Stalker 1: Path of Fire

Inspiration

The game is loosely based on the popular Russian sci-fi novel Roadside Picnic by Strugatsky brothers. In the novel, stalkers are professionals who enter the so-called "zones" - areas that contain various anomalies due to extraterrestrial activity - to retrieve artifacts apparently left by aliens, for scientific study. One of the sought-after artifacts is the "Golden Sphere" (referenced in the game) that allegedly can grant wishes.

The term stalker was further popularized as a new type of adventure tourism, called stalking, emerged after the Chernobyl disaster.