I've been playing "The Evil Within 2" for the past couple days and I'm really enjoying it so far. The story is not bad, the game play is fun and responsive, the atmosphere is actually scary compared to the last one, and the stealth mechanics are pretty neat. One thing in particular though, really caught my eye. During certain stealth segments in the game and with the use of console commands on PC, the camera perspective switches from third-person over the shoulder view to a first-person view. This camera switch adds an extra degree of difficulty to the stealth mechanics, and flushes out the new forms of gameplay in the game. This got me thinking though, what other games switch to or add a first-person perspective that was originally third-person? And more importantly which ones do it well?
Besides most if not all driving/racing games allowing you to switch from over the car to first-person view, the only other two that comes to mind right now is "GTA V" and "Star Wars Battlefront". Both originally starting with or having a third-person view from the get go, then adding in the ability to switch to first-person view whenever you want. Now I know that there are probably more examples out there, but as of right now these are the only two that come to mind that do it well.
In "GTA V", the gameplay perspective has been set in third-person for over the past 13 years since "GTA III". Until in 2014 when "GTA V" crossed over from the older console generation to the newer "PlayStation 4" and "Xbox One". With this crossover, the game developer "Rockstar", allowed players to switch over from the original third-person view, to a new first-person view. This allowed players to experience the open world sandbox like never before, and gave an extra degree of difficulty to playing the game. However, even with it being a cool feature, and it surprisingly working well, playing in first-person in a game that was originally third-person isn't always the best. First, the controls and gameplay doesn't really change much when you switch perspectives. So, when playing it feels somewhat off, as if it's not really meant to be played like this. Second, it limits your view, and in a game where someone can run up behind you and just steal your money, having a larger area of view is pretty important.
Now with "Star Wars Battlefront", the game always gave you the ability to switch perspectives. One was never locked out from the other. Now with this being an online shooter, giving the player the choice between playing in first or third person is amazing. It is fully utilizing this mechanic by giving everyone access to how they want to play. Do you want to have a sort of tunnel vision when you play? Then first-person is for you. Or do you prefer it when you field of view is larger for when you camp in a corner? Then third-person is the right choice. Giving players a choice on how they want to play gets huge thumbs up from me, however some might say that due to everybody playing with different camera perspectives, it creates an unlevel playing field.
Games that allow for different camera perspectives can be a real plus to the game if done correctly. Though sometimes if done poorly or just lazily they can really feel like a cheap add-on that wasn't even worth the time of the developers or players.
What do any of you think? I for one will always enjoy switching to a first-person view when given the choice in games. Do you prefer it as well or does the third-person option suit you more? Also, if any of you have any other examples of games that allow for different camera perspectives in game, please share them in the comments below. I would love to see more games with this feature. Until next time, everyone.
The beauty of a first-person game is that they’re designed to make
gamers feel as though they are living it. The story becomes your own,
because the characters you play are meant to be you. It’s a brilliant
way to immerse you into the game’s world, but while the majority of
gamers can enjoy or even prefer first-person gaming, there are those who
can’t. It’s not for lack of want; it’s due to a troublesome setback
caused by video game motion sickness.
Motion sickness caused by video games, sometimes called simulator
sickness, is caused when there is a disconnect between what your eyes
are seeing and what your body is feeling. Basically, what is all comes down to is camera movement and what your eyes focus on when looking at the screen. The
symptoms of this include, but are not limited to, headaches, dizziness,
nausea, heavy sweating, and excessive production of saliva.
I've
been playing "Mirrors Edge" and "Elite Dangerous" as of late and I have
been experiencing headache after headache to the point where I have to walk away from the screen. I
don't really succumb to motion sickness as much as I used to when I was
younger, but something about those two games really threw me on a loop. As I stepped away from the games every now and then, I pondered on what allowed me to outgrow my sense of motion sickness.
From what I remember, I always used to sit up close to the TV, because that's what you did as a kid. I learned later that making some room between me and the screen helped a lot, but as of late I've been playing games on my desk monitor that's 20 inches from my face. Besides that, I also always played in the dark to help with the atmosphere of the game. Turns out, that's a big contributor to motion sickness as well. Lastly, I think I just forced through them. After multiple sessions of gaming growing up, I just got used to it. Now granted, my headaches aren't as bad as when I was younger, but I haven't been playing video games for a little over a week now. Maybe my eyes just got accustomed to not staring at a screen all day.
So what are my prevention's??
- Put space between you and the screen
- Play in a well lit room
- Just brute force it, your eyes will become accustomed to it eventually
Do any of you have any sort of remedies for motion sickness or do you still suffer from it on occasion. Share them in the comments below, who knows they might help me or others out. I've heard that some medication helps, but I never bothered. Like I said, I just forced my way through most of the time. Until next time everyone.
Over the many years, I've been playing video games, and more specifically first-person video games, I've noticed a certain aspect that is in many games that I can't quite seem to understand the purpose of. If you haven't noticed from the title, I'm talking about motion blur of course.
Motion blur is the apparent streaking of rapidly moving objects in a still image or sequence of images. It results when the image being recorded changes during the recording of a single exposure, either due to rapid movement or long exposure. Think of it as when you're turning the camera around rapidly or the camera focuses on a gun in the player's hands.
The problem I have with motion blur is that it creates a sense of blindness in some cases in video games. Even in racing games with an over the car view, it seems like everything around is blurred and not properly textured. Whenever I want to look around in-game to enjoy the scenery or I'm in the middle of a fire fight, the sudden camera movement causes motion blur that I find disorienting. Whenever I'm given the option to turn it off, I always turn it off.
The only reason I could see is using them for PR footage since it looks more
cinematic when viewed as a trailer or machinima. But during normal gameplay,
what is the purpose? Our eyes already account for the effects. Motion blur
simply blurs the screen excessively to the point of annoyance. Depth of field
on the other hand chooses for the player where to focus. Why would I want that
loss of freedom? Our eyes naturally blur whatever we're not focusing on. Say
it's a first-person shooter and I look at my gun, my eye naturally blurs the
background, and vice versa. If the game is forcing the peripheral to be blurred
and I want to glance over to the side of my screen to spot an enemy without
moving, I am instead shown a blurrier image. I can't imagine a scenario I would
ever want this. Games aren't still images or movies where we need to be shown
where to focus, so why do game developers keep including these useless
features?
I think this is part of the overall emphasis
on post processing effects the last 5 years or so, the large majority of which
make the game look or play worse. Light bloom is another culprit but at least when
done minimally it can add to the imagery and realism. I must admit though, I
can't think of a time this was ever the case. For the most part, post processing effects simply serve
to make the image look blurrier. If game developers focus on the core tenants
of textures, models, and lighting, and use the post processing for subtle
improvements, I think we'd be better off.
What do any of you guys think? Do any of you enjoy the use of motion blur, or does it just give you a headache like it does to me. Also, if any of you know any uses of motion blur that were used well, please comment about them below. I would like to know from anyone. Until next time.
