History FollowTheLeader / Videogames

* Many urban-themed BeatEmUp were made to ride on the success of ''VideoGame/DoubleDragon''. Just look at ''VideoGame/FinalFight'', ''VideoGame/StreetsOfRage'', ''[[VideoGame/RushingBeat Rival Turf!]]'', ''64th Street: A Detective Story'', ''Burning Fight'' and ''Riot City''. Though some of these games wound up becoming popular in their own right (mainly ''Streets of Rage''). Capcom later tried to revive the urban beat 'em up with ''VideoGame/BeatDown: Fists of Vengeance'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFightStreetwise''. Namco tried to take the wind out of Capcom's sails by making and releasing ''Urban Reign'' around the same time. All three games flopped. They tried to catch the Western crowd using "urban" themes, and like the "we want the ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' audience" example, it alienated old fans and failed to bring in new ones. Sort of ironic as ''Streetwise's'' Western development team wanted to make a true homage to the original ''Final Fight'' series.

** ''N.O.V.A'' (''Franchise/{{Halo}}''/''VideoGame/TheConduit'')
*** Both ''N.O.V.A'' and ''The Conduit'' even feature [[spoiler: the main character being nearly killed after he learns that the government agency he works is covering up an alien invasion, only to be rescued at the last minute by a mysterious nonhuman entity known only as "Prometheus"]].

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'' had many clones/imitations that copies its world map selection and/or diagonal level design, including ''Mc Kids'', the first ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', ''Armadillo'', etc. Famously, ''VideoGame/CommanderKeen'' combined this with StartMyOwn, since id Software created it after Nintendo declined the idea of porting ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' to the PC.

* Square's 3D NES games ''VideoGame/The3DBattlesOfWorldRunner'' and ''VideoGame/RadRacer'' were clones/imitations of Sega's ''VideoGame/SpaceHarrier'' and ''VideoGame/OutRun'', respectively. Square's still earlier ''VideoGame/KingsKnight'' borrows a lot of elements from Konami's MSX game ''Knightmare''.
** Other ''Space Harrier'' derivatives/ripoffs included ''Rocket Ranger'', ''Cosmic Epsilon'', ''Attack Animal Gakuen'', ''Jimmu Densho Yaksa'' and the second level of ''Savage''.
** Other ''Out Run'' imitators in the arcades included Creator/{{Taito}}'s ''Top Speed'' (also known as ''Full Throttle'') and Creator/{{Jaleco}}'s ''Big Run''.

* ''Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas'', a Finnish action-adventure video game which borrows heavily from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'', with it's sequel, ''Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm'', borrowing heavily from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild''.

* During the mid-1990s, the success of ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' led to a glut of the MascotWithAttitude, especially in video games released on the Genesis/Mega Drive and SNES during that time. Most of them failed, either because they were just a ThemeParkVersion of Sonic himself, or because they hit the PolygonCeiling hard when gaming made the move to 3D later that decade, such as ''[[VideoGame/{{Bubsy}} Bubsy the Bobcat and Bubsy 3D]]'' (though in fairness Sonic has had issues himself in that department). While some of them like ''VideoGame/EarthwormJim'', ''VideoGame/JazzJackrabbit'' and the ''VideoGame/RocketKnightAdventures'' stood out and have a cult following, Sonic himself is the only MascotWithAttitude to escape from this time, due to being the {{Trope Maker|s}} and persisting as a CashCowFranchise past the trend it started. It certainly helped that ''Sonic'' [[GrowingWithTheAudience grew with its audience]] (if only for a time) to remain cool instead of stay as an immature-looking character like most of its imitators.

* Arcade rhythm game which uses collectibles as part of its game mechanic started with ''Anime/PrettyCure'' arcade, followed by ''[[Anime/SpellboundMagicalPrincessLilPri Lilpri -- Yubi Puru Hime Chen!]]'' & ''Love&Berry'' by Creator/{{Sega}}, ''Franchise/PrettyRhythm'' by Takara Tomy and ''VideoGame/{{Aikatsu}}'' by [[Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment Namco Bandai]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'', in turn, brought the SurvivalSandBox genre [[TropeCodifier into the mainstream]], and it too inspired a wave of imitators. The most successful of these was ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'', which shifted the concept from a fully 3D environment to a 2D side-scrolling one, and added {{Metroidvania}} elements. ''Minecraft'' also inspired other games to mimic its blocky art style in various forms. ''Minecrat'', being the "indie" success story, also gave [[IndieGame indie games]] tons of influence and visibility across the gaming community.

* ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'', in turn, brought the SurvivalSandBox genre [[TropeCodifier into the mainstream]], and it too inspired a wave of imitators. The most successful of these was ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'', which shifted the concept from a fully 3D environment to a 2D side-scrolling one, and added {{Metroidvania}} elements. ''Minecraft'' also inspired other games to mimic its blocky art style in various forms.

* Thanks to ''Franchise/TouhouProject'', all modern {{Shoot Em Up}}s have to feature [[TokenMiniMoe little girls]] and magic. FauxSymbolism is also common, thanks to ''Touhou'''s use of mythology. The few that don't bite pretty close to ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Raiden}}'', or ''VideoGame/GeometryWars''. ''Touhou'''s use of mythology is more fodder for characterization, not an attempt of symbolism, though it hasn't stopped some other shmups from going that path.

* Steve Ballmer's claims that the UsefulNotes/Xbox360 is not a games console, but a "family entertainment center", along with his insistence that it was "the only console" with a variety of features, were [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-BplG6cSlY systematically and viscerally debunked]] by the ''Podcast/MachineCAST'':

* The rather innovative voxel based destructible environment system of ''Infiniminer'', after it was made open-source (because the source code got leaked), spawned dozens of clones, most of which weren't that successful. There were exceptions though, one of them being ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}''.
* ''Minecraft'', in turn, brought the SurvivalSandBox genre [[TropeCodifier into the mainstream]], and it too inspired a wave of imitators. The most successful of these was ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'', which shifted the concept from a fully 3D environment to a 2D side-scrolling one, and added {{Metroidvania}} elements. ''Minecraft'' also inspired other games to mimic its blocky art style in various forms.

** After taking note of the success of ''VideoGame/MarioParty'', Creator/{{Sega}} came out with the AlternateCompanyEquivalent ''VideoGame/SonicShuffle''; funnily enough, Hudson Soft developed both games. Other similar multiplayer "party" games include ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}} Party'', ''VideoGame/CrashBash'' and ''Monopoly Party''. Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} even has their own free, online version called Block Party.

* After ''VideoGame/JustDance'' became a surprise hit, several similar dance games were made, for the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}, UsefulNotes/Xbox360 Kinect, and UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 Move, including ''VideoGame/DanceCentral'', ''VideoGame/DanceMasters'', ''Videogam/DanceParadise'', ''VideoGame/SingstarDance'', and ''VideoGame/CountryDance''.

* It took a while for the ''VideoGame/{{Skylanders}}'' clones to arrive, due to the technology involved, but the "Toys-to-Life" genre has started to gain a host of imitators, from Hasbro's Beam Box amongst plug-and-play versions, with ''VideoGame/DisneyInfinity'' and ''VideoGame/LEGODimensions'' being closer to ''Skylanders'''s systems. Even [[Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment Namco Bandai]] got in the fray with ''Franchise/KamenRider Summonride'', except it never caught on. Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s Toys/{{Amiibo}} are like Skylanders for the entire Nintendo Library. The business model of ''Skylanders'' continues to be imitated by various other toys that don't use a console, such as ''Playmation'' and ''Infinite Arms''. Of course, if you trace the roots of all this, it goes back to Mattel's UsefulNoes/HyperScan, [[AccentuateTheNegative but people would rather forget how]] ''[[AccentuateTheNegative underpowered]]'' [[AccentuateTheNegative the console is]]. And if you trace ''that'', it goes all the way back to Nintendo's e-card reader for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance.

* In an [[UsefulNotes/TheSeventhGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames era]] where video games were becoming more mainstream, and thus more accessibly easy and guided, the ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' series (plus its predecessor ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'') stood out from the pack for its skill-based combat and unguided adventure. Naturally, its success eventually inspired several other games centered around NintendoHard combat and/or playstyle-based ResourcesManagementGameplay including ''VideoGame/NiOh'', ''VideoGame/LordsOfTheFallen'', ''VideoGame/SaltAndSanctuary'', and ''VideoGame/{{Necropolis}}'', leading to the term "Souls-like." Even the developers of ''Dark Souls'', Creator/FromSoftware, made their own "Souls-like" called ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'', and fans of ''Dark Souls'' generally accept it as an unofficial ''Dark Souls'' game.

* ''VideoGame/PlayerUnknownsBattleGrounds''

* ''VideoGame/ApexLegends''

** The success of ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'' inspired many subsequent fighting games to feature an increased focus on the single player Story Mode. ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'', ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomInfinite'' and ''VideoGame/{{Tekken 7}}'' were all particularly blatant about this, even using the same shifting perspective narrative style employed by ''Mortal Kombat''. It's now extremely common to see a fighting game's Story Mode touted by the creators as a selling point instead of the [[ExcusePlot afterthought]] it used to be.

* You thought this trope was bad in ''video games''? Well, it's even worse with ''{{casual video game}}s''! Seriously, just try and ''count'' how many {{Time Management|Game}}/{{Match Three|Game}}/{{Hidden Object Game}}s there are on the Internet! The games made by [=PopCap=] did this for the entire casual game genre. Time-management games ''Videogame/DinerDash'' and ''Videogame/FarmVille'' are the most visible examples of this.

** The use of [[LeParkour parkour]] as a way of getting around, originally used in ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime'' and later popularized by ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'', has been used in several games since, like ''VideoGame/MirrorsEdge'', ''VideoGame/{{inFAMOUS}}'', ''{{VideoGame/Brink}}'', ''VideoGame/WatchDogs'', etc.

** ''VideoGame/{{Halo 2}}'' in particular changed how online gaming was played forever. Just some of the many things that they brought to the table were: friend lists, pre-game lobbies, in-game clan recognition, parties, text and voice messages, proximity voice, matchmaking, playlists, and skill based ranking. Then keep in mind, this is about a third of what {{Creator/Bungie}} had planned to do.

** They kept doing this after switching to Creator/{{Microsoft|Studios}}. The UsefulNotes/{{Xbox 360}}'s Avatars, which were developed by Rare, look suspiciously similar to Nintendo's Miis. In the game department: ''VideoGame/VivaPinata'' was an attempt at recreating the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' GottaCatchThemAll craze, and ''Videogame/KinectSports'' was the response to ''VideoGame/WiiSports''. Rare may have gone over to Microsoft, but they still look to Nintendo for inspiration.

* ''VideOGame/GearsOfWar'' didn't introduce the concept of duck and cover shooters but they are the most famous for making such a game enjoyable. Now it seems like there are two ways to do a shooter game, ''Call of Duty''-style FPS or ''Gears of War'' style third-person shooter.

* Shortly after ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'s'' success, several RPG/FPS hybrids with a wasteland setting were announced, such as ''VideoGame/{{FUEL}}'' (a Open Sandbox racing game set in post apocalyptica,) ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' (where the developers have gone so far to say they loved ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', and decided to make the game, 'but with co-op'. It gets a little more confusing than that.), and ''VideoGame/{{Rage}}''.

* Thanks to ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'', all modern {{Shoot Em Up}}s have to feature [[TokenMiniMoe little girls]] and magic. FauxSymbolism is also common, thanks to ''Touhou'''s use of mythology. The few that don't bite pretty close to ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Raiden}}'', or ''VideoGame/GeometryWars''. Touhou's use of mythology is more fodder for characterization, not an attempt of symbolism, though it hasn't stopped some other shmups from going that path.

* Steve Ballmer's claims that the UsefulNotes/{{Xbox 360}} is not a games console, but a "family entertainment center", along with his insistence that it was "the only console" with a variety of features, were [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-BplG6cSlY systematically and viscerally debunked]] by the ''Podcast/MachineCAST'':

** ''VideoGame/BattlefieldBadCompany 2'' and ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield 3}}''

* After ''VideoGame/JustDance'' became a surprise hit, several similar dance games were made, for the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}, UsefulNotes/{{Xbox 360}} Kinect, and UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 Move, including ''VideoGame/DanceCentral'', ''VideoGame/DanceMasters'', ''Videogam/DanceParadise'', ''VideoGame/SingstarDance'', and ''VideoGame/CountryDance''.

* Following the crowdfunding success of space games like ''Videogame/StarCitizen'' and ''Videogame/EliteDangerous'', the developers of ''[[Videogame/MechWarrior MechWarrior Online]]'', Piranha Games, attempted to jump in on the space craze and launched their own crowdfunding campaign for a new space game, ''Transverse''. The campaign was a hilarious flop, barely reaching 2% of its goal of 1 million dollars, primarily due to Piranha's [[CreatorKiller zero percent approval rating due to numerous public relations disasters]] in ''Mechwarrior Online''.

* The runaway success of ''VideoGame/KantaiCollection'' spawned more browser/smartphone games about UsefulNotes/WorldWarII [[MoeAnthropomorphism shipgirls]] - ''VideoGame/WarshipGirls'', ''VideoGame/VictoryBelles'', ''VideoGame/AzurLane'' - along with more games featuring personified historical objects, such as ''VideoGame/ToukenRanbu'' (swords) and ''VideoGame/OshiroProject'' (castles).

** In the aftermath of PUBG's amazingly successful release, numerous other games like the zombie survival game ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}'', the hero shooter game ''VideoGame/{{Paladins}}'', and even the long-standing ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' and ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' series with ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps4 Black Ops IIII]]'' and ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 76}}: Nuclear Winter'' have put out {{Battle Royale game}} modes of their own.

** In turn, many subsequent battle royale games like ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}'', ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyMobile'',''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2019: Warzone'' and ''PUBG Mobile'' copied its non-verbal ping system and respawning mechanics.

* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil1'' may not have invented the SurvivalHorror genre[[note]]That honor goes to ''VideoGame/SweetHome'', which ''Resident Evil'' was originally created to be an updated version of[[/note]], but it ''did'' invent the name, and it proved the concept could sell. Cue ''VideoGame/SilentHill1,'' ''VideoGame/FatalFrame'', ''VideoGame/{{Carrier}}'', ''Countdown Vampires'', ''VideoGame/MartianGothicUnification'', Capcom's own ''VideoGame/DinoCrisis,'' and so on.

* Konami's ''Magician's Quest: Mysterious Times[=/=][[MarketBasedTitle Little Magician's Magic Adventure]]'' can essentially be summed up as: ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing,'' [[AC: [[RecycledInSPACE but at]] WizardingSchool!]]

* [=FPSes=] and [=RPGs=] had BelligerentSexualTension for a while since at least the release of ''VideoGame/SystemShock'', but it was ''Franchise/MassEffect'' that really woke up developers to the potential money involved. Ironically, while ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'' is often billed as ''Mass Effect'' [[AC:[[RecycledInSpace IN A SPY SETTING]]]], and was launched on the wave that ''Mass Effect'' started, it's actually more of a SpiritualSuccessor to ''VideoGame/DeusEx''.

* After ''VideoGame/JustDance'' became a surprise hit, several similar dance games were made, for the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}, UsefulNotes/{{Xbox 360}} Kinect, and UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 Move, including ''VideoGame/DanceCentral'', ''VideoGame/DanceMasters'', ''DanceParadise'', ''{{Singstar}} Dance'', ''Country Dance''.

* You know how so many third person shooters have AlwaysOverTheShoulder camera? You can thank ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' for that. It also popularized quicktime events and "realistic brown" environments. It's probably one of the most influential games of its generation and its influence is very, very present in this gen. ''VideoGame/DeadSpace'' described as "''Resident Evil 4'', IN SPACE!!!". ''VideoGame/ColdFear'' ''[[CaptainErsatz is]] Resident Evil 4'', complete with brain parasites, mutants, and the [[NarmCharm lovably cheesy voice-acting we all know and love]], but on a tanker with the most epic use of environmental hazards ever seen in a game.

* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil1'' may not have invented the SurvivalHorror genre[[note]]That honor goes to ''VideoGame/SweetHome'', which Resident Evil was originally created to be an updated version of[[/note]], but it ''did'' invent the name, and it proved the concept could sell. Cue ''VideoGame/SilentHill1,'' ''VideoGame/FatalFrame'', ''VideoGame/{{Carrier}}'', ''Countdown Vampires'', ''VideoGame/MartianGothicUnification'', Capcom's own ''VideoGame/DinoCrisis,'' and so on.

** ''VideoGame/BattlefieldBadCompany 2'', another landmark shooter franchise from the same devs as ''Medal of Honor'', does take several plot elements from ''Modern Warfare 2'', but for the most part it's for the purpose of parodying them. This created a sort of interesting back-and-forth between ''Call of Duty'' and ''Battlefield'' for a while - right after ''VideoGame/Battlefield3''[='=]s trailers heavily featured a scene with a player character in a tank watching the rest of its crew work, ''Modern Warfare 3'' copied it. ''VideoGame/Battlefield4'' then returned the favor with [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps an escape from a prison while the Russian protagonist of the previous game assists you and ultimately dies in the escape]], and [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII several missions set in, on, and around naval vessels]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Nintendogs}}'' was popular enough to spawn a wave of virtual pet series. To name some: ''I Love My Dogs'', ''Paws & Claws: Pampered Pets'', ''Pet Paradise Resort 3D'', ''Puppies 3D'', ''Puppies World 3D'', and ''I Love Dogs! Cute Puppies!''. An especially tragic example is Ubisoft's ''Catz'' and ''Dogz'' titles of ''VideoGame/{{Petz}}'' games: the game, by PF.Magic, pre-dated ''Nintendogs'' and was more comedic (such as being able to paint your cat or spritz it with water repeatedly). After the Learning Company/Mindscape/Brøderbund sales, Ubisoft owned the franchise and reinvented it except as an extremely girly knock-off of ''Nintendogs''.

* Arcade rhythm game which uses collectibles as part of its game mechanic started with ''Anime/PrettyCure'' arcade, followed by ''[[Anime/HimeChenOtogiChikkuIdolLilpri Lilpri -- Yubi Puru Hime Chen!]]'' & ''Love&Berry'' by Creator/{{Sega}}, ''Franchise/PrettyRhythm'' by Takara Tomy and ''VideoGame/{{Aikatsu}}'' by [[Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment Namco Bandai]].

* ''Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas'', an action-adventure video game which borrows heavily from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast''.

* ''VisualNovel/TokimekiMemorial'' pioneered the DatingSim genre with a clean but lovable game, showing that these games weren't just for the {{hentai}}. This trend continued with ''VisualNovel/{{Kanon}}'' ([[BleachedUnderpants ironically]], itself an HGame), which spawned many other H and non-H romance games that focused on the story and characters.
** One of those followers was ''VisualNovel/MemoriesOff'', which established itself the genre of clean games with sad stories.
** This still happens with the [[RomanceGame ero-ren'ai game]] market -- a game will come out with an interesting UI enhancement, gameplay trick, or oddball fetish, and upon being successful, will be mimicked by dozens of companies.
** The success of ''VisualNovel/TokimekiMemorialGirlsSide'' convinced many a visual novel company to attempt otome spinoffs of their bishoujo game properties, including ''VisualNovel/MemoriesOff'', ''VisualNovel/DaCapo'', and ''Welcome to Pia Carrot''.
** A more tasteful example would be the success of ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'', which spawned some independent imitators, including one based on mental rather than physical defects. Like many freeware games most of the SpiritualSuccessor's [[{{Vaporware}} died in pre-development]]. ''VisualNovel/MissingStars'' is still in production, if somewhat stuck in DevelopmentHell. It's based in a European high school for mentally ill teenagers.

* ''VisualNovel/{{Ever17}}'' is a popular VisualNovel. ''VisualNovel/SoulLink'' is a less popular visual novel. ''[=Ever17=]'' is about a group of people trapped in an underwater theme park. ''Soul Link'' is about a group of people trapped in a hotel [-[[RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE]]-].
* ''VideoGame/{{Wizard 101}}'' was ''VideoGame/ToontownOnline'' in a magical school setting.

* ''VisualNovel/ThePortopiaSerialMurderCase'', especially its menu-based Famicom port, led to an enormous wave of murder mystery adventure games from Japanese video game companies in the 1980s; Creator/{{Irem}} and Creator/{{Taito}} produced licensed adaptations of popular mystery novels by Kyotaro Nishimura and Misa Yamamura, and even Creator/{{Nintendo}} jumped on the trend with the ''VideoGame/DetectiveClub'' series. This trend went unnoticed in English-speaking countries, because [[NoExportForYou very few of these games were ever localized]], though some of them (''VideoGame/DejaVu'' and ''[[http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/murderonthemississippi/murderonthemississippi.htm Murder on the Mississippi]]'') did begin as American computer games.

* ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'' is fairly similar to the visual novel ''Killer Queen'' that came out four years prior, with both having a bunch of unconnected individuals being taken to somewhere without any contact (or chance of contact) with the outside world and being encouraged to kill each other for freedom, including having additional methods just in case everyone cooperates. [[spoiler:They both also have the entire event created for entertainment, and both have a person involved with the event that's also taking part in it that becomes involved with a sporty girl that lives to the end.]] In the manga side of things, after the series' popularity, there have been quite a few manga taking the "high-schoolers wake up in a room and have to kill each other" plot. ''Jinroh Game'' even follows the most ordinary of the group and features a student trying to resist the mastermind and getting gruesomely killed for it at the beginning.

* ''VisualNovel/DiesIrae'' by Takeshi Masada is Light's most successful visual novel by a wide margin and is often considered ''the'' standard for Chuunige visual novels. As a result, some of their other writers tried to copy his style and structure with the ''Silverio'' series, as well as plenty others outside of Light.

* ''VideoGame/HuniePop'' made a splash at the time for being an {{animesque}} dating sim combined with a legitimately good puzzle game mechanic, but received only one imitator, by an actual Japanese dev team curiously enough: the visual novel ''VisualNovel/PurinoParty''.

** In turn, many subsequent battle royale games like ''Fortnite'', ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2019: Warzone'' and ''PUBG Mobile'' copied its non-verbal ping system and respawn mechanics.

* Funnily enough, a game which started as a mod creating a new genre had a mod that started a new genre in itself. ''Dota Auto Chess'' was a hugely popular custom game for ''VideoGame/Dota2'', so much so that even other companies made their own Auto Chess games, including on ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' and ''VideoGame/{{Hearthstone}}''. The game ''also'' had a case of the original creator and the base game splitting off to create their own versions of the game. ''Dota Auto Chess'' [[SerialNumbersFiledOff rebranded]] into simply ''Auto Chess'', while Valve created ''VideoGame/DotaUnderlords''.

** ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' and ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield}}'' would later help pave way for realistic first person shooters, including most of the staples of the "modern FPS" subgenre: grounded movement, aim down sights, RgeneratingHealth, cinematic campaigns, etc. When their sequels featured modern weaponry such as ''[[VideoGame/ModernWarfare Call of Duty 4]]'', modern shooters became the norm for the genre, such that most FPS's released around that time that weren't "[=CoD=] clones" were [[GrandfatherClause sequels to games that came before CoD started]], and even those tend to take a lot of inspiration from that series (using ironsights to get your gun to work properly and adding a SprintMeter are particularly popular).

** When ''[[VideoGame/ModernWarfare Call of Duty 4]]'' became a massive mainstream hit, developers started moving away from ''Doom'' to the realistic modern era-styled shooters that the game would codify; grounded movement, aiming down sights, short and lethal engagements, RegeneratingHealth, etc. It became such a norm that most FPS's released around that time that weren't "[=CoD=] clones" were [[GrandfatherClause sequels to games that came before CoD started]], and even those tend to take a lot of inspiration from that series (using ironsights to get your gun to work properly and adding a SprintMeter are particularly popular).
** It goes back full circle in the late 2010s, though. With the ''Call of Duty'' series having lost its magic and mainstream tastes getting tired of the "modern shooter" genre, ''VideoGame/Doom2016'' would be one of the major factors in turning people towards the genre's roots of fast-paced movement and combat. Many FPS games released around that timeframe would follow suit.

* ''VideoGame/OperationWolf'' set the model for most {{Light Gun Game}}s of the late 1980s. ''VideoGame/LethalEnforcers'' revamped it for the 1990s with [[DigitizedSprites digitized graphics]], which were then taken up by Creator/DataEast's ''Locked 'N Loaded'' and (ironically) ''Operation Wolf 3''.

* ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' being the SpiritualSuccessor ''Devil May Cry'', had other games in the genre copying her dodge mechanic, [[BulletTime Witch Time]]. I.E, executing a perfect dodge causes time to stand still or slow down, and attack an opponent for better speed and damage. Other games that use this mechanic are ''VideoGame/TransformersDevastation'', ''VideoGame/NierAutomata'' (both developed by Platinum), ''VideoGame/HonkaiImpact3rd (known as the "Time Fracture" mechanic), ''VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4'' (The Ksavir amulet), and ironically, ''VideoGame/DmCDevilMayCry'' with its Demon Evade.

* ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' is generally considered the progenitor of the FirstPersonShooter genre, and ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' unleashed a [[StealthPun flood]] of the genre on set-tops. Eventually, the first-person shooter has [[FromClonesToGenre shed the "Doom Clone" image it had during the mid-90's]] and become possibly the most popular genre in all of video games, thanks in no small part to the way games like ''Halo'', ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' and ''VideoGame/{{GoldenEye|1997}}'' refined and improved upon the classic Doom formula. Thus, the "first person shooter" has lost the Doom Stigma and is now its very own unique genre.

* Certain technologies and gameplay features became popular in video games as tacked on features for brief periods;

* ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' being the SpiritualSuccessor ''Devil May Cry'', had other games in the genre copying her dodge mechanic, [[BulletTime Witch Time]]. I.E, executing a perfect dodge causes time to stand still or slow down, and attack an opponent for better speed and damage. Other games that use this mechanic are ''VideoGame/TransformersDevastation'', ''VideoGame/NierAutomata'' (both developed by Platinum), ''VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4'' (The Ksavir amulet), and ironically, ''VideoGame/DmCDevilMayCry'' with its Demon Evade.

* ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' is generally considered the progenitor of the FirstPersonShooter genre, and ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' unleashed a [[StealthPun flood]] of the genre on set-tops. Eventually, the first-person shooter has [[FromClonesToGenre shed the "Doom Clone" image it had during the mid-90's]] and become possibly the most popular genre in all of video games, thanks in no small part to the way games like ''Halo'', ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' and ''VideoGame/{{GoldenEye|1997}}'' refined and improved upon the classic Doom formula. Thus, the "first person shooter" has lost the Doom Stigma and is now its very own unique genre. Up until ''[[VideoGame/ModernWarfare Call of Duty 4]]'', at least; now the only FPS's that aren't ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' clones are [[GrandfatherClause sequels to games that came before CoD started]], and even those tend to take a lot of inspiration from that series (using ironsights to get your gun to work properly and adding a SprintMeter are particularly popular).

** In turn, many subsequent battle royale games like ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2019: Warzone'' and PUBG Mobile copied its non-verbal ping system and respawn mechanics.