First vs. Third Perspective

[escobert]

DayZ allows you to use first or third person and it's a big debate within the community. The hardcore players are all about first person. Also third allows you to see over walls and stuffs so that can be seen as cheating since the game is so based on realism and survival. But, I believe you only get a 70-90 degree view in first person and a 180 degree in third.

If I'm traveling I'm almost always in third. If I'm scoping something out I'll go to first. Looting depends on the location and if it's dark out or not.

[Ayen]

I can see how it could be abused on online play. I was mainly thinking of an offline mode in this case.

[Vyk]

Sad part is I usually play even the bad third person games, Bethesda specifically. Which is better on PC where you can mod animations and camera angles and whatnot. The fans fix everything Bethesda neglected about third person. And in most cases even perfected first person. I only use first person for shopping so I don't accidentally steal something while trying to talk to someone. Every once in a while I'll go first person on a whim. But otherwise, no. And I really have nothing against first person, per se. But I generally don't enjoy the games that utilize it. CoD and its clones suck. Halo sucks. Mirror's Edge was gimmicky and annoying. Half Life wasn't quite the godsend everyone made it out to be. I think if a game was really well made I'd like it more. It does feel a bit immersive when I go first person in Bethesda games, but hardly a big enough impact to warrant committing to it completely. But I get the impression it can be done. It just rarely is. At least for my experience

[Skyblade]

Or that even your forward view is pretty heavily limited.

Only when you're playing a game where your field of view is trout and you can't change it.

Am I the only person so far that's going to say it depends on the game? Because it really, really does.

This is quite correct.

I can count three whole series (6 whole games) I have enjoyed that use a First-Person perspective.

So clearly, not all First-Person games are bad.

Just 99.999999% of them.

To be fair, the percentage of third person games that suck is probably similar.

Depends on the genre, really.

I have not found a first person RPG I've been able to stick with enough to get to the first boss on (Earthbound, Shin Megami Tensei, Shining In the Darkness, or any other).

Yet I've played tons and tons and tons of third person RPGs, and I've loved about 90% of them.


For other genres, you tend to be correct.

Puzzle games (Portal, Myst, a couple others) can do it quite well. The Professor Layton series could be argued to be first person for the exploration town/wandering places. If so, it's definitely another top contender. So perspective doesn't matter as much for it.

Shooters I tend to hate the majority of regardless of perspective, and perspective usually seems less important to my enjoyment of them than other things like RPG elements or overall design. The single best raw shooter I've played IS first person (Metroid Prime), and I haven't actually found a third-person raw shooter game I've enjoyed (just hybrids like Mass Effect and Firefall), so I guess first-person does edge out to be the best perspective in the raw shooter genre. It's just a sucky genre.

[Vyk]

Ah, Shining in the Darkness. I put up with that back in the day, adored that game, but I don't think I could handle it anymore. I've tried the original Phantasy Star quite a few times and never really got into it due to this. Though it does look nice, and is impressive a game did it that well back then. It's just a tad too primitive for me anymore..

On that note, there's games like Etrian Odyssey that still do this, so I guess people appreciate this stuff somewhere

[Spuuky]

I have not found a first person RPG I've been able to stick with enough to get to the first boss on (Earthbound, Shin Megami Tensei, Shining In the Darkness, or any other).

Wait, we're counting things like Earthbound as "first person" even though the majority of the game is played from a third person perspective? In that case, almost all my very favorite games ever are "first person," like all the early Dragon Quests.

Also, Etrian Odyssey games are first person and great. I love first person games, now that I think about it. Third person is also woefully, stupidly awful for shooters.

But of course, I do love many third-person games, too, so obviously it depends?

[Bolivar]

Idk, it's just a design choice. I suppose first person is riskier and harder to pull off but I've enjoyed a ton of games that use it for immersion's sake. I always play Elder Scrolls first person, that's how it was designed and intended to be enjoyed. I appreciate Sword of Vermillion's bizarre amalgamation of multiple perspectives. I admit it was a barrier to entry for Dragon Quest games, given how flashy other RPGs are but I suppose that's why VIII's mix of combat perspectives got me into the series.

I also play so many different kinds of FPS that this just isn't something I think about as a distinguishing factor.

[Skyblade]

I have not found a first person RPG I've been able to stick with enough to get to the first boss on (Earthbound, Shin Megami Tensei, Shining In the Darkness, or any other).

Wait, we're counting things like Earthbound as "first person" even though the majority of the game is played from a third person perspective? In that case, almost all my very favorite games ever are "first person," like all the early Dragon Quests.

Also, Etrian Odyssey games are first person and great. I love first person games, now that I think about it. Third person is also woefully, stupidly awful for shooters.

But of course, I do love many third-person games, too, so obviously it depends?

The third-person parts of the game are fine, but when it switches to first-person it shatters my immersion and enjoyment so much that I cannot force myself to keep going. So, the game itself may not be first-person (although those that are, like Shining in the Darkness, don't fare much better), but the first-person elements are what kill the game for me.

[Bubba]

the complete lack of peripheral vision.

This is my biggest annoyance with First Person. Don't you just love staring into space then suddenly realising you're losing health and you have no idea why?

I'm gonna relax my attitude for the release of Destiny though as it just looks ridiculously awesome.

[NeoCracker]

Yeah, I'm getting destiny as well, and I should note that I also love Borderlands.

[Bolivar]

Oh man, Destiny... ^_^

[Del Murder]

I generally hate first person mode. I can't play it on an RPG, it just throws me off. I need to see everything surrounding my character so I can make tactical decisions. I don't count turn based RPGs where the battles are in first person, such as Dragon Quest, as a 'first person game', though I infinitely prefer RPGs where you see the characters during battles.

The only thing first person is good for are shooters, and I don't play those often at all. Borderlands and Portal are the only fps I played this past generation. Before that, Metriod Prime. Before that, Goldeneye and Perfect Dark. That's all the first person games I've ever enjoyed.

[Shorty]

First person is my preference. It helps my immersion into the game.

[Slothy]

The only thing first person is good for are shooters, and I don't play those often at all. Borderlands and Portal are the only fps I played this past generation. Before that, Metriod Prime. Before that, Goldeneye and Perfect Dark. That's all the first person games I've ever enjoyed.

Claims first person is only good for shooters. Likes Portal.

You crack me up Del.

And I find it hilarious that Shorty's preference is for the view that makes her sick. Then again, I like Super hexagon and it's the only game that makes me want to puke.

[Mirage]

I get the sneaking feeling that it takes you out of the experience due to the fact that, in order to look left, you need to turn the entirety of your body.

Or the complete lack of peripheral vision.

Or that even your forward view is pretty heavily limited.

I think we can all guess my preference here.

That all depends on the field of view setting. It is easy for a game dev to change it so that you get the same FOV as if your camera was further back, it doesn't really have anything to do with seeing out of your character's eyes or not. Also, having the player character on screen also robs you of some visual data. The problem is that many games are by default set to display the same field of view as you'd get if your monitor was a window that you were looking at the world through. A wider FOV would let you get all the peripheral vision you want, but of course that also means shrinking the world you see, so aiming will become harder, just like in a TPS!

The only correct poll option here is "depends on the game". I'd never even think of playing unreal tournament or BF in third person, but in Mass Effect it's no problem.

Shooters I tend to hate the majority of regardless of perspective, and perspective usually seems less important to my enjoyment of them than other things like RPG elements or overall design. The single best raw shooter I've played IS first person (Metroid Prime), and I haven't actually found a third-person raw shooter game I've enjoyed (just hybrids like Mass Effect and Firefall), so I guess first-person does edge out to be the best perspective in the raw shooter genre. It's just a sucky genre.

I think chances are that many first person non-shooters are made by developers that doesn't do 1st person very often and don't design a game with that as much in mind as they should have.