiplayer shooters that failed to gain an audience, Shattered Horizon was doomed by a steep learning curve and a reliance on DirectX 10, with no support for the then infinitely more widespread DirectX 9.
Obscure FPS facts: R is for RoboCop. Unexpectedly, having starred in FPSs in 1992 (technically clever, and good fun), 2003 (utterly random) and 2023 (a modern classic), RoboCop - along with Aliens - is one of the longest serving IP’s to appear in the FPS genre.
May 16, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Obscure FPS facts: R is for RoboCop. Unexpectedly, having starred in FPSs in 1992 (technically clever, and good fun), 2003 (utterly random) and 2023 (a modern classic), RoboCop - along with Aliens - is one of the longest serving IP’s to appear in the FPS genre.
Obscure FPS facts: Q is for Quiver (1997). Filling a ‘more FPSs, please’ gap, Quiver is one of a number of ‘DOOM clones’ that delivered exactly what fans of id's shooter wanted. Other examples include 1994’s Depth Dwellers, 1995’s H.U.R.L., and 1997’s Alien Cabal.
May 15, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Obscure FPS facts: Q is for Quiver (1997). Filling a ‘more FPSs, please’ gap, Quiver is one of a number of ‘DOOM clones’ that delivered exactly what fans of id's shooter wanted. Other examples include 1994’s Depth Dwellers, 1995’s H.U.R.L., and 1997’s Alien Cabal.
Obscure FPS facts: P is for Phantom Slayer (the) (1982). One of the ‘maze game’ precursors to the FPS, Phantom Slayer stands out by allowing you to freely turn, and for giving you a gun. Creator, Ken Kalish, said he wanted the game to mix “fear and aggression followed by unrestrained fleeing”.
May 14, 2025 at 10:41 AM
Obscure FPS facts: P is for Phantom Slayer (the) (1982). One of the ‘maze game’ precursors to the FPS, Phantom Slayer stands out by allowing you to freely turn, and for giving you a gun. Creator, Ken Kalish, said he wanted the game to mix “fear and aggression followed by unrestrained fleeing”.
Obscure FPS facts: O is for Operation Matriarchy (2005). Wake to discover a virus has converted all the women into monsters. Simultaneously manages to be both more and less schlocky than it sounds, and has a reverse-difficulty curve where it throws less stuff at you over time.
May 13, 2025 at 7:43 AM
Obscure FPS facts: O is for Operation Matriarchy (2005). Wake to discover a virus has converted all the women into monsters. Simultaneously manages to be both more and less schlocky than it sounds, and has a reverse-difficulty curve where it throws less stuff at you over time.
Obscure FPS facts: N is for Nick ‘Havoc’ Parker. Captain Parker is the ‘ridiculous lump of beef’ star of 2002 FPS, Command & Conquer: Renegade, which brought C&C to life from the ground. Good, cheesy, fun, and the multiplayer was reborn as the still entertaining Renegade X.
May 12, 2025 at 7:41 AM
Obscure FPS facts: N is for Nick ‘Havoc’ Parker. Captain Parker is the ‘ridiculous lump of beef’ star of 2002 FPS, Command & Conquer: Renegade, which brought C&C to life from the ground. Good, cheesy, fun, and the multiplayer was reborn as the still entertaining Renegade X.
Obscure FPS facts: M is for Melvin the Monkey. Having licensed the Wolfenstein engine for 1994’s Super 3D Noah’s Ark, its developers replaced the bosses with equally hard-hitting camels, elephants and bears, (which, if anything, makes them more disturbing than the originals).
May 10, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Obscure FPS facts: M is for Melvin the Monkey. Having licensed the Wolfenstein engine for 1994’s Super 3D Noah’s Ark, its developers replaced the bosses with equally hard-hitting camels, elephants and bears, (which, if anything, makes them more disturbing than the originals).
Obscure FPS facts: L is for Lovecraft. His mythos features in Quake, Dark Corners of the Earth and others, but is best evoked by 2007’s deeply surreal, Robert D. Anderson & The Legacy of Cthulhu. Fittingly, you'll never be quite sure if you've found a bug or it's messing with your head.
May 9, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Obscure FPS facts: L is for Lovecraft. His mythos features in Quake, Dark Corners of the Earth and others, but is best evoked by 2007’s deeply surreal, Robert D. Anderson & The Legacy of Cthulhu. Fittingly, you'll never be quite sure if you've found a bug or it's messing with your head.
Obscure FPS facts: K is for Kkrieger. Short and limited it may be, the ‘generate the game's textures, models and audio on the fly’ tricks used by demo group .theprodukt to get the entirety of 2004’s .Kkrieger to fit into just 96kb make it a remarkable technical showcase.
May 8, 2025 at 7:24 AM
Obscure FPS facts: K is for Kkrieger. Short and limited it may be, the ‘generate the game's textures, models and audio on the fly’ tricks used by demo group .theprodukt to get the entirety of 2004’s .Kkrieger to fit into just 96kb make it a remarkable technical showcase.
Obscure FPS facts: J is for Jurassic Park. While everyone remembers Trespasser’s floppy-wristed-dino-slapping action, this 1993 SNES game featured impressively atmospherically FPS sections (which even support the SNES mouse). Amazing work considering their hardware's limitations.
May 7, 2025 at 7:53 AM
Obscure FPS facts: J is for Jurassic Park. While everyone remembers Trespasser’s floppy-wristed-dino-slapping action, this 1993 SNES game featured impressively atmospherically FPS sections (which even support the SNES mouse). Amazing work considering their hardware's limitations.
Obscure FPS facts: I is for Iza Czarnecka. This Polish model portrays the eponymous Nina in 2003’s Codename: Nina - Global Terrorism Strike Force - an odd, puzzle and instant death-heavy FPS with inexplicable psychic powers and some of the strangest voice acting in videogame history.
May 6, 2025 at 7:30 AM
Obscure FPS facts: I is for Iza Czarnecka. This Polish model portrays the eponymous Nina in 2003’s Codename: Nina - Global Terrorism Strike Force - an odd, puzzle and instant death-heavy FPS with inexplicable psychic powers and some of the strangest voice acting in videogame history.
Obscure FPS facts: H is for Half-Life 2: Survivor (2006). Taito converted Half-Life 2 into a fancy, joystick + foot pedal arcade game, ending up with a surreal, mirror-universe version of the game (no Gravity Gun in Ravenholm, for example). It was followed by Left 4 Dead: Survivors in 2014.
May 5, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Obscure FPS facts: H is for Half-Life 2: Survivor (2006). Taito converted Half-Life 2 into a fancy, joystick + foot pedal arcade game, ending up with a surreal, mirror-universe version of the game (no Gravity Gun in Ravenholm, for example). It was followed by Left 4 Dead: Survivors in 2014.
Obscure FPS facts: G is for GunCon. Namco’s lightgun works with Japanese and European versions of 2000’s PlayStation FPS, Resident Evil: Survivor, but not the North American release. With the sort of bonkers plot that's synonymous with PS1 titles, Survivor is worth checking out.
May 3, 2025 at 8:02 AM
Obscure FPS facts: G is for GunCon. Namco’s lightgun works with Japanese and European versions of 2000’s PlayStation FPS, Resident Evil: Survivor, but not the North American release. With the sort of bonkers plot that's synonymous with PS1 titles, Survivor is worth checking out.
Obscure FPS facts: F is for Forbes Corporate Warrior (1997). This deeply abstract FPS attempted to blend stocks and shares with combat. Surprising no-one (just who was the market for this game?) it failed, but you have to respect a game with a key to ‘increase thrifty orientation’.
May 2, 2025 at 6:59 AM
Obscure FPS facts: F is for Forbes Corporate Warrior (1997). This deeply abstract FPS attempted to blend stocks and shares with combat. Surprising no-one (just who was the market for this game?) it failed, but you have to respect a game with a key to ‘increase thrifty orientation’.
Obscure FPS facts: E is for Extreme Paintbrawl (1998). One of a string of paintball games that straddled different developers and technology, this Build Engine-powered game’s appalling quality makes more sense when you know it was apparently developed in just 2 weeks.
May 1, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Obscure FPS facts: E is for Extreme Paintbrawl (1998). One of a string of paintball games that straddled different developers and technology, this Build Engine-powered game’s appalling quality makes more sense when you know it was apparently developed in just 2 weeks.
Obscure FPS facts: D is for Devastation: Resistance Breeds Revolution. Featuring a large cast of characters (including an Eminem lookalike and surprise sharks), this 2003 FPS shows what would happen if soldiers could respawn like a videogame.
April 30, 2025 at 7:51 AM
Obscure FPS facts: D is for Devastation: Resistance Breeds Revolution. Featuring a large cast of characters (including an Eminem lookalike and surprise sharks), this 2003 FPS shows what would happen if soldiers could respawn like a videogame.
Obscure FPS facts: C is for (The) Colony. This 1988 FPS featured puzzles challenging enough to cause author Orson Scott Card (and his son) to quit in disgust. Tom Clancy loved it though, leading to the formation of Red Storm and the Rainbow Six games.
April 29, 2025 at 7:29 AM
Obscure FPS facts: C is for (The) Colony. This 1988 FPS featured puzzles challenging enough to cause author Orson Scott Card (and his son) to quit in disgust. Tom Clancy loved it though, leading to the formation of Red Storm and the Rainbow Six games.
Obscure FPS facts: B is for Breed (2004). The ‘whose fault is it’ public arguments between Breed’s developer and publisher are just as interesting as this spectacularly ambitious but unfinished FPS that occasionally manages to top Halo.
April 28, 2025 at 7:59 AM
Obscure FPS facts: B is for Breed (2004). The ‘whose fault is it’ public arguments between Breed’s developer and publisher are just as interesting as this spectacularly ambitious but unfinished FPS that occasionally manages to top Halo.