> > > Wolf3D wasn't really the first FPS, but we'll
> > >overlook it.
> >
> > I knew one of you anal-retentive types would call me on that. Wolf3D is the first one everyone remembers, so it might as well have been the first.
>
> Bah. If you're going to just randomly pick one to be first, say Doom since that's the *important* one (IMO Doom remains the single most influential PC game of all time).

Ok, this part of the debate is just dumb. Dave's initial summary of the history of 3D FPS shooters is perfectly valid. Wolf3D was a smash hit -- not in the way Doom was, but it was its predecessor and was popular enough, above and beyond any of *its* predecessors as to be considered the progenitor of the genre.

You might as well argue that there were psychotic serial killer films before "Psycho," and therefore Psycho is not the progenitor of *that* genre, or that there were fantasy novels before Tolkien, so the tales of Middleearth aren't the progenitor of its. Wolf3D started it all, even if it wasn't strictly the first. Doom's contribution was to make it as popular and give it media attention. In his original game, Dave acknowledged both games as having these roles.

On the other hand, LOL at the business about the map button.