[Foinikas]

I don't know if anyone has posted a similar thread before in this forum,actually it's more like "what is the beauty in playing a first person adventure game" rather than a first person vs third person thread.

I recently started playing Scratches again and I do have a few other first person adventures to play...but I am new to this style and since I am a big fan of the third person view adventure games...I'd love to ask from the more experienced members and lovers of the first person style,to explain to me how they feel it is superior to the other games,what makes it so nice and which are,according to their opinion the biggest and best differences to other styles.

Ok I'm not stupid I know first person makes it kind of more personal,more realistic if you want,it does give a different atmosphere but I'm sure there's more to it for experienced players.

So...anyone wants to share their thoughts about this type of adventure games?

[Balderduck]

For me third person is always the best way to go...I don't know why, probably because you want to see how the protagonist looks like and reacts to situations

[Geothing]

i'll also go with third person view! Don't ask me why, it just feels better to me, maybe because I am a fan of Lucas Arts and Sierra (you know, back then when there were good times ). I don't say that 1st person is bad or anything ( I'm a fan of the Myst series), it's just that 3rd person rings some BIG memory bells!

[Stuart]

Third, I always associate AGs with it and all of my favourites I can think of have been "out of body" views.

[Giles Habibula]

First person always. Two reasons.
1. A third-person avatar gets in the way of my view.
2. Third person feels like I'm controlling a puppet, rather than being there myself.

That said, I've played plenty of third-person games I liked, but if I have a choice, I always go first person.

I think this goes back to my first experience with "Thief: The Dark Project". I was totally in the game in first person. When they introduced a third person option for "Thief: Deadly Shadows", I about went ballistic, until I found out that first person was still an option.

Thief 4 has me seriously worried however.

[GreyFuss]

In most of my years of adventure game playing I didn't care what view I was playing as long as I was playing. But as I became a more seasoned veteran I now mostly enjoy first person perspective. I prefer to be enjoying a game where it is I in the adventure (first person) as opposed to watching someone else's adventure (3rd person).

[inm8#2]

I know this is a weak answer, but it depends on that for which the game is striving.

First-person tends to enhance the feeling of loneliness/full immersion in many games, which is especially good for suspense/horror stories.

Third-person works to better help the player strongly associate with the protagonist and become more involved in the story.

I like both.

[Weare6]

Well like 'GreyFuss' mentioned, Both First Person and 3rd Person work for me.
But I guess it does help what kind of game it is. Personally most adventure game
(earlier days of AG's) where all mostly 3rd person and that seemed to work but a
lot of modern titles now are going first person which seems to fit games like Myst,
Amnesia, Barrow Hill etc (even Sherlock Holmes). But I would like to see more options...
like with Fallout 3 you have at least choice of views, 1st or 3rd person which works
quite well.

[Fantasysci5]

I like both first person and 3rd person, but I don't usually have a preference. I feel like I see more details when in first person, but if my character isn't "nameless" and has background as a character, I like to see them.

[rayvio]

I usually prefer third person, you just get a better view of the surroundings, whereas in first person you're always having to turn around to see the whole area

that being said, first person works much better in some games. Scratches for example just wouldn't have quite the same atmosphere in third person

[terhardp]

Generally, I prefer 3rd person perspective when it comes to games, though the 1st person also has its benefits, like some of you said. Personally, I love the feeling of "pulling the strings from the shadows", and also like to see the main character of the game, especially if it's an attractive female character.

My preference is probably also because the inertion. Almost all of the games outside the genre that I like (Hitman, Max Payne, Tomb Raider, for instance) uses 3rd person view, so I like this view better in adventures as well. I also feel that the navigation is often less cumbersome in 3rd person view, though this is probably the personal preference. While I admit that 1st person is somewhat more immersive and brings up the overall tension, it can also be more tiresome for some players. 1st person makes me dizzy in some games. For instance, in "Portal", which I'm playing currently (otherwise, this is an interesting title, though a bit overhyped, IMO).

[Mohlin]

First person 100%. Hate 3rd person games.
In the 3P games I've played there is a lot of talk talk talk. "Oh this is a notice board with a poster of missing cats...". Please, let ME look at the notice board. It also feels more natural to pick up things, and use inventory items in a 1P game.
And why wast time watching the person walking across the lawn to his car? I fully agree with the "puppy argument".

[colpet]

I play 1st person games almost exclusively. I like to be myself in the game, not controlling a character. I like to see the environment as I would from my own sight lines.
As a generalization, most 3rd person games use inventory and dialogue heavy gamepaly. I prefer cut scenes and reading clues for my information. I enjoy the solitary, peaceful exploration experience.

[dmouse097]

3rd person. I like being able to see what's around me and how it responds to me, if the game is well-designed. Even worse, quite too many 1st person games are designed static - as you look around, nothing changes, no extra characters walking around or whatnot (see Myst, my least favorite game ever, or even Faust, which I liked).

[kate me]

Hmm... Let's see....
I was used to third person games for a very long time. I love them!
When I first played a first person game (the first Myst game) it felt very strange and weird, not seeing the main characters reactions and movements (I like seeing that!) But I got used to them and now I enjoy them too.
I remember another first in full 360 degree, and it even felt a bit dizzy !
But it was worth it for that scenery, that makes you feel like you're actually there!
But if I want to be a bit I would say there are just few games that I thought would have worked better and looked better in third person, but I still played and finished them. )

So, I do like third person games best, but I wouldn't miss a gorgeous first person landscape either!

(PS: Yes, you can call me Kate, and yes, Return to Mysterious island has a main female character called Mina.)

[Intense Degree]

I've enjoyed games from both perspectives but generally prefer third person.

I think it depends on what you want from a game. (Generalisations coming up!)

In good third person games, the protagonist is often the most interesting part and the story is something that is happening to him/her. Therefore it is better to see them as you get to know them over the game. e.g. Gabriel Knight.

First person games tend to be more about exploration, puzzles etc. and less about the protagonist (or you are the protagonist). e.g. Shivers, Myst, Blackstone chronicles. In the case of those three, the game is more about the environment (museum/world/sanitarium), or focusing on the work of another character to the player (Dr Windlenot/Atrus/Err...can't remember!) and learning about them from their past rather than by talking to them directly. Therefore the player characted isn't important and you don't need to see them.

I think that, therefore, your preferance for 1st/3rd player games will depend on which style of game you prefer.

[/generalisations and personal opinion]

[cbman]

Although i've enjoyed a lot of third person games I will always primarilly love 1st person games. You can't beat it for immersion and it is the adventure / exploration element that I really love in Adventure games, rather than story. Of course, story gives needed context to those elements but the best moments in AGs for me are always when you first open up new areas to explore. That's what motivates me to solve the problems the gameplay presents.

[cbman]

Originally Posted by dmouse097

3rd person. I like being able to see what's around me and how it responds to me, if the game is well-designed. Even worse, quite too many 1st person games are designed static - as you look around, nothing changes, no extra characters walking around or whatnot (see Myst, my least favorite game ever, or even Faust, which I liked).

Surely, it's third person games that are static? For any given location there is just a single screen that the character walks across, whereas in first person there is much more of a sense of movement and progression across a landscape as the player move across in in stages.

And there is lots of character movement in Myst, I feel the need to point out. Try Myst IV: Revelation. You will be surprised by it.

The 'solitary' issue is one of personal preference. Like Colpet above, I adore the solitary nature of the Myst type games, that whole abandoned world atmosphere. There's no urgent story forcing you on, no badly acted characters that talk for 5 minutes about self-evident things, whislt standing in front of an unmoving backdrop and sending you on ridiculous sub-quests* . Just you and the environment. And it is up to you to manipulate that environment to continue your 'journey'.



*Nothing annoys me more than clicking on an interactive spot in a game like Black Mirror only to be told "it's just a vase" or somesuch. What the f?! Why tag it then? It's not even adding adding colour or background to the world - no additional infomation is supplied. You can get sick of the character's voice really easilly. Or the example given above: clicking on a painting and getting a description of it. Well, why not just show us it?

[Gonchi]

I prefer third person perspective. I outright avoided all first person adventure games for the longest time, due to the preconceptions that FPP = soulless entity wandering around lifeless surroundings solving abstract puzzles ad nauseam.

I don't know how relevant it is today, if it's still being widely used with newer games, but I really dislike slideshow-style navigation, it instantly kills that much advertised immersion people tell me they have.

I agree with first person perspective does work well with horror games, although I prefer it when the game has some action elements rather than when it's a pure adventure game. I also agree with Weare6 that it would be nice to have the option to change perspectives in adventure games like in RPGs and action/adventure games.

[DustyShinigami]

Not fussed. I'd say third-person is my main preference, but first-person works wonders in horror games. Of course, for me, it only works wonders if the game is in real-time 3D with 360° as opposed to static backgrounds/slideshows.