Second Person Perspecive in Games

[KP Shadow]

So, I've heard a bit of discussion of how a second person perspective could be pulled off in a video game, and whenever I see that, I think back to Super Mario 64. Why? Well, if you really think about it, the whole game is played from the point of view of the Lakitu following Mario around, while you mainly control Mario himself. When game developers try to come up with methods for pulling off second-person perspective, I find the easiest way is the Mario 64 method: Have a cameraman follow the protagonist around, and view the game from their perspective. Maybe throw in some mirror rooms or have them show up in a cutscene or two to display this fact. So, has anyone else thought of this before?

 

[TheEverix]

Wouldn't that just be exactly the same as Third Person view with a movable camera?

 

[scnj]

There was a very similar device used in Star Wars: Droidworks if I recall correctly. The game was played from the perspective of the floating droid companion.

 

[LawlessSquirrel]

I would consider that a first-person perspective myself, if you're being technical. Or historically speaking, it's just the clever way they brought third-person to life in a 3d game.

I'd think the closest you could get to second-person would be fixed cameras overseeing the scene and just guiding your character through the motions, like some scenes in Silent Hill or certain old side-scroller-ish games (I'm thinking Heart of Darkness for some reason).

It really is arguable what constitutes second-person outside of a written medium...but that's how I'd expect it would be considered in a video game context, other than choose-your-own-adventure based games.

 

[Gustavo S. Buschle]

So, I've heard a bit of discussion of how a second person perspective could be pulled off in a video game, and whenever I see that, I think back to Super Mario 64. Why? Well, if you really think about it, the whole game is played from the point of view of the Lakitu following Mario around, while you mainly control Mario himself. When game developers try to come up with methods for pulling off second-person perspective, I find the easiest way is the Mario 64 method: Have a cameraman follow the protagonist around, and view the game from their perspective. Maybe throw in some mirror rooms or have them show up in a cutscene or two to display this fact. So, has anyone else thought of this before?

That's 3rd person. 2nd person is when you see trough the eyes of your target.

 

[Evil Moo]

James Portnow mentioned something about a 2nd person shooter here:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extraconsideration/8879-Extra-Consideration-The-School-Shooter-Mod.2

P.S. One of these years when I have the free time I'm going to make my Second Person Shooter where the game is from the perspective of a sniper scope and you're one of the tiny blips on the other end trying desperately not to get shot.

It seems like it could be an interesting concept, but I think it would be quite difficult to make a full sized game out of it.

 

[Funkymonk761]

haha i remember Droidworks! that takes me back. apparently one to look out for is 'Second Person Shooter Zato'

 

[skerx]

I thought that second person is when you, the player, are the main character. Not that you are playing as them but you, the player, are them.
This is difficult to imagine as the only reference i have is book perspectives so this may be wrong as applied to video games.

 

[tahrey]

That's 3rd person. 2nd person is when you see through the eyes of your target.

Exactly what I was going to say...
Basically you're just comparing two different styles of 3rd person.

I have actually played flight sims and racing games where you can do all three (four?), multiple examples going wayback into gaming history through to the present in fact:

1st person - View from the cockpit / driver's seat

2nd person - View from the enemy plane or ground target you have selected in your HUD / view from one of the opposing racer's cars - the latter generally only in replay, but also in realtime in stuff like Interstate 76. Can be either styled as their 1st person view, their regular 3rd person, or a 3rd person view looking through them towards you.
(quite what the usefulness is, I'm yet to fully figure out, 20+ years after first having had the option ... I think it's just eye candy... there's a suggestion of some kind of tactical advantage but you'd have to be pretty hardcore to obtain it)

Fixed 3rd person - normal "slot" view where the camera is in a certain position a distance behind and often slightly above your plane, car, avatar etc; conferring the advantages of head turning, peripheral vision and all-round hearing (and the slight skin-sensed proximity effects you get from heat / occlusion / vibration) which are otherwise missing from firstperson view.

Movable 3rd person - "chase plane" (as if one is following you with it's own pilot), self-to-target view (so you can more easily track where they're going relative to you - again, making up for missing sensory range), car cam that moves relative to your centreline and heading when taking a tight or fast corner or going over hills and jumps, trackside or other "TV" cameras, etc. Could be further broken down into automatic moving, automatic fixed-position, and manual (player controlled)... Spy cameras used in an FPS would also count.

Just to clarify, the terminology comes from linguistics, specifically in relation to having a conversation with or about someone. 1st person is the person speaking - "I, me, my/mine". 2nd person is who they're speaking to - "you, your". 3rd person is anyone else, talked about in that conversation... or talking about it - "they, their, he, she, it, his, her, its"...

 

[random_bars]

They have this in Psychonauts, kind of. There's an ability called clairvoyance which lets you see the world through the perspective of someone or something else, and you have to use this in a boss fight. Would that count?

 

[WorldCritic]

I don't think that really counts as second person gameplay. The Siren series Sight Jacking feature is more along the lines of second person gameplay. Also in Metal Gear Solid while fighting Psycho Mantis if you use the first person button you'll see through Mantis' eyes rather than your own and I suppose that can count as well.