This is where it all begins.
I've been playing Unreal Tournament '99 for the first time recently, and I've enjoyed every second of it. I think it really encapsules a lot of the creativity that was present in that period of early FPS design when it came to the arsenal and the level design, and I find myself booting it up every once in a while to do a quick bot match on Facing Worlds to destress.... But why?
Shooters aren't really one of my most played genres, especially multiplayer shooters, because I tend to find them kind of demoralizing. I'm not particularly great at mouse aiming, so I avoid most competitive FPS games, because I know the type of players that are present in those communities that I personally don't want to deal with.
Of course, I still play multiplayer games, and you'll find toxic players in any multiplayer game, but just the act of aiming requires a LOT of my attention for me to be semi-decent at it, so I don't usually play shooters to destress... But UT99 and arena shooters in general are different in this regard. I feel like the reason I keep coming back to UT99 is because once you start a match, you quickly get in the zone of things and become a weapon of mass destruction, jumping and shooting like a madman without a care in the world, until someone puts a bullet in your head, only for you to quickly get back in the fray and start the process all over again.
EVERY multiplayer shooter has what I described to a degree, but I think old school arena shooters require a lot less of your attention to get in the flow state compared to other, more modern FPS games, which might have more mechanics like leaning, wallrunning, dives, etc. I'm not trying to say arena shooters require no attention, just look at one of the hundreds of 1v1 demos or clan matches to see the amount of decisions those players have to make per second, but what I am saying is that it's easier to just... join the mayhem, run around from room to room, get some kills and grab new weapons along the way.
Speaking of running, I believe that the constant movement helps a lot with achieving this flow state I'm referring to. A lot of modern FPS games see shooting and movement as two completely different states, so you are either focusing on movement or you're focusing on shooting, not both at the same time. I believe the reason for this is because of the popularization of mechanics such as iron sights and accuracy penalties while moving, which seek to separate both states as much as possible. In games like UT99 and Quake 3, you are moving and shooting at the same time, and if you try to stick solely to one of these for too long then you are gonna lose, plain and simple. This constant movement ensures that you are never stuck in a place for too long, so you will get acquainted with the map whether you like it or not, or else you won't last too long.
That's all I really wanted to say about my experience with UT99 so far. It's not a particularly deep analysis, but I think writing these small articles will help me improve my writing, and maybe tackle a bigger project in the future. See you next time!