What's the appeal with first-person gameplay?

[CrystalShadow]

I loathe the first person perspective in games. The realistic stance takes a big hit because it doesn't take into account depth perception, peripheral vision or spacial awareness. I find the first person view in games to be like having a completely numb body, in a strange location and being forced to wear an eye patch and blinkers.

Now true the third person view is hardly any more realistic, we don't view ourselves from behind after all. However it helps replicate depth perception by being able to view the character against objects in the environment. Peripheral vision and spacial awareness by the wider field of view around the character.

It takes a special game for me to be able to look past the first person view in games. So far the only ones that have done that are the Left4Dead and Halo games, and then only really when played in co-op.

Yeah, it's like having tunnel vision.

Also, while 3rd person is an odd perspective, it helps compensate for other missing senses.

For instance, between peripheral vision, and your sense of touch, you probably know if there is a person or object very close behind you, or beside you, or whatever else.

In first-person, you lose most of that awareness. (Unless you count the directional indication of taking damage a lot of games have.)

The lack of peripheral vision combined with lack of a sense of touch in particular really kills your awareness of your surroundings in first-person.

Possibly more immersive in some ways. (And I've got nothing against it.), but 3rd person seems to ironically better compensate for the sensory limitations of the medium.

 

[Extragorey]

What's the deal with third-person games?

Judging third-person modes by Skyrim's, they seem unnecessarily awkward and just makes it more difficult to interact with the world because you keep having to second-guess where the characters' collision meshes are. First person is much more natural and intuitive.

 

[Havzad]

You are up there, its all happening right in front of you, it might be terrifying, hilarious, amazing, whatever....but it is YOU seeing it with your very eyes.
First person just makes for the most immersive experience. you feel as if you are experiencing it with your own eyes. you tend to forget you are controlling a character.

I would have to say fallout 3+4 (or almost any bethesda game) use the advantage of first person to its fullest effect. In fallout 3 i felt so immersed especially in the early vault section, and it feels as if the first person perspective really made it that much more intense.

I just finished a replay of GTA:san andreas and while it is also a very immersive experience the fact that its third person reminds me that i'm just playing a character while in first person I feel as if I am the character.

Comparing elements of combat: in GTA when im getting shot at I almost don't even notice ( and then my health drops to zero and I find myself in a hospital) in third person you're dependant on watching your character react to the bullets and wounds.
In a game like fallout (when first person) you know you are getting hurt, because a rocket just collided with your face or the screen bloodied up, it overall adds to the experience in a way that 3rd person cannot. (not that first person is in anyway better than third mind you)

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

I don't get it either; I've always found it to be restrictive and most of the time, let's face it, there AREN'T many good first person titles that wouldn't work BETTER in 3rd person. At least with 3rd person you can be more aware of your surroundings, thus leading to less frustration. I've also noticed that shooting is pretty much the ONLY kind of combat style that works in first person, thus limiting gameplay even further. People try to pull the "immersion" argument, but I've never bought that. Perspective has never drawn me into a world. No, what draws me in to most games are the worlds, the characters, the writing, etc. Y'know, the IMPORTANT things

 

[Sandernista]

It depends on the game. I think the first person perspective works better in fast paced shooters, exploration rpgs, etc. Third person works better for hack and slash, cover based shooters, games where you dress your character up, etc.

I really enjoyed the third person perspective in WH40k spess mareeen, but I don't think it could work for Bioshock Infinite.

I have no real preference.

 

[Cranky]

Heh, I find both equally immersive for different reasons. In 1st person, you sorta experience the things, then in 3rd person, you feel like you are this guy following your character around in some "good reality tv show". (That phrase has never been used before, I bet.)

 

[Nazulu]

You know, you haven't described anything. You just keep ragging on about 'majority of games' that are supposedly easy to get into without bringing up anything. And even then it has nothing to do with what I was talking about.

I haven't described anything. Your statement describes the basic of nearly every game - point to your goal. Be it the attack move in a RTS, the 'talk to' command in a RPG or the aiming in a shooter. In every case you point towards your goal or whatever you want to achieve.

The problem with the phrase you used initially is that it has a very limited application and even then it is not entirely true. It doesn't describe the appeal of the first person perspective (what the thread was all about) and not even the appeal of shooters in general. It is not about my favorite games or a few exceptions. It is about limiting the spectrum of games (and resulting from that genres) that use the perspective into one single subgenre (because FPS is way too broad as a term for that statement to apply).

I wasn't saying 'to aim for your goal', now I know why you keep saying "every game ever". I couldn't figure out what you were talking about. Sorry for the misunderstanding. What I meant is that (and I'm using my friends as an example here) is that the style of game play seeing through the eye's of the character, and using weapons or keys or whatever with everything staying 'sight' is maybe easier for people to focus on. I hope that makes sense.

All my friends preferred to play first person perspective games because all of the control is from the main character. When I tried to get them to play an RTS they didn't really like controlling all the building and units, they just wanted to focus on the one character. Some of my friends don't like 3rd person perspective games because those games usually require you to focus on the environment around you a bit more, if that makes sense.

Now I'm not saying this is fact, I'm just basing this from what my friends said to me. I suggested the style might be easier and I can see now that has confused everyone, so sorry everyone.

If it came abroad as aggressive then I apologise. I didn't want to insult you or imply any aggression towards you, I just wanted to discuss a statement that was stupid when it was coined and why I describe it that way. I also admit that the 'edgy and witty' phrase was uncalled for.

I screwed up, but just please ask for more detail next time.

 

[Dragonbums]

I'm indifferent to whether or not something is first person or not.
However it only slightly matters if it's a "create your own character" thing, or is integral to the tone of the game.

In my opinion first person works best in games like Elder Scrolls because it allows you an even further immersion with your character.

 

[hermes]

Its a philosophical stand in game design.
- If the game has strongly defined protagonists and your role as a player is to accompany him/her on their journey, then a 3rd person perspective is the preferred choice.
- If the game doesn't have/need a strongly defined main character and wants to create the illusion that the player is the main character, a 1st person perspective is the preferred choice.
- If the game doesn't have/need a strongly defined main character and wants to create the illusion that the character commands the characters in the game, an isometric/bird's eye perspective is the best choice.

The problem is that, sometimes, even experienced game designers forget about that distinction, or adds them to make it look good, which leaves some dissonant scenes, like Skyrim 3rd person or God of War last boss...

 

[Mr Fixit]

I prefer a good mix the way Skyrim does it, lets me run around in third & swap to first for talking to people & killing things. My biggest problem with FPS is the lack of field of view, same reason why I don't much care for hoodies & I never sit with my back to a door.

 

[Bluestorm83]

And he goes, "But the only human sacrifice was Jesus, who gave his life willingly to pay for Man's sins!"

Wat? Does your step dad not know about some of the other religions that were mentioned in the old testament, the ones that various prophets had a hard time keeping the Jews from joining? Some of them practiced human sacrifice, that's why there's quite a few mentions in the old testament of why you shouldn't do that.

So even Biblically, that's not correct.

He meant the only valid one. Forgot to include that.

 

[Rariow]

Makes some kinds of gameplay a lot better. Shooter's the obvious one, but it can work for hack-em-ups: Chivalry's one of the most satisfying things I've played in a long time. Also, for games where you're supposed to *be* the character, it just feels more correct. I'm not a Dark Elf with an epic beard, so whenever I see my Skyrim character I remember it's not me. But, as I said, most games that have it are designed with it in mind and wouldn't really work otherwise. Just like platforming doesn't work from a first person perspective, shooting or specifically designed types of slashing don't work in a third person perspective.

From a storytelling perspective, I find it's better to go 3rd person for a character with a voice, and 1st person for a player insert. I'd feel very weird if Cloud Strife didn't talk, or if Gordon Freeman started chatting. It's not always that way, but it always feels off to me when it isn't.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

And he goes, "But the only human sacrifice was Jesus, who gave his life willingly to pay for Man's sins!"

Wat? Does your step dad not know about some of the other religions that were mentioned in the old testament, the ones that various prophets had a hard time keeping the Jews from joining? Some of them practiced human sacrifice, that's why there's quite a few mentions in the old testament of why you shouldn't do that.

So even Biblically, that's not correct.

He meant the only valid one. Forgot to include that.

Oh. That makes more sense, but it makes the way he got upset that you were trying to stop one even funnier XD

 

[El Camarado]

In regards to the thing about First Person Perspective being more immersive, I find that Third Person Perspective can be just as immersive.
That being said, I greatly prefer First Person Perspective in many 3D games. Third Person Perspective means that I cannot see some things that my character should be able to see (either due to the camera or due to my vision being blocked by my character). The visibility problem (or, at the very least, the visibility that is blocked by the character) can be reduced by having the camera a further distance away, but then distances become much harder to judge. I find gunplay in Third Person perspective to feel odd (as if I am trying to look over someone's shoulder and point out to them where to shoot) if not difficult, and melee combat and interactions with the world to be a bit awkward at times as it is can be hard to judge distances.
Third person perspective works really well in 2D games (top-down perspective or side-view and such) where visibility and cameras are not a problem, and it is easy to tell distances.

 

[TheRookie8]

Oddly enough, I felt like the recent "Bioshock: Infinite" would have been better in third person. Speeding around on zip-lines would have been much easier that way.

Also: Normally a first-person game lets a player project themselves into a role, but this is not the case for a character whose look is already established early on (In the case of Booker DeWitt).

I remember starting Bioshock Infinite, entering a lighthouse, looking into a bucket of water and saying "Yup, I'm a white guy". It sort of defeats the purpose of the first person if you need to go out of your way to see what you look like.

Mirror's Edge suffered from this, too. Free-running or parkour is fun, but the first-person perspective made it awkward. Again, using this makes sense if I'm trying to immerse myself into a role, but I knew I wasn't playing myself...I was playing Faith. The cut scenes kept showing me that.

In that games defense, however (and Infinite's), the first person view allows for some breathtaking, picturesque scenery. Skyrim did this well, too.

 

[Bluestorm83]

And he goes, "But the only human sacrifice was Jesus, who gave his life willingly to pay for Man's sins!"

Wat? Does your step dad not know about some of the other religions that were mentioned in the old testament, the ones that various prophets had a hard time keeping the Jews from joining? Some of them practiced human sacrifice, that's why there's quite a few mentions in the old testament of why you shouldn't do that.

So even Biblically, that's not correct.

He meant the only valid one. Forgot to include that.

Oh. That makes more sense, but it makes the way he got upset that you were trying to stop one even funnier XD

Yes, that EXACT THING. I was like, "Dude, 100% agreement with everything you're saying, ERGO, actions to prevent evil witch human sacrifice." but his brain was caught in "Videogame BAD!" like I'd been dealing with since I was, like, 5.

Also, just noticed the Amuro Ray. Nice.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

And he goes, "But the only human sacrifice was Jesus, who gave his life willingly to pay for Man's sins!"

Wat? Does your step dad not know about some of the other religions that were mentioned in the old testament, the ones that various prophets had a hard time keeping the Jews from joining? Some of them practiced human sacrifice, that's why there's quite a few mentions in the old testament of why you shouldn't do that.

So even Biblically, that's not correct.

He meant the only valid one. Forgot to include that.

Oh. That makes more sense, but it makes the way he got upset that you were trying to stop one even funnier XD

Yes, that EXACT THING. I was like, "Dude, 100% agreement with everything you're saying, ERGO, actions to prevent evil witch human sacrifice." but his brain was caught in "Videogame BAD!" like I'd been dealing with since I was, like, 5.

Also, just noticed the Amuro Ray. Nice.

You know I think you may be the first person on this site to recognize who that is in my avatar? I've had plenty of people who recognize the screen name, but apparently UC continuity Gundam is way, way less popular than The Wheel of Time around these parts. You win cool points just for knowing classic Gundam.