First person shooter (FPS) is a video game genre utilizing an on screen view that effectively simulates the playable character's perspective and the focus on the use of ranged weapons such as guns.
Present day first person shooter games took off in popularity when the home computer was equipped enough to handle the 3D elements that these games entail. ID Software's Wolfenstein 3D and Doom are both highly touted and considered innovations in the genre. Doom in particular became a synonym of the genre whereby FPS games were called "Doom clones".
Updates:
Here's the full list:
1. 3D Monster Maze (1981)
2. Catacomb 3D (1991)
3. Wolfenstein 3D (1992)
4. Pathways Into Darkness (1993)
5. Doom (1993) & Rise of the Triad (1994)
6. Descent (1995) & Marathon (1994)& Duke Nukem 3D (1996)
7. Quake (1996)
8. GoldenEye 007 (1997)
9. Unreal (1998)
10. Starsiege: Tribes (1998)
11. Half-Life (1998)& Rainbow Six (1998)
12. Unreal Tournament (1999)
13. Halo: Combat Evolved (2001)
14. World War II Online (2001)
15. Battlefield 2 (2005)