When it comes to video games, there are a few different POV's, or points of view, that are commonplace today. The First person view, where everything is from the perspective of the characters eyes. Third person view, where the view is yours, showing the character and allowing camera control around your character. Some games do not allow camera control, like The Legend of Zelda series which just requires you to focus the view straight when it goes off. There is also 2D sidescrolling view, most noticeably in retro games like Super Mario Bros. and such, and top down view, which explains itself. If I missed one, please forgive me, for my focus today is on first and third person views.
The first 3D game I ever played was The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time, as may be the case for many gamers. It was a game in third person, and a game I played through many, many times. Maybe it's just because I've been using it so long, but third person view is my desired POV when it comes to gaming. Other hardcore RPG's I've been utterly addicted to include bioware's Dragon Age and Mass Effect series, both in third person view, and both highly regarded games. A more recent RPG I've been playing is Skyrim, a game that gives you the choice between third and first person view. I have literally played the entire game in third person view. I find the first person POV in all games restrictive. I know some gamers have told me that first person view is more immersive because it represents the characters POV from his or hers eyes, putting you in their place. I understand this, sure, but I see a few issues with the FP view that I think is restrictive to real immersion.
The first thing I will mention is that in real life I have a neck. There are muscles in my neck that allow me to turn to see something without turning my whole body. This movement is also generally quicker than turning my entire body. So it seems to me that all game characters in first person mode must not have a neck. Why else would you have to turn your entire body to look beside you or around a corner? That seems restrictive to me. I know that the third person view isn't very realistic either, unless we were all sitting on a couch watching a camera follow ourselves around our day to day tasks. But, I can see a much broader horizon, and I can turn the view quickly to the right or left to look there without having to turn my entire self around to see what's coming up those stairs while I keep walking this way and not putting myself in danger. (Run on sentence, if you're reading aloud, please take a break to breath.) Maybe I'm just not hardcore enough. Maybe I'm not a true competitive gamer because I can't seem to master the art of the First Person Shooter. But I have nothing to prove to you. I play games for my own enjoyment, and if I prefer the third person view, I'm going to prefer games in third person view. Not saying I don't want to get better at FPS's, I do, but it's not at the core of my gaming life.
I know there are plenty of competitive and professional gamers who dominate shooter games that exist in the first person view world of games. I also know there are a few in the third person shooter genre, but saying the numbers are the same would be a joke. Maybe I'm wrong, but seeing as Mass Effect 3 was declared the most anticipated game of 2012, and is a Third Person Shooter game, I beg to differ. So maybe you think I'm wrong, but I feel entitled to make my own opinion here. That's all, Tommy out.
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