What's the appeal with first-person gameplay?

[Woodsey]

I don't know if anyone's really paying just to see Every Soldier Ever Clone Mark XXVI.

 

[Nazulu]

It could be as Yahtzee said, just a play style that's really simple, you click on the baddies till they go away.

 

[bafrali]

Because it provides the most exhilirating gaming experiences, only to second to action games like DMC. Also in my opinion, Immersion in first person perspective is unrivaled. Even in the Minecraft of all games, You look for the tranquility of the scenery without the awkward animations of the character model.

I just imagined Half Life 2 in third person and threw up in my mouth

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

Its more immersive as its from your view point. 3rd person gives you a greater area of viewpoint. Either isnt better than the other, just depends on the game. I still want an epic WW2 FPS game. Sucks everything is modern warfare. WW2 is more interesting, the MW Cod games just bore me.

 

[The_Great_Galendo]

I've never understood the attraction of first person, either. As others have mentioned, or at least implied, it usually seems like a cheap gimmick to save on asset development. In my case, though, it has as much or more to do with my inability to keep a map in my head when presented in that perspective. I can keep a 2-D dungeon map in my head all day long, and I'm pretty good with directions in real life as well, but give it to me in 3-D, video game form and I'm hopelessly lost about five minutes in. You can only run in circles so many times before it gets really old, really fast.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

I find it makes for more precise control, especially when using a mouse and keyboard. Third person can sometimes feel like I'm wrestling with the controls of an RC car. Also, I find first person better in games where I want to, or am required to, examine the environment closely because I won't have a character taking up a large chunk of screen real estate and getting in the way.

That said, I don't really have any preference one way or the other.

This. Over the shoulder cams are a pain in the butt for anything with a heavy focus on shooting but no focus on a lock on mode (like in the Devil May Cry games -- shooting works just fine in those games because you have a handy little lock on button that keeps Dante facing the right direction whether the camera is or not.) They can be irritating for RPGs with a lot of containers and stuff to open too, and for melee combat if it's action oriented and, once again, lacks a lock on button. The character's body tends to get in the way, and camera movement tends to have a noticeable delay compared to a first person mode.

More traditional top down and 3/4 views don't have these issues, obviously, although they tend to go hand in hand with a very different set of mechanics.

It seems to be something that works better (or at least feels less awkward) with a controller, too. Probably because even first person controls with a gamepad have a maximum turning speed, making even those suffer from that "RC car" feeling.

 

[AnthrSolidSnake]

More realistic? Who is saying that? First person is my favorite perspective and I know better than to say it's because it's "more realistic". Anyway, my answer is immersion and control. I get a better appreciation for the environments in first person too, since you're getting a more familiar and closer perspective to it. (And I'm not talking running right up to a plant to see the texture detail on it, while it's neat, sometimes I feel like it's a wasted effort)

I know people who say that first person perspectives shouldn't exist in video games, and that they hate them. I think that's absolutely stupid to recommend. I like games having varying degrees of perspectives. Games like Far Cry 3 would not have been the same or as good if they were third person, and games like Uncharted wouldn't have worked in first person (aside from the obvious reasons) because I would miss the amazing animations and climbing just wouldn't have worked. It depends on what game it is supposed to be.

 

[Zenn3k]

I'm a 3rd-person kinda girl and I was just wondering why it's so popular. If there's a character on the box or one you get to create I would like to see what I payed for. I don't care for shooters, but now it's even in newer JRPGs that I would've otherwise been all over nowadays.

Interesting, I find this is more common amongst females (preference for 3rd person). My ex (who didn't know jack about games or gaming) always wanted to "play the ones where you can see yourself", for example.

The reason I myself like 1st person is because of immersion. Skyrim for example was simply better in 1st person, but you could still zoom out and look at yourself if you wanted, but the game felt more natural (and frankly controlled better) in 1st person as opposed to 3rd.

Now games like The Last of Us, do 3rd person very well, and I had no issues with it. Really I can deal with either one, as long as the controls work well.

 

[spartan231490]

It feels more natural and immersive. Also in tougher games, having a bunch of your screen occluded by your own character can get annoying fast.

 

[Angelous Wang]

In shooting games it understandable, because it's better for allot of people myself included to use the gun's iron-sights or scopes rather than relying on the horrible on-screen cross-hair's. Helps immersion a whole bunch too if you can get rid of that cross-hair.

Personally I'd prefer it if more games came Elder Scroll's style and let you switch between FP and 3P at will.

I prefer FP for combat, talking and taking a close look at things. But I prefer 3P for moving around, stealth and strategising.

 

[Nazulu]

It could be as Yahtzee said, just a play style that's really simple, you click on the baddies till they go away.

Isn't this basically every game ever?

Is it? I don't think so. I'm sure there are other just as simple play styles but every game ever?

You mean Diablo?

We're clearly talking about first person shooters.

 

[Tom_green_day]

I'm the opposite to you OP, I can't stand third person much of the time. That may be because the character is usually in the way of what's immediately in front of me, or that controls are usually shoddy, or that shooting is strange because it's over-the-shoulder so kinda inaccurate etc, or maybe just the games that I dislike.
I like it because the controls are simpler- forward is forward, left is left and the other analogue moves movement. Third-person games tend to do strange stuff with where the character faces.
Also, it makes you feel more engaged in the character. You can see what they see, and therefore you don't feel like a god controlling from behind their shoulder.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

It could be as Yahtzee said, just a play style that's really simple, you click on the baddies till they go away.

Isn't this basically every game ever?

Is it? I don't think so. I'm sure there are other just as simple play styles but every game ever?

You mean Diablo?

We're clearly talking about first person shooters.

And its just as clear that the joke went over your head.

To be fair, the kind of gamer who quotes Yahtzee on things where Yahtzee clearly didn't know what he was talking about isn't the kind of gamer to be able to recognize it. Anyone who thinks FPS games actually boil down to that has either never played one, or at most played the campaign (not the multiplayer) of some modern military shooter before writing off the whole genre. Even then you'd probably have to do it on the easiest difficulty, to make things like flanking and grenades unnecessary.

 

[Miss G.]

I'm the opposite to you OP, I can't stand third person much of the time. That may be because the character is usually in the way of what's immediately in front of me, or that controls are usually shoddy, or that shooting is strange because it's over-the-shoulder so kinda inaccurate etc, or maybe just the games that I dislike.
I like it because the controls are simpler- forward is forward, left is left and the other analogue moves movement. Third-person games tend to do strange stuff with where the character faces.
Also, it makes you feel more engaged in the character. You can see what they see, and therefore you don't feel like a god controlling from behind their shoulder.

I'm the kind of person that get's turnaround very easily IRL, so 1st person confuses me a lot. Having the character on the screen helps me better understand where I am in relation to the environment and helps me see more of my actions in battle. Also, we live life in 1st person; in a game I'd like to get away from that as much as possible. I don't wanna feel like I'm just a floating camera with a set of hands holding a weapon as it's very jarring to me when my brother tells me to try it in some of the titles I play that have the option.

 

[Hutcher]

Late to the party, but again I'm going to go with immersion. I just finished playing through Farcry 3, which was a great experience, and was obviously a title that Ubisoft wanted to focus heavily on the immersion of the player. They gampelay style and the writing really helped this as well.

The fact that the game NEVER breaks the 1st person perspective was a little annoying while driving or jumping, but it honestly made the game far, far more engaging as far as I was concerned, especially given the relative intensity of the story. I found it way more engaging and intense than the Uncharted games, and I think the unchanging first-person perspective really contributed to that.

 

[skywolfblue]

I really prefer third person as well.

So much spatial awareness is lost in first person, and you don't get to see your character's nifty new gear.

 

[Nazulu]

And its just as clear that the joke went over your head.

Heh, I guess I found it so unfunny I thought you maybe going onto something else. No offense.

To be fair, the kind of gamer who quotes Yahtzee on things where Yahtzee clearly didn't know what he was talking about isn't the kind of gamer to be able to recognize it. Anyone who thinks FPS games actually boil down to that has either never played one, or at most played the campaign (not the multiplayer) of some modern military shooter before writing off the whole genre. Even then you'd probably have to do it on the easiest difficulty, to make things like flanking and grenades unnecessary.

Or, I was generalising, not actually saying that to be offensive by just mentioning the core mechanic. I was also thinking outside that sub genre but whatever.

 

[Vigormortis]

I find it makes for more precise control, especially when using a mouse and keyboard. Third person can sometimes feel like I'm wrestling with the controls of an RC car. Also, I find first person better in games where I want to, or am required to, examine the environment closely because I won't have a character taking up a large chunk of screen real estate and getting in the way.

That said, I don't really have any preference one way or the other.

Pretty much my opinion in a nut shell.

I like a wide variety of camera choices. I don't whine about being stuck with one or t'other. Though, I generally prefer first-person.

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Really, I think it comes down to spacial awareness. Many of the people I've met who fervently dislike the first-person perspective often have issue with spacial awareness. They have a hard time creating mental images of the space their character is in and even more trouble with keeping track of where their character is in relation to the objects in their surroundings.

This isn't a failing on their part. I mean no offense. It's even understandably difficult given our reliance on sight, sound, and touch to form a proper image of our surrounding environment. It's just that I've found that this difficulty is often a major contributing factor to ones disdain or discomfort with the first-person perspective.

I've never had issue with it, personally. Quite the opposite in fact. (example: I enjoy jumping/platforming challenges in first-person games. Even in games like Mirror's Edge or the Xen maps in Half-Life)

Even so, I can appreciate why some would not like a first-person perspective. They likely have the same "disconnected" feeling I, at times, have when playing a third-person game.

But at any rate, why are there "camps" on the matter? Going for one of these as TEH ONE TRU WAI, YO!!11! seems like it shouldn't be happening. Like, at all.

Because, this is the internet. And on the internet many people suffer from what I like to call, I-Don't-Like-This-So-How-Can-Anyone-Like-It Syndrome.

I've heard there's been major progress on a treatment. I believe it's currently in an experimental injection form, but they're getting close to making it into a widely available pill form.

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On a side note:

I have to add that the first-person perspective almost never suffers from something virtually all third-person, free camera based games suffer from -
No poorly placed view angles.

You never have to worry about your camera view suddenly shifting to an awkward position because it couldn't clip past a wall or something.

This is one of the primary reasons I prefer the first-person perspective. I control what my character is looking at.

 

[Miss G.]

It could be as Yahtzee said, just a play style that's really simple, you click on the baddies till they go away.

Isn't this basically every game ever?

Is it? I don't think so. I'm sure there are other just as simple play styles but every game ever?

You mean Diablo?

We're clearly talking about first person shooters.

If you can put every game that used the first person perspective into a simple killing game than it is legit for me to summarise all gaming as an idiotic killing fest.

And no, we aren't clearly talking about FPS. We are talking about games in the first person perspective.

I'm glad someone read the topic I posted clearly. I wanna know why the perspective itself is so popular in gaming, not FPS, as I mentioned in my opening post I don't care for them... or shooters in general. My country has never had a war or a gun culture to make these games that appealing.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

And its just as clear that the joke went over your head.

Heh, I guess I found it so unfunny I thought you maybe going onto something else. No offense.

To be fair, the kind of gamer who quotes Yahtzee on things where Yahtzee clearly didn't know what he was talking about isn't the kind of gamer to be able to recognize it. Anyone who thinks FPS games actually boil down to that has either never played one, or at most played the campaign (not the multiplayer) of some modern military shooter before writing off the whole genre. Even then you'd probably have to do it on the easiest difficulty, to make things like flanking and grenades unnecessary.

Or, I was generalising, not actually saying that to be offensive by just mentioning the core mechanic. I was also thinking outside that sub genre but whatever.

The problem is that once you go outside the subgenre, it becomes even less true. I mean, try "clicking on other players to win" in an old school Arena FPS. You can't do it, because the guns all have weird properties that you have to work with. It's kind of like Yahtzee's deal with multiplayer. He hates multiplayer games because he hates people, which makes it really obnoxious when gamers start spouting his justifications like they're the gospel truth about videogames.

Basically, it's just a pet peeve of mine when people quote him on stuff like that. Most reviewers have biases against certain genres. On one notable occasion, I actually bought a game[footnote]An old school first person dungeon crawler for the GBA called "Mazes of Fate." It's first person like Wizardry and Eye of the Beholder, though, not like Doom.[/footnote] based on overwhelmingly negative reviews... because the people reviewing it were complaining about features of the subgenre, they just wanted it to be a totally different kind of game. Did not regret it at all. Yahtzee's complaints about a lot of things are like that, he's whining that it's a style of game he doesn't like, and usually doesn't even understand. It could be the best game in the world, but if it either forces him to interact with other people or otherwise hits one of his blind spots, he's gonna trash it, and I mean legitimately trashing it, not just for comedy like he does in pretty much all of his reviews.