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First Person vs Third Person Camera

First Person or Third Person?

  • First Person

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Third Person

    Votes: 11 100.0%

  • Total voters
    11

linkypete

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What do you prefer? Personally, I prefer games with a third person camera because it allows me to see the character and I think it makes cutscenes more interesting. It also allows me to see from a wider perspective, seeing the character and the enemies around it. I think Metal Gear Solid 3 does this perfectly, allowing you to see around corners with third person, but then having you shoot in a very close third person or first person view, adding to the realism of aiming.
 

Emma

The Cassandra
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Well I don't think it's a constant. In every case, an extremely important factor to consider is how good the camera and aiming system is. For third person, I think the camera and aiming system is excellent in games like Mass Effect 2/3 or GTA V. But pretty terrible in others. Can't think of one off the top of my head. But it happens.

For first person it depends. As much as I loathe them, the Call of Duty games have a decent first person camera. But I think it's pretty terrible in the Bioshock games, though I still like those.

Fallout and Elder Scrolls lets you toggle between both and in there it varies from game to game, weapon to weapon, or even the enemy you are fighting or your surroundings. In Fallout, third person is better for melee weapons, grenades, and heavy weapons, but first person is better for everything else. In Elder Scrolls, third person usually is better for melee unless you're in a very cramped environment, and first person is usually better for bows. It can depend on the situation for various spells.

In all I'd say it really depends on a lot of variables, but in general I prefer third person. However if there is first person, I prefer that third person also be there as an option and we're not forced to always use first person.
 

Dio

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I'd say it is dependent on what the game is. For Halo and COD the first person works well because they are run and gun, but for stealth shooters 3rd person can be better so you can have a better feel of your surroundings.

In Deus Ex:Human Rev you are in first person normally and go into 3rd person mode whilst in cover. I found that to be a nice mechanic, because most of the time you see the world through the main characters eyes but when in cover in an FPS it can be hard to know what is going on around you, so the switch works nicely.
 
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Even though I'm a pretty big FPS fan, 3rd person is better for delivering story. However, I think with VR first person will be the ideal eventually.
 

CrimsonCavalier

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I dislike first-person as a general rule, but it's better in certain situations. Overall, I prefer 3rd person. If I have the choice, I always choose 3rd person.

I was going to mention Human Revolution as a good mix of the two, but Deus beat me to it. But I did think about it, so I wanted to just mention that I also thought of it and he's not the only one that thinks of things.
 

Ventus

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I prefer 3rd person because i can see and react better. in all games with a first person view, it feels like there's this unnecessary drag about movement.
 

Salem

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May 18, 2013
It depends, for 3rd person I have to be able to move the camera far from the playable character.
 

Sheik

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This isn't exactly an answer to the OP's initial question, but I would like to point out one or two examples of smart game design using the game's 1st or 3rd person perspective. I think Metroid Prime made interesting use of its 1st person viewpoint with the information from the visor. As you could guess, the player sees what Samus sees from inside her Power Suit through her visor. This is interesting because for one thing, it fluidly integrated the UI of the game into its world. But it also allowed for immersive visor effects (a jet of steam visibly clouds up the screen; a flash of light occurs and you see Samus' eyes in the visor's reflection). The first person view could have been just a new viewpoint for the Metroid games, but the developers decided to make it more than that. The 1st person perspective in Metroid Prime is a tool for immersion, environment building, and it fleshed out Samus' iconic Power Suit.

Also, the integrated UI that I mentioned can also be found in another form in Dead Space, a third person game. In Dead Space, the information the player needs (health, ammo) is not displayed in a generic HUB, but is instead shown in the world of the game. The health bar is on the back of Isaac's suit, ammo count appears as a hologram above a weapon when you aim it, and all other typical menu info appears as a hologram displayed in front of Isaac in real time. (Isaac's head even tilts to look at the different menu info as you scroll through it on the hologram, which is one of my favorite details.) This is how Dead Space achieves a similar feat to Metroid Prime in clever game design using the game's perspective.

By the way, I usually prefer a 3rd person perspective.
 
I love the idea of first person but for some reason it doesn't work for me it's too annoying. Except in Minecraft where I prefer first person
 

misskitten

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Jun 18, 2011
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Norway
What do you prefer? Personally, I prefer games with a third person camera because it allows me to see the character and I think it makes cutscenes more interesting. It also allows me to see from a wider perspective, seeing the character and the enemies around it. I think Metal Gear Solid 3 does this perfectly, allowing you to see around corners with third person, but then having you shoot in a very close third person or first person view, adding to the realism of aiming.

Third person, ALWAYS. I really do not like first person, I feel like I don't have control over movement, I see further and better in third person.
 

CrimsonCavalier

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Remember F.E.A.R.? They tried to make 1st person less bad by letting you see your feet as you walked. That was probably the worst thing ever.

I mean, F.E.A.R. was still a great game, but leave the feet out.
 

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