[reneuend]

I build first person games because I feel like it draws the player into the game better. However, I'd like to know your opinion. Do you like first or third person adventure games? Why or Why not?

[Intrepid Homoludens]

I like both, and for different reasons. It depends on the game, its concept, its point of view, its story and characterization.

I didn't vote because there's no option for both.

[Mohlin]

First person, I hate to sit and wait for and watch the caracter walk across the screen. There is (mostly) also less talking in FP, and I like quiet games.

[kadji-kun]

Not again. *facepalm*

I like both. They both use there own ways of telling a story.

What perspective to use lies on how the director wants to tell the story. Characters, environments, and others have nothing to do with it.

Sure first person is usable for the sake of immersion, but third person gives you a better look of the environment, even though I disagree. I've never felt a better emotion of WOW than when you are in First Person.

[Gonzosports]

I haven't been on this forum that long, and this poll, and the "What are yout top 5/10/15 adventure games" and the inevitable "Adventure Genre is dead, what can we do?" threads seem to be the most common.

Not that there's anything wrong. I'm just saying I feel like I'm Bill Murray.

To answer the question, Gonzosports doesn't mind playing games in third person, but I definitely prefer first person because I find it more immersive - turning the lights low while wearing headphones I often feel like I am in Riven. Until the cat jumps on me.

[dietrich]

'groundhog day' rules. i was just thinking about 'what about bob' as i was driving home from work today. i like 3rd person more.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Originally Posted by Gonzosports

I haven't been on this forum that long, and this poll, and the "What are yout top 5/10/15 adventure games" and the inevitable "Adventure Genre is dead, what can we do?" threads seem to be the most common.

That's 'cause there are a lot us out there who are fed up with the stale, redundant, and frankly boring state of adventure games today. And I had written that article 5 years ago, ending it on an upbeat note. And today - well, nothing's changed really. It's not dead, but its current state, I argue, renders it zombie-like. A walking dead.

Anyway, this thread topic, too, has been discussed many times in the past. Seems the same concerns crop up over and over.

BTW, furthering the topic, I wonder how certain games would be like if they were re-made in a different perspective. Say, Gabriel Knight 3 in first person or strictly over-the-shoulder direct control 3rd person (like Splinter Cell: Conviction)?

[Get_My_Drift]

If it were up to me I'd de-legalize any production of first person adventures from now on.

basically, playing an adventure game without seeing the main character is just like watching a movie with an invisible and inaudible protagonist. there's no one to identify with.

playing an adventure game is taking part in a certain narrative, and just like in the cinema the best way to do it is viewing it from outside.
sure, you are supposed to have an active part in that narrative, something that first person viewing should be able to deliver more fully, but the fact of the matter is that contemporery technology is lacking the ability to really do that.
there's not a machine on earth (at least not yet) that can actually make you feel that you are INSIDE the game.

the "solution" to that matter is trying to make the games as realistic as you can. by that I mean realistic surroundings, realistic characters and realistic objects which you collect and use in the game.

A house, for example, in a first person game, will always be a far more complex surrounding than a house in a third person game.
it will always contains all the corridors, all the rooms, all the staircases, the basement, the kitchen etc...

in other words, you've got vast spaces to cover.
and thanks to the sense of realistic movement that the game has to provide (a person doesn't always looks straight, he can look sideways and turn around) covering such spaces often comes with feelings of deja vu ("hey, i've been here before!"), confusion ("have i been here before?") and a general sense of loss ("where the f***am i?").

add to that the tendency of most first person adventures to minimalize information gathering through any kind of dialogue ('cause usually there's no one around to talk to) then you're left with little clue about what is it you're suppose to be doing at all, and almost nothing to make the discovery process
anything more than tedious. unless of course playing around with latches and opening every kind of door and drawer in sight is something you consider as fun.

It's slow, it's repititive and it's utterly boring!

[booB]

Third person.

I have only played a few first-person adventures, but all of the ones I have played contain little or no character interaction or story. I hate hate hate HATE HATE Myst and its sequels. I played Deja Vu, Shadowgate, and Uninvited back in the day, as well as Last Half of Darkness (the original shareware version, back in the 90s), and since they had SOME story elements and minor dialogue, they were more fun than the Mystalikes, but still nowhere near my favorites in the genre.

In contrast, I used to LOVE the King's/Hero's/etc.'s Quest games from the 80s/90s, as well as Maniac Mansion/Zak McCracken from that era, and more recently, since being reintroduced to the genre, The Longest Journey series and the Broken Sword series (even though I bitch about it sometimes), as well as many web-based games of this type. These are the games that pique my interest in the adventure game genre, and The Longest Journey in particular is responsible for me being a member of this forum.

That being said, if anyone can point me to a first-person game that has the strong story and character-interaction elements of TLJ and BS, please let me know. I've read some reviews, and I'm so far convinced that they aren't out there.

[nomadsoul]

3rd, you can achieve anything with it, you cant achieve everything with FP, like DMC and NG or any fighters, they wont only give you any feel but make you vomit.

So 3rd because FP is restricted in gamedesign.

[sTyLnK]

My favorite games are all 3rd person, so it's unanimous. With that said I don't mind first person as well. I just love all adventure games.

[Jelena]

I can't vote on this one either since I like both types of perspective.
Right now I'm playing Still Life and loving every minute of the third person perspective and when I play any of the Myst games I'm perfectly satisfied with first person perspective. To me the perspective isn't the most important thing of a game, rather the story and the puzzles.

And about this topic (among other common topics) coming back over and over: new people are coming to this forum all eager to discuss things us old forumites wanted to discuss when we were new here. Nothing strange about that imho.

[Bruno_Malta]

I prefer third person. That does not mean that i hate first person. Actually i usually play a Third Person game and then a first person in order to keep things fresh.

About the repeated topics discussion. I don´t care about that and i agree that with new user´s, some old topics will arrive. We should be happy to read new insights on these topics and not get angry.

[Fien]

Originally Posted by booB

That being said, if anyone can point me to a first-person game that has the strong story and character-interaction elements of TLJ and BS, please let me know. I've read some reviews, and I'm so far convinced that they aren't out there.

Tex Murphy (3, 4, 5) - Black Dahlia - The Last Express - Callahan's Crosstime Saloon (and other games by Legend Entertainment) - The Space Bar - The Journeyman Project (2, 3). Maybe even Zork Grand Inquisitor.

[kadji-kun]

Originally Posted by nomadsoul

3rd, you can achieve anything with it, you cant achieve everything with FP, like DMC and NG or any fighters, they wont only give you any feel but make you vomit.

So 3rd because FP is restricted in gamedesign.

FP is restricted by the fact that the developers thing you can't do much with FP. Its quite the oppsite. You can do so much with FP. People just need to put a little bit more effort to doing it.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Click image for video of gameplay trailer.

Originally Posted by kadji-kun

FP is restricted by the fact that the developers thing you can't do much with FP. Its quite the oppsite. You can do so much with FP. People just need to put a little bit more effort to doing it.

I agree. It actually hadn't occurred to me how there are many different possibilities for experiencing games there could be until I played this.

[kadji-kun]

Exactly. Mirror's Edge was pretty good. Now in order to push things further, we must integrate a way to perfect peripheral vision in gaming. The only way you can simulate it is a high Field of View, in which many console games still have discovered. There are just so many FPS's out there that use such an annoyingly low Field of View, where the best simulation of the view is 90 degrees. This is also where PC gaming is different from Console FPS which no one really realizes.

[Intense Degree]

I too prefer third person games. Being able to identify with and get to know and maybe care about the protagonist is a very compelling feature in a game to me (if done well - i.e. main character isn't a prat!).

However, that doesn't mean there are no good first person games. I loved Shivers and also enjoyed Barrow Hill and the Myst games (except for the last one).

[kadji-kun]

Originally Posted by Intense Degree

However, that doesn't mean there are no good first person games. I loved Shivers and also enjoyed Barrow Hill and the Myst games (except for the last one).

Yet those are probably the worst of the First Person games for the fact that the game really doesn't make you feel like the world understands who you are, and not a character the writer put in.

[Fantasysci5]

Originally Posted by kadji-kun

Yet those are probably the worst of the First Person games for the fact that the game really doesn't make you feel like the world understands who you are, and not a character the writer put in.

*gasp* What I found lovely about "Barrow Hill" and the "Myst" games, was that, yes, it didn't feel like you were a character, you were supposed to be you. I love first person games.