Hi guys, I'm developing a sci-fi story-based FPS game, so I need to know your "must-have feature" in an FPS game. Do you have one? If yes, please share your thoughts!
Melee combat.
Just kidding.
I have an easier time to play a game, if it conforms to established control schemes. But each decision you make, will define your game. What is needed in one game, might be distracting in another.
I assume you talk about game features and not meta features. Reassigning controls would be a meta feature. So would a color blind mode or having a center dot being displayed.
So, no, I can't think of must have game features, but a lot of meta features that one can summarize under QOL.
I like it when a game tells me which buttons I can press in a specifc sitation, so I do not have to memorize the controls anew for each game.
Like when you have a cover mechanic that I see the button to get in cover. Which also shows me, that an environment is actually a cover and not there to look nice.
This is a common thing that I see with recent fps games, but don't make the player interface too cluttered or flashy. It's extremely easy to distract the player if there's too much going on all the time.
I can't really recommend much else off the information given. Not related to mechanics necessarily, but having something to make your game stick out from other fpses does a lot.
I’d say physics that doesn’t fight the player, but adds to the experience - even if it’s at the expense of realism.
(Note: There probably are a few FPS games where realistic physics can work well. But… it’s not really what I prefer.)
One example of what I consider “fun physics” is the Gravity Gun in Half-Life 2.
It depends on the focus of your game, but i really like when FPS games adds mechanics that doesn't involve just shooting at the enemy, but rather shooting at unique weak-spots that rewards the player even more, like shooting the back of an enemy deals more damage – or an enemy has two heads and you need to damage both of them to stun/kill – or even a non-enemy related puzzle that you need to aim at something to solve. Basically making more use of the gun to progress in a fun and diegetic way!
You're probably not looking for an answer like "it has to be in first-person," right?
Well then, in my opinion, the must-have features in an FPS are:
The key phrase here is "a way to know." Sure, it's easy to just slap everything on a HUD, but honestly, I don't think it has to be a HUD—as long as the information is conveyed clearly in some form.
For example, in the classic DOOM, there's a face at the bottom of the screen. Even without numerical health indicators, if there are enough expressions tied to different health levels, you can get a rough idea of how bad things are just by looking at the character's face.
So as long as players can roughly tell their health, weapon, and ammo count, a HUD might not be necessary at all.
If those elements are well-designed, I think that’s enough to make a first-person shooter work.
And if I had to add one more thing, it would be a sense of playfulness.
Since you're working on a sci-fi game, I think it's essential to include little Easter eggs or references that only true sci-fi fans would catch.
For example, maybe the tutorial AI is called "SPRING 9000" (a twist on HAL 9000, with "HAL" being read as "Haru" in Japanese, which means "spring.")
Or maybe the aliens greet each other with a pose that’s unmistakably the "live long and prosper" sign.
Maybe sharks rain down from space.
Or in a world full of futuristic tech, the clock is weirdly analog.
Details like that absolutely belong in a sci-fi FPS, in my opinion.
That's about it from me!