2nd Person View?

[doodger]

In the siren series, you get to view your death from the eyes of your ennemy.
QUite a shame the games didn't use the full potential.

 

[Jamash]

Ready 2 Rumble had a 2nd person view, where you saw yourself through the eyes of your opponent.

It was quite confusing to say the least, especially when your head punches came raining in and "your" view was obscured by your boxer's gloves.

 

[Sacman]

The fight night series did something like that... it was terrible and unwieldy...<.<

 

[tunderball]

I was wondering isn't Kane and Lynch kind of like this? Because your watching the game through a camera?

 

[Drakmeire]

psychonauts did it very well
At 1:10 he switches to a second-person view.
<youtube=Ht8AMMjXMf4>

 

[Doodlebox]

I think that some horror games have done that. Like, walking around then suddenly your perspective switches to some monster that's right behind you.
Also text adventure games. Like "Ye get ye flask"

 

[rees263]

In terms of writing, first person is "I did this" and third person is "He/she did this".

Second person is "You did this" and is very, very rarely used in storytelling mediums because the first and third are far better for this purpose. The only instance of second person I can think of is perhaps in advertising campaigns.

Second person is NOT through the "eyes of someone else", nor is it a "fixed camera view", that is the same as third person if you think about it.

There is no such thing as a second person point of view as it were and a second person game as you seem to be thinking is not possible. The closest thing I can think of is a first or third person role playing game with a voiceover/cinematic narrative referring to the player as "you".

I think it would be through the eyes of another character, but not some random "camera guy" character. 1st and 3rd person are well defined, which can be based on the logic of "I am doing this" (first person) and "He/she/it is doing this" (third person).

So take the point of view "You are doing this". My interpretion is that the view point must be someone who can interact with the player character (in other words not really suitable for a game), and not just some hovering camera.

The ZP episode for Siren Blood Curse brings this up, and Yahtzee mentions it is the only example he can think of with a 2nd person view (the player has the ability to see what the enemies can see).

Any character in the game who could interact with the player as far as saying "You are doing something" or any similar phrase would be an eligible viewpoint for a 2nd person view I think.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

Playing a game from the view point of a non player controlled character? That would not work at all. Control would be IMPOSSIBLE because you'd have to think of what your character can see... and such... Plus, the non-player controlled person can screw you up SO easily.

Not necessarily, it could be through something like security cameras.

 

[MaximXavius]

Quite a few games have used the whole second person thing as a gimmick.

one example is wolverine origins
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPANqc52GpI (about 5:30 to 7:10)

While technically a 1st person game (if you read about it it makes sense) eXperiment 112 is one way I can see a 2nd person game being functional
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxCBUzHjnhQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyeB-hQj8ZI

Another way it could look is like fight night round 3 1st person mode with you playing as the other gut obviously
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaC8icrqmnk

*guy above described style experiment 112 while i was typing

 

[Doive]

In terms of writing, first person is "I did this" and third person is "He/she did this".

Second person is "You did this" and is very, very rarely used in storytelling mediums because the first and third are far better for this purpose. The only instance of second person I can think of is perhaps in advertising campaigns.

Second person is NOT through the "eyes of someone else", nor is it a "fixed camera view", that is the same as third person if you think about it.

There is no such thing as a second person point of view as it were and a second person game as you seem to be thinking is not possible. The closest thing I can think of is a first or third person role playing game with a voiceover/cinematic narrative referring to the player as "you".

I think it would be through the eyes of another character, but not some random "camera guy" character. 1st and 3rd person are well defined, which can be based on the logic of "I am doing this" (first person) and "He/she/it is doing this" (third person).

So take the point of view "You are doing this". My interpretion is that the view point must be someone who can interact with the player character (in other words not really suitable for a game), and not just some hovering camera.

The ZP episode for Siren Blood Curse brings this up, and Yahtzee mentions it is the only example he can think of with a 2nd person view (the player has the ability to see what the enemies can see).

Any character in the game who could interact with the player as far as saying "You are doing something" or any similar phrase would be an eligible viewpoint for a 2nd person view I think.

Ok, I just watched that part of the ZP episode. I see what you mean by the Siren Blood Curse mechanic being a 2nd person view but, as you said, this is not a suitable medium for a whole game. The narrative voice will still be either first or third person.

That said, while I see your point, I still feel there is an argument for there only being two possible views in gaming, first and third person, and that second person is simply a different version of third.

 

[drummond13]

Much of Siren was in 2nd person view.

So there.

 

[blankedboy]

2nd person has been done. It's called EyeToy.

Also, adventure games are often second person. It's a massively underused storytelling perspective, and wonders can be done with it.

 

[Doive]

Much of Siren was in 2nd person view.

So there.

It depends how you define a second person view. It seems to me that the siren blood curse thing has been arbitrarily assigned the second person simply because it is a relatively unique game mechanic. In reality, all it does is give a THIRD person view of your character.

Second person narrative in games exists, such as role playing games, where instead of playing a character, it could be said that you are the character because it is one of your own creation. However, a second person viewpoint simply does not exist.

 

[EGtodd09]

I know it's probably incorrect, but I define first person as: In the main character's eyes i.e. Call of Duty games. Second person as: Over the main character's shoulder but following them closely i.e. Just Cause 2 or Gears of War. and third person as: completely detached from the main character i.e. Starcraft games. Simply because thats what makes sense when you think about it. The three tiers of focusing on the main character: in the main character, following the main character, and just looking at everything.

 

[Grimm91]

Maybe this is me but I don't think we really even know what 2nd person even is. So lets first have an exact definition before we make games implementing it.

 

[Richard Hannay]

For those trying to come up with examples of writing in second person, "Choose Your Own Adventure" books typically fit the bill.

First: "I"
Second: "You"
Third: "He/She/They"

In this context, second person means you would always be seeing your character strictly through the eyes of a (presumably nearby) NPC.

The idea people are positing that "over the shoulder" views somehow constitute second person perspective is wrong, unless there's actually another human being walking just behind the protagonist for the entire game (and no, "the player" doesn't count; I mean an in-game entity).

yeah, true. i just thought that with a camera constantly moving around like a real person, it would make it more exciting, especially if you have to stay in view of the person or else you die from something off screen

At the end of the day, a second-person perspective in a game would just be a camera that the player can't control (and possibly acted unpredictably occasionally). Here, let me ask you a couple questions:

Have you ever played a game with a camera you just couldn't get to point at what you needed it to? Castlevania 64? Final Fantasy X-2? Almost any 3-D incarnation of Sonic the Hedgehog? There are other examples, of course. How did having to overcome the camera to control your protagonist make you feel? Excited or just frustrated?

I'm willing to bet that most people would say "frustrated" even if you personally wouldn't. Whether this uncontrollable, potentially (or in the case of your example, intentionally) inadequate camera is just another third person view or that of another character is ultimately irrelevant, because the effect upon the actual gameplay mechanics would be the same.

 

[AugustFall]

For those of you who don't know second person view is the view of someone who is part of the action but not the one you are controlling.

1st is the main character, 2nd is the person interacting with the main character, and 3rd is someone watching this happen.

 

[tthor]

i think 2nd person would be like seeing the game thru your sidekick's eyes, as he watches you fight/etc. tho i don't think 2nd can really be done well, unless you are going for an artsy feel to the game

 

[hittite]

Wouldn't a second person view just be the POV of the enemy that your killing?

It might work as a gimmick in a horror game. What's more horrifying than being forced to kill yourself?

 

[conflictofinterests]

Tell us what you think a game would be like in 2nd Person View. Not 1st like Half-Life, not third like Shadow of the Colossus, but second.

First person with a shit ton of 4th wall breaking. That's about the only way I can conceive of it being done.