It's 3:30 p.m. on a Monday, and Adie Helfenstein has some time - and people - to kill before his 7 p.m. class.

Like many others at F.R.A.G., 543 E. Grand River Ave. - which charges hourly rates for access to online gaming - Helfenstein has chosen to play "Call of Duty," a game that fits neatly into a genre known as "first-person shooters."

"It's fast-paced and relatively realistic," Helfenstein said, using his mouse to train in on an opponent's head. "It's also easy to get good at quickly. You spend a half-hour playing it and you're on the same level as people who have played it for a couple of days."

If you've ever seen one of the highly popular "Doom" games, you are familiar with first-person shooters. As the genre's name suggests, it is characterized by a first-person point of view and some sort of weapon held in an outstretched hand. Enemies invariably crop up within the scope and range of the weapon, and violence ensues.

Since its inception in the mid-'90s with the game "Wolfenstein 3D," the first-person shooter genre has spawned some of the most successful video games in history. Titles such as the "Doom" series, "GoldenEye 007," "Half-Life" and "Halo: Combat Evolved" have generated millions in revenue for their manufacturers and provided gamers with countless hours of enjoyment.

Last week's "Halo 2" release broke entertainment retail records, when, according to Microsoft Game Studios, the game sold about 2.4 million units in the United States and Canada and generated about $125 million in 24 hours. That is more than any video game or movie in history has generated in one day.

Why did this happen? How is it that the "Halo" series and other similar games are able to capture gamers the way they do?

According to Brian Winn, an assistant professor in the telecommunication, information studies and media department, the competitive element of the games is their real draw.

"These are sort of the modern day team-based sports," said Winn, who teaches a class on video game design. "Rather than playing flag football, people go to their dorm rooms and play these games."

Winn added that the multiplayer elements in most first-person shooters are their most attractive feature to many gamers.

Steve Zimmerman, president of the MSU Gamers Network, agrees. He said the gaming club, which used to boast about 100 members, has been reduced to about 10. This is the result of a university policy that bans the use of private servers on campus. Without being able to operate such a server, which is comparable to one person hosting a party through their computer, Zimmerman said there is "virtually" no way for members to connect and play together, and the club isn't as popular as it once was.

"The guy that used to run the club ran an illegal server," he said. "Now it's basically just a name."

But while both Winn and Zimmerman credit a love of competition for the success of many recent first-person shooters, Ethan Watrall, a telecommunication, information studies and media instructor, said something else is responsible.

"It has more to do with individual games than it does with the genre," said Watrall, who also teaches a gaming design course. "There are lots and lots of first-person shooters that go down in flames."

Watrall said the unique aspect of the games, not just their formulaic format, are what result in greatness.

"In the case of 'Half-Life,' it was the immersiveness of the story that brought people to the world itself," he said. "With 'Halo,' it was the same thing. Right now it just happens to be that we've had a crop of really well-done first-person shooters."

Following "Halo 2," two more highly anticipated first-person shooters were released on Tuesday. "Half-Life 2" and "GoldenEye: Rogue Agent" are both sequels to first-person shooters that achieved a great deal of success.

"Certainly the popularity of these sequels are built on the backs of their predecessors," Watrall said. "The predecessors were popular in the sense that the stories they told were better."

Still, Watrall conceded the genre has a great deal of competitive draw.

"What's interesting to note about first-person shooters is there has been an entire culture of competition that has grown up around them," he said, noting that many of the most prominent national gaming tournaments are for first-person shooters such as "Quake" or "Counter-Strike." "It probably has to do with the fact that the games are concise and bounded. They have a beginning, an end and a recognized goal."

With that goal often being the slaughter of an opposition, many groups have spoken against ultra-violent video games, claiming they make gamers more willing to carry out violent acts. According to communication Professor John Sherry, though, studies on the effect of violence on gamers suggests that the games' influence is mild.

"I don't think it's anything to worry about for most people," said Sherry, who has researched the topic. "With people that are pre-disposed to violence, it can perhaps give them ideas and make them more efficient killers. You have to be in pretty bad shape as a human before you cross that bridge."

Regardless of crusades against some types of games, Winn and Watrall said the video game industry will only grow larger and more lucrative from this point on.

"It's going to continue exploding," Watrall said, adding that in 2002, the gaming industry grossed $30 billion while the film industry grossed only $20.4 billion. "That trend is only going to increase as the industry becomes more mature. Nowadays everybody is playing video games. It's no longer just the domain of teenage males."

According to Winn, the reason for an increasing number of gaming enthusiasts is that many people today grow up with video games.

"We now have a full generation of gamers that have grown up with games since they were basically in the cradle," he said. "Since they've aged, they have continued to play games and the games have grown with them."

The astounding graphics and engaging plots that have come from this growth may be heavenly to game enthusiasts, but Helfenstein sees a downside. Sitting in the F.R.A.G. Center, still sniping enemies, he said he will refrain from purchasing "Half-Life 2" for the time being, though the game's predecessor is one of his favorites.

"I know myself pretty well," he said. "I wouldn't ever study."

Dirk VanderHart is the State News enterprise reporter. Reach him at vande227@msu.edu.