Why no 100% first person perspective ?

[GoogeSG123]

A trend I'm noticing in many newer games is the shift towards more third-person perspective, compared to the high percentage of first-person perspective Renpy games we have around 2-3 years ago. I just want to ask do people have insight into why would devs do this ?
Personally, I'm a big fan of 1st person perspective since it's much more immersive, you feel like you the MC not just a player controlling them. The preference might vary, but POV (first person) always seems like a safer choice - both first person and third person enjoyers will like it. But as a 1st person supporter, I literally skip games that have third person perspective. To me it just breaks the immersion (I don't watch non-POV porn either)
Thanks !

 

[Meaning Less]

Could you give an example of what 100% first person renpy game you even played?

I'm not sure I ever played a game like that, only actual 3D fps games seem to do that and even they go to third person for sex scenes because it gives you more angles.

 

[LightmanP]

I've recently played a game that was 1st person for the most part apart from a few recent updates, and it just looked bad to me compared to other games with different angles although the renders themselves were good. It's just such a limit for an artist to only show things from one angle, and it gets tiring for me.

 

[anne O'nymous]

Could you give an example of what 100% first person renpy game you even played?

Most Asian VN.

It's just such a limit for an artist to only show things from one angle, and it gets tiring for me.

Same for me. When you limit to first person point of view, you end with the obligation to use narrative parts or internal thoughts to express what is missing, MC's reactions.
Showing the MC growing an erection when entering the bathroom will always be better than all the way one can write, "My mother is so hot".

 

[Sphere42]

Is this about visual perspective or narrative perspective? For example a lot of Harry Potter is written in third person but clearly from the perspective of Harry himself including thoughts we aren't privy to for other characters.

On the flip side you could narrate a Mario game as "I jump and hit the question-mark block with my head" which honestly just becomes jarring when the perspective character is someone you can't or don't want to immerse yourself in. Even worse when the player doesn't have control over the perspective character's actions.

 

[Geralt_R]

If you always hide the face of the MC it seriously limits how you can set up the virtual camera or how you can compose a scene. And since we talk about games with intimate interactions between the MC and other characters those scenes are severely limited in what they can do.

If you hide the MC entirely (true ego perspective like in a traditional first person shooter) that would only get worse.

These games are all about interaction with other characters and emotions, not about shooting things etc. So a proper third person perspective with a fully visible MC (including the face) is, in my opinion, the much better choice here. You can show emotions and facial expressions. And it doesn't hurt my immersion either. I don't need to see "myself" in these games, just as I don't need to see myself in things like Mass Effect, I am still that character in the game and I control the actions (to a degree).

What ruins immersion for me is when devs take away control and won't let you decide how to treat other characters (forced molestation, forced sub/dom, forced blackmail, the usual) and if they force kinks upon you you really don't like.

I may be in the minority here, can't say, but I would actually prefer it if VNs composed their renders like stills from a movie or game cinematic. So many games have really bad or weird camera angles, like wide angle close-ups etc. I would prefer VNs that look and feel more like interactive movies and less like traditional games.

 

[Ying Ko]

If you always hide the face of the MC it seriously limits how you can set up the virtual camera or how you can compose a scene. And since we talk about games with intimate interactions between the MC and other characters those scenes are severely limited in what they can do.

The unseen protagonist will never have a punchable face.

 

[HarveyD]

Good writing creates immersion not (necessarily) camera angles.

Plus in first person you're missing half of a sex scene's participants.

 

[Geralt_R]

The unseen protagonist will never have a punchable face.

This is of course true!
But this can easily be remedied... just make better looking MCs that are not complete creeps.

 

[Deleted member 229118]

While i prefer first person it is not a dealbreaker.
Tho a lot of first persons seem to lack that ability to see your own body.

After playing several games where first person means seeing your own body and not being a floaty camara i really dont like floaty camara anymore.

 

[Robwood]

I don't know why first person is going away, but I'm glad that it is. What I don't like are when developers cop out by only showing you the back of the playable character during sex scenes (while being first person for the rest of the game). Even worse, I'm playing a game right now called S.H.E.L.T.E.R. that cuts off the top half of everyone's face during kissing scenes least the playable character's face be seen!

I am immune to the I-Word, as I'm always aware that I'm playing a game and manipulating a character in order to do so. I've also never cared for the I-Word, especially since no one cared about it until marketers told them that they should; it's meaningless, now. As such, I say "Kudos!" to all developers who show me the character that I'm exerting control over (until the game yanks the reigns out of my hands, of course).

 

[Geralt_R]

I'm playing a game right now called S.H.E.L.T.E.R. that cuts off the top half of everyone's face during kissing scenes least the playable character's face be seen!

This is one of the major drawbacks when devs decide to hide the MC's face. While some may be ok with jumping straight to the action I feel that kissing or caressing (i.e. proper build-up and warm-up) adds so much to a good intimate scene between characters. What you desribe here is something so many other games that hide the MCs face do and it makes certain scenes look very awkward (close-up on the tongues, no facial expressions). And often things like kissing are skipped altogether and instead you jump straight into hardcore action, often making these scenes feel very hollow and emotionless.

 

[MissFortune]

I've recently played a game that was 1st person for the most part apart from a few recent updates, and it just looked bad to me compared to other games with different angles although the renders themselves were good. It's just such a limit for an artist to only show things from one angle, and it gets tiring for me.

This is the only answer. Everything else is wrong.

 

[MissFortune]

They are shifting towards 3rd person because they are trying to force you to be a cuckold. This shit about "oh the camera angles" is just that, shit. POV games are immersive and you feel like the character. 3rd person games make you feel like you are someone watching people fuck. It's cuck perspective.

 

[MissFortune]

Great take, reddit cuck.

 

[MissFortune]

Seems I was right on the money with the reddit thing. Post physique, cuck.

Edit: Oh, shit. He deleted his posts? Fucking lol.

 

[Geralt_R]

POV games are immersive and you feel like the character.

You apparently never play all the 3rd person AAA video games. Don't know about you, but I have no trouble at all feeling like the character in 3rd person games, even when I play a female protagonist... and no, I am not transgender etc POV is certainly also immersive, but you know what one of the #1 demands for games like Cyberpunk 2077 is? A proper 3rd person perspective, someone even created a pretty popular mod for that, because many people prefer seeing their character in a game. Both POV and 3rd person have their pros and cons, but immersion is not the issue here at all.

 

[baneini]

1st person games are impossible to make visually pleasing.
I shudder to think any 1st person scene where mc kisses something, its so bad.
Then again some devs suck at making things cinematic no matter when the pov is so maybe it doesn't matter to those people.

 

[Geralt_R]

I shudder to think any 1st person scene where mc kisses something, its so bad.

It just looks goofy to me, girls kissing empty air with their tongue sticking out... or they make weird duckfaces with their mouth. That's not immersive at all.

 

[Doorknob22]

For me, exclusive 1st person is a horror when portraying:

1. Kissing: just a huge face filling your screen, usually with lips as big as your fist.
2. Missionary position: you can only see her face.
3. Oral sex on a girl: you can only see... well, you know.
4. Doggy style: you can see her back and some ass.

The best solution is a a combination of the all perspectives, based on what has the best erotic effect.