Origins: 1970s to late 1980s First-person shooter

before popularity of first-person shooters, first-person viewpoint used in vehicle simulation games such battlezone.

the earliest 2 documented first-person shooter video games maze war , spasim. maze war features on-foot gameplay evokes modern first-person shooter games. development of game began in 1973 , exact date of completion unknown. spasim had documented debut @ university of illinois in 1974. game rudimentary space flight simulator, featured first-person perspective. distinct modern first-person shooters, involving simple tile-based movement player move square square , turn in 90-degree increments. spasim led more detailed combat flight simulators , tank simulator, developed u.s. army, in later 1970s. these games not available consumers, however, , not until 1980 tank video game, battlezone, released in arcades. version of game released in 1983 home computers , became first successful mass-market game featuring first-person viewpoint , wireframe 3d graphics, presented using vector graphics display.