First person games?
 

What do you guys think of first person games? Especially in amateur games, there seems to be even more dislike of first person adventure games than is general. (Nothing to back this up with of course, just my impression). I am/have been working on a little game, and am going the first person route. This is solely because I lack the ability to draw characters and character animations/walk cycles etc (and no one will do it for me).

I just worry that maybe not as many people will play it, or like it, because it's first person?

Please do share your thoughts.

I've never cared for first-person adventures. I will only play one if I'm really interested in the subject matter (such is the case with Scratches). Otherwise, I won't touch them. Third-person is the way to go, IMO.

This type of discussion has surely been done before, and you will find differing opinions.

I say go for it! If it isn't a common beast in the world of amateur adventure games, you may find people are more willing to check it out. I would. :)

I like second-person adventures best. :P

I prefer third- to first-person generally, because I find it more stimulating and interesting. In a first-person game, I typically feel like the character is simply 'me', and though I'm rather fond of myself, I'd rather step into the shoes of someone else. Sure, a first-person game can give you a good backstory to try to put you into character, but still I find it easier to engage with the character if he or she is onscreen.

Another reason I prefer third-person is that it reinforces my interaction with the environment. If I click on something in Myst and it reacts, I feel the same as I do using a web browser and clicking a link: it's nothing special. But when I can see my character walk across the screen and pick something up, I feel drawn into the experience and it's more like something has actually "happened".

That said, none of this stops me from trying out interesting-looking first-person games, so if that's what you're going for, I wish you all the best. And certainly, it's always best to work within your own abilities. If you can't draw or animate characters well, and no one else can help you, then you definitely should stick with what you're good at.

I'll look forward to playing the finished game someday. :)

Make a first person adventure game like Shannara, Xanth, or Death Gate (in that style - not necessarily fantasy, I mean), and I'll play it. Well, eventually. I've got too many other things demanding my attention at the moment.

I find it slightly strange that there are so few first person games among the amateur games. As you note, it's a good way to avoid doing walk cycles. On the other hand, you don't get a main character to focus the game on in the same way and if I look at my own game, it clearly wouldn't have worked as a first-person game. It's all about what kind of game you want to make.

I voted "yes". I like both first, second, and third person games.

As much as I loved 3rd person games, I'm finding myself drawn more and more toward 1st person. Not having to wait to the main character to cross a bunch of screens is a huge plus, in my opinion.

there are four problem with FPA (first person adventure?:D) -

1) they tend to be a 'myst' style games. and i personally don't like 'valve riddles'.

2) they tend to put less weight on the player character, i personally like to see who am i playing.

3) usually these games has problem with navigation (don't tell me you never got lost int these games).

4)sometimes the FP POV is used to cut the costs of creating human characters. and so the game world becomes dull and empty. (best example - mostly every myst style games, not such a good example - starship titanic)

Personally, I wouldn't give a damn about people who write my game off just because of the perspective, but that's just me. Choose whatever will serve your game best. :)

Sure (at least theoretically, as I'm sure we could list dozens of hollow and forgettable player characters in third person games), but wouldn't the same criticism apply to "second person", then?

I understand the sentiment, but in context of amateur games, often you won't witness detailed animations of picking things up etc., anyway.
They "tend to be", no more than third person adventures "tend to be" (or used to) Sierra's quest games (so I could say that I don't like third person games, because I don't like dead ends in adventure games). There is nothing in first person view that dictates this kind of gameplay, and, on the other hand, there is nothing to stop designers from putting hundred valve puzzles in a third person game.

As I said to doroposo, that's true (at least in theory), and you have every right to dislike it. :)

Yeah, I did get lost in Myst 3 once. It's not enough to claim they usually have this problem, though. And, even if, there is no reason to assume it to be an inherent flaw of the first person view. I haven't seen many reviewers slamming Half Life for navigation problems.

How can you "use" FP POV to cut the costs of creating non player characters? I don't understand. If anything, it would be the other way round - you decide not to spend time/money on character models, and as that includes player's character, you make the game in first person.

Toefur,

don't worry, just write the game as best suited to your skills and the basic concept of the game. If you do too much polling beforehand, you might get discouraged by the sheer diversity of opinions.
So, as AFGNCAAP said, don't give a damn about the FOV (field of view, not Emily) :D

I like the direct control ones...erm one...
So far Normality seems to be the only one of its kind.

You can get lost in 3rd person games... Think Orion Conspiracy, for example.

How do you define direct control? I believe most full 3D adventures (not that there were that many of them) had direct control movement, from the top of my head: Overseer and Sentinel. And a couple of node-based ones did, too, eg. Journeyman Project.

I'm not a big fan of first person anything. My experience with FPP Adventure games have led me to the conclusion that they generally rely on puzzles over characters and dialogue to forward the plot that often results in a feeling of utter desolation throughout them. In addition I personally find FPP very disorienting and least immersive of all perspectives, with the perception of your surrounding environment being considerably narrow and an unreal sense of movement that feels as if you're floating around rather than walking.

So summing up, while I wouldn't write off a FPP game just because it utilizes said perspective, it would be rowing against current for my interest and time.

I guess it wasn't clear I was making a tongue-in-cheek comment. I thought that would help soften anything else I said.

I'm not even sure what a second person adventure would be, unless it was from the same outside view as third person but with the character literally being "you", the player, rather than someone you just happen to control.

No, but that doesn't really matter to me. I enjoyed the Atari game Adventure despite my character being nothing but a square dot with one frame on animation. :) For a more relevant example, the amateur adventure Spooks works very well despite very little character animation. The main character is a floating ghoul who simply bobs up and down to move. She doesn't do anything special when picking something up.

I didn't say that Toefur should do a third person adventure, in fact I suggested he shouldn't. I was only answering his question.

One of these days someone will develop that killer first person adventure and all will change. :D It'll be controlled like a FPS, and everything else will be like your everyday 3rd person adventure. Just think of any 3rd person game played in 1st(and tweaked/adapted for it), and you'll get the idea.

2nd person:
As I stated earlier, I like second person games, too.

Any third person played in first? Some of them, probably, but some games just wouldn't work that way. And I don't think Myst/Riven/Zork GI... would have worked as well as 3rd person either. The perspectives are not interchangeable.

That's what I thought doroposo had in mind. :)

I had thought of that, but I'm not sure what a graphical second person adventure would be. First person in the graphical sense usually means a view from the character's eyes, regardless of whether the game uses "I" or "You" -- so second person is kind of folded into the first person category. I love second person interactive fiction, but I'm not clear what a distinct graphical equivalent would be.

That would be impossible. I think first person is the closest equivalent. (Just look at the Zorks.)