First Person View

First Person View

I was playing EverQuest when SOE and Blizzard announced their next MMORPG projects (EverQuest 2 and World of Warcraft). Both announced games are going to be played in 3rd person view which was an anticipated change for many gamers including myself. I thought 3rd person view was very convenient and should be the way to go. I was happy with that specific change when I tired those games. Little did I know what First Person View  really do for any game experience.

After the release of EQ2 and WoW I was so eager to play an MMORPG in a 3rd person view and I was one of those who wished to be able to play EverQuest in 3rd person view (a functional 3rd person view mind you).  But for the lack of focus I didn’t understand what 3rd person view do to the experience of the gamer. I started to think and think hard about the differences between 1st person and 3rd person views. I was shocked by how huge the differences can be and I know that one of the reasons why EverQuest gave us such immersive experience was the first person view.

First Person View gives the user a realistic perception of the world around. It brings you to your character’s level when your character walk it is you who is walking (you are not a god watching over your character like in 3rd person view). The tree looks HUGE and you must use your mouse to look upwards to get a full view of the tree. In 3rd person you can’t see or perceive correctly the “real” height differences between objects or characters in the game because of the distance of your camera. While in 1st person you know how big that ogre is!

First Person View also makes the world feel different. It is a thing that is hard to explain but you can try it. Try any game that supports both 3rd person and frist person views (WoW for instance) try and explore a zone in 3rd person then do that with first person view. Big difference. Navigation is different, the perception is different and the first person view definitely looks more “inside the world”.

First Person View makes you feel  vulnerable, just like in real life where you can get attacked from behind. This fear factor is essential for immersive game experiences. Remember we’re not looking for convenience, we’re looking at the experience a player can have.

First Perso View also make everything personal. When you look at your group members you’re there, in front of them. You see their faces up close you see the action from there. You experience exactly what your character is doing. You’re not a spectator looking at the action from a comfortable seat.

I believe that forced first person view is essential for developing an MMORPG that wants to deliver an immersive experience to the players. Yes, maybe forced First Person View is a bad idea for a fast-paced or themepark style MMORPG and there’s nothing wrong with that. I think there are more than one MMORPG genre and I will talk about this later.