A New Point of View: Learning to Play from Behind
In terms of learning to play a game, point of view of the player is important, not only for navigation purposes, but for the process of identification with the character and context on screen. I think this carries over heavily from cinema in terms of identification and situating the viewer within the film as well. There are an increasing number of games that allow a player to toggle their perspective so they can see their game space from different angles before making a move. Although point of view is important in terms of immersion, it also plays an integral part in learning how to play.
Until recently most video games were played in one of three camera angles; first person shooter - where the player navigated through their own eyes (or rather, the eyes of their character); from a side view like in most 'platform' style games from Mario, Yoshi to the Megaman series and Viewtiful Joe; and finally, from above, in a god like mode, where the player looks down on the gamescape and controls the play - the most obvious of these games are strategy games and 'god' games like Black & White. With the introduction of the N64, full toggle mode, allowing the player to continously alter their viewpoint, playing to particular advantages that each angle offered the player. In the end, each of these play perspectives give the player a different game play experience.
For the most part, I have always played games (mmog's) in third person perspective, just an inch or two behind my avatar's head. I've tried playing in first person perspective, but the inability to see behind me (avatar) always made me a trite nervous. I do admit that the third person perspective creates a weird sort of disembodied experience; especially since I have always identified with my avatar - Ok! Velixious, so strongly.
In the case of learning to play Final Fantasy x-2, playing Yuna in third person presented different problems than the ones I've encountered in EverQuest. The run position is not a locked one, so depending on the angle that I am running, the camera pans to the left or right, a bit higher or lower than the position I had started out in, making precision targeting difficult (to an already clumsy navigation) and forget about being in the right position to talk to someone off the bat. I must say, in such cases, it is a good thing that the game design is riddled with 'invisible walls' that prevent me/Yuna from falling.
What I find frustrating about this obliged play angle is that my perception of running straight is skewed. When I navigate the controller, I do so thinking that to hold the stick straight will make Yuna run straight, but since I am not in her direct, first person point of view, it makes her run crooked - so I have to adjust my visual perception and hand-eye coordination to account for the weird angles I am forced to play in, and this affects my learning curve.
I am sad to say that this is something, in FFX2 that I never quite mastered. At 19% completion of the game, I am still stumbling into walls because my idea of a straight line isn't quite the same in-game as it is in my physical world. (This reminds me of a presentation at the DAC conference on in game physics - but I won't get into that here - another day perhaps)
Until recently most video games were played in one of three camera angles; first person shooter - where the player navigated through their own eyes (or rather, the eyes of their character); from a side view like in most 'platform' style games from Mario, Yoshi to the Megaman series and Viewtiful Joe; and finally, from above, in a god like mode, where the player looks down on the gamescape and controls the play - the most obvious of these games are strategy games and 'god' games like Black & White. With the introduction of the N64, full toggle mode, allowing the player to continously alter their viewpoint, playing to particular advantages that each angle offered the player. In the end, each of these play perspectives give the player a different game play experience.
For the most part, I have always played games (mmog's) in third person perspective, just an inch or two behind my avatar's head. I've tried playing in first person perspective, but the inability to see behind me (avatar) always made me a trite nervous. I do admit that the third person perspective creates a weird sort of disembodied experience; especially since I have always identified with my avatar - Ok! Velixious, so strongly.
In the case of learning to play Final Fantasy x-2, playing Yuna in third person presented different problems than the ones I've encountered in EverQuest. The run position is not a locked one, so depending on the angle that I am running, the camera pans to the left or right, a bit higher or lower than the position I had started out in, making precision targeting difficult (to an already clumsy navigation) and forget about being in the right position to talk to someone off the bat. I must say, in such cases, it is a good thing that the game design is riddled with 'invisible walls' that prevent me/Yuna from falling.
What I find frustrating about this obliged play angle is that my perception of running straight is skewed. When I navigate the controller, I do so thinking that to hold the stick straight will make Yuna run straight, but since I am not in her direct, first person point of view, it makes her run crooked - so I have to adjust my visual perception and hand-eye coordination to account for the weird angles I am forced to play in, and this affects my learning curve.
I am sad to say that this is something, in FFX2 that I never quite mastered. At 19% completion of the game, I am still stumbling into walls because my idea of a straight line isn't quite the same in-game as it is in my physical world. (This reminds me of a presentation at the DAC conference on in game physics - but I won't get into that here - another day perhaps)
posted by Kelly at 11:01 a.m.
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