Why are games so obsessed with 3rd person?

[Jorduin]

It just detracts from gameplay... why pointlessly skew your perspective and immersion? To look at your own 8bit ass?

[SugarBear]

I find that I can only play 3rd person games. I get motion sickness to easily when in 1st person perspective. Therefore, I make the body of my character fairly pleasing to look at.

[Ataxio]

I wish 1st person was in Valheim so much without needing a mod to force it in.

[Torinux]

I don't like games where I can't see my character but in cut scenes. I like to see how my character looks all the time.

[Ashere]

Sometimes first person bothers my eyes, and head, whereas 3rd person does not.

[Exodite-Dragon]

Originally posted by Jorduin:

It just detracts from gameplay... why pointlessly skew your perspective and immersion? To look at your own 8bit ass?

Isn't it a little strange to equate a game not catering to your personal preference as evidence of an industry-wide, obsessive conspiracy meant to put you, and you specifically, out in the proverbial cold?

[Shealladh]

Originally posted by Jorduin:

It just detracts from gameplay... why pointlessly skew your perspective and immersion? To look at your own 8bit ass?

Yeah sheesh, always reminded of my 8bit ass by my mum, she had a 16bit, but my god man, I need you mum's number with that 32bit twerker.

[Happy]

I prefer 3rd person games mostly. Nothing wrong with any good 1st or 3rd person games but in my opinion a first person game has to function & mesh well with whatever type of game it is like gameplay, setting, genre, etc. Valheim feels better in 3rd person for me personally so I took an immediate liking to it anyway, as that is preference.

Think of it this way: If you took any game you have played over the years (either 1st or 3rd person) and swapped it for the opposite, would you have still played & enjoyed it?

[electricdawn]

Well said, @Happy, well said.

[blprice61]

Originally posted by Happy:

I prefer 3rd person games mostly. Nothing wrong with any good 1st or 3rd person games but in my opinion a first person game has to function & mesh well with whatever type of game it is like gameplay, setting, genre, etc. Valheim feels better in 3rd person for me personally so I took an immediate liking to it anyway, as that is preference.

Think of it this way: If you took any game you have played over the years (either 1st or 3rd person) and swapped it for the opposite, would you have still played & enjoyed it?

The only place 3rd person doesn't work well in Valhiem is places with low ceilings. You can get some really odd camera changes and clipping. (Being near trees can also cause this.)

[magnificent moose]

Originally posted by Faceplant8:

Dodge-roll is just an animation, and currently doesn't change the look direction, and that doesn't have to change in first person.

Since we have first person mods for this game I went looking for an example video where they would perform a dodge roll in first person mode. I can't imagine how it could look decent at all. I got tired of looking before I found anything however. People playing in first person don't seem to be using the dodge roll, which makes a lot of sense to me. In Dark Souls it looks like this, its hilariously bad https://youtu.be/B2JnTkOPyN4?t=118

First person is also very well suited to game controllers. I only play with game controllers, and I only play in first person when it's available, and there are no issues. Why would you expect to be able to adjust viewing angle?

I mean viewing angle as in where you're looking. Of course you *can* play first person games with a controller, in a clunky way. Its fine for games like Minecraft where you don't need to quickly adjust your aim.

[electricdawn]

Originally posted by blprice61:

The only place 3rd person doesn't work well in Valhiem is places with low ceilings. You can get some really odd camera changes and clipping. (Being near trees can also cause this.)

I agree, This happens to me all the time in my Tavern, even with a four meter high room, but especially in a three meter high room, as I have pine logs under the ceiling for a "support the floor" looks.

It looks very nice, but it jumps up and down all the time when I'm walking through it. That can cause vertigo in me.

[Mharr]

Third person gives you peripheral vision, first person gives you tunnel vision.

[Assassin Monkey]

Why are first person games so terrible at simulating visible perspective of a real person? Almost every one of them has the camera shoved up the nose of a one eye man wearing blinders. I want my {Video} games to based on Visuals & less on audio cues, as is the case for so many first person games that have to rely on audio to make up for lack of visuals. Stop staring at your own characters azz, build bigger, zoom out and enjoy the actual views.

[Faceplant]

Originally posted by magnificent moose:

Since we have first person mods for this game I went looking for an example video where they would perform a dodge roll in first person mode. I can't imagine how it could look decent at all. I got tired of looking before I found anything however. People playing in first person don't seem to be using the dodge roll, which makes a lot of sense to me. In Dark Souls it looks like this, its hilariously bad

Does the camera roll in 3rd person when you dodge roll? Why would you think it would roll in first person? That would be dumb.

Originally posted by magnificent moose:

I mean viewing angle as in where you're looking. Of course you *can* play first person games with a controller, in a clunky way. Its fine for games like Minecraft where you don't need to quickly adjust your aim.

Again, you're missing the point of first person. I don't really play FPS shooters, so I don't know what they do, but I don't understand why you would expect to be able to quickly zoom, or zoom at all. When you look at something, can you zoom with your eyes?

If you look through a scope, sure, it should zoom like you're looking through a scope, but not otherwise IMO.

Originally posted by Mharr:

Third person gives you peripheral vision, first person gives you tunnel vision.

True.

Originally posted by Assassin Monkey:

Why are first person games so terrible at simulating visible perspective of a real person? Almost every one of them has the camera shoved up the nose of a one eye man wearing blinders.

Most that I've played have a setting for FOV. Some, like No Man's Sky limit what you can set in the GUI, but you can make it pretty wide by editing the configuration file.

[BingusDingus]

I have no idea how people think first person is immersive, you have literal tunnel vision with no peripheral vision and if you up the FOV you get the fisheye effect. At least in a 3rd person game you can actually see what is going on around you instead of what is directly in your line of sight, i'd prefer a 3rd person game over a first person any day of the week.

Then you have the gameplay reasons, yeah, first person game do not function, play, feel or look right for a majority of game mechanics. Biggest one is melee combat, to this day there still hasn't been a single game created that has good melee combat.
Go play many third person games and then ask yourself how it'd feel as third person, use objective reasoning, the majority would feel terrible and wouldn't even be able to be the same game.