Can immersion only truly happen from a first person perspective?

[the spud]

Games can only really appeal to 2 senses, so I think that a thrid-person view works best. It makes up for the shortcomings of the other perspective. I find the most immersive games (and films, for that matter) build immersion by fleshing out the world, characters, and story.

 

[Aprilgold]

Fuck no, FFFUUUUCCCCKKKKK NNNNNOOOOOO!!!!

Considering when I played Space Marine, I was actually muttering the words "For the Emperor", yeah, I'd say that's pretty immersive.

I did too.
[sub] For the glory of the emperor......[/sub]

Immersion is immersive is if the game can absorb you into the world, CoD can't do that, but Demo Soulzs can.

I think a lot of people are kind of missing what immersion is. It's that feeling of being so engrossed in something, whether it be a book or movie or video game, that your wariness of the world around you slips away. It is not transplanting yourself into the shoes of another individual. That would be role-playing

Any game of any type can be immersive, from third person shooters like Mass Effect 2 to side scrolling action adventure games like Super Metroid, or even top-down JRPG's like Chrono Trigger.

THE GUY FROM FULL METAL ALCHEMIST IS RIGHT, LET US ATTACK THE NON BELIEVERS!
[sub]IN THE NAME OF THE EMPEROR!
*It was a pun on the second guy I quoted's name, a very good pun.*[/sub]

 

[Twad]

Immersion is more than just first-person view (imho first-person view do help because you arent, like you said OP, seeing the world through the "eyes" of someone else.) But immersion is more than just about realism or fidelity of visuals.

I think it count as immersion when you are losing youself in a complelling story/setting/whatever. Even if there is a third party or a bunch of sprites (like FF6) on screen, when the story (or something else) got you hooked well enough, you just see past them, you forget you are playing a game, and yet you are having fun.

 

[Belaam]

What would you call BioShock if not an FPS?

I'd go with multi-genre survival horror, RPG, action, puzzle game and FPS. But I would probably take a while to get to the FPS parts when describing it.

I'd see it more of a "I guess you could call it an FPS..." kind of game.

Much as I wouldn't initially describe Fallout 3 as an FPS, though I did kill most things in that game by shooting them while in a first person perspective.

I would consider a straight FPS one wherein you might pick up the new weapon here and there, but by and large, your character doesn't pick up new abilities, isn't called upon to make choices beyond how to kill the next guy, and so on.

Heck, I'd almost consider Uncharted to be more of an FPS than Bioshock and Fallout 3.

 

[Thaius]

I think immersion is easier from a first person perspective, but not at all impossible outside of it. One could state games like Mass Effect, but that's less a matter of moment-by-moment immersion and more a matter of immersion based on a full and expansive understanding of the in-game universe.

My best example, I think, would be Shadow of the Colossus. It's impossible not to be immersed when you're holding on for dear life on the back of a gigantic beast flying through the air at incredible speeds. It's the little details, both in aesthetics and in gameplay, that make immersion.

Other third-person games that achieve similar senses of immersion are the Legend of Zelda series, Okami, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Beyond Good and Evil, Jak II, ICO, Heavy Rain, and the Uncharted series.

 

[Thaius]

What would you call BioShock if not an FPS?

I'd go with multi-genre survival horror, RPG, action, puzzle game and FPS. But I would probably take a while to get to the FPS parts when describing it.

I'd see it more of a "I guess you could call it an FPS..." kind of game.

Much as I wouldn't initially describe Fallout 3 as an FPS, though I did kill most things in that game by shooting them while in a first person perspective.

I would consider a straight FPS one wherein you might pick up the new weapon here and there, but by and large, your character doesn't pick up new abilities, isn't called upon to make choices beyond how to kill the next guy, and so on.

Heck, I'd almost consider Uncharted to be more of an FPS than Bioshock and Fallout 3.

I think the important thing is that Bioshock is in the first-person perspective. Of course it has other genres mixed in, but so do most games now; at it's core it's a first-person shooter with RPG elements.

Outside of that, though, the question wasn't about shooting, it was about perspective, and there's no denying Bioshock is from a first-person perspective. So this question would apply to games like Metroid Prime and the Elder Scrolls series as well.

 

[DalekJaas]

I think it only can, but then I hate 3rd person games. I would rather read a book then play a game that's in 3rd person

 

[Camaranth]

I think my title may have been poorly worded. What I think I;m trying to ask is can an experience be truly immersive if it's not you. Can immersion really apply when you are controlling/following another character.

I don't find FPSs at all immersive.

Now, if you want to swing calling Bioshock an FPS, I might revise that, but if you can even get away with calling it an FPS, it is certainly the exception to the rule.

Bioshock I'd call immersive and it's first person perspective.

Immersion has less to do with perspective and more to do with realism. I can point to Half Life 2 as one of the most un-immersive games I've played recently. Gordon doesn't talk, he doesn't have any describable personality. He climbs ladders while being able to swing 360 degrees and shoots, he steers with telepathy.

Metroid Prime on the other hand is much more immersion-oriented. All you stats are displayed in-helmet, you see Samus's gun arm move right to left and up and down. A bright flash will cause her eyes to be reflected in the visor. Gore splatters on the helmet. Even though there are a few breaks when you use the screw attack and whatnot they're brief.

I found Deus Ex: Human Revolution also allowed greater immersion. It broke to the third-person all the time. First person would probably be better if more people focused on actually making it immersion-oriented instead of just another FPS.

Here's hoping for Skyrim.

Half-life 2; not immersive but I found it engrossing.

I'm hoping Skyrim can fix all the major problems I've had with Oblivion. I think Oblivion has the potential to be really immersive if I could just get into the right mindset.

With Deus Ex: Human Revolution are you truly immersed or just completely engrossed with Jensen's story?

 

[WaysideMaze]

I've felt immersed in books before today.

I can read discworld novels for hours and completely lose myself in them.

 

[LITE992]

I don't think first or third person perspective changes the immersion, what kills the immersion for me is when the game takes control away to show long, boring cutscenes frequently.

 

[saruman31]

That`s one of the most ridiculous statement ever. Dragon Age Origins and Mass Effect 1 were for me more immersive than any other game out there. For a point of reference as to why this statement is complete bullshit take for example movies:they are never shot in first person and they can be really immersive.

 

[Pegghead]

In terms of books, I actually find the first-person perspective a bit distracting.

Stephen King: "You fire at the lobstrosities...gods, a blank!"

*I look around*

Me: "No I didn't"

In terms of games, while first-person perspective doesn't have that effect it still doesn't make it the only camera angle that can create immersion. I think the whole concept of "immersion" has become a bit muddled, but all I'm gonna say is this:

When you can be pissing your pants or jumping for joy over the exploits of the little concoctions of textures and binary who's actions you direct with your controller, that's video-game immersion, and it can happen from any perspective.

 

[Inkidu]

I think my title may have been poorly worded. What I think I;m trying to ask is can an experience be truly immersive if it's not you. Can immersion really apply when you are controlling/following another character.

I don't find FPSs at all immersive.

Now, if you want to swing calling Bioshock an FPS, I might revise that, but if you can even get away with calling it an FPS, it is certainly the exception to the rule.

Bioshock I'd call immersive and it's first person perspective.

Immersion has less to do with perspective and more to do with realism. I can point to Half Life 2 as one of the most un-immersive games I've played recently. Gordon doesn't talk, he doesn't have any describable personality. He climbs ladders while being able to swing 360 degrees and shoots, he steers with telepathy.

Metroid Prime on the other hand is much more immersion-oriented. All you stats are displayed in-helmet, you see Samus's gun arm move right to left and up and down. A bright flash will cause her eyes to be reflected in the visor. Gore splatters on the helmet. Even though there are a few breaks when you use the screw attack and whatnot they're brief.

I found Deus Ex: Human Revolution also allowed greater immersion. It broke to the third-person all the time. First person would probably be better if more people focused on actually making it immersion-oriented instead of just another FPS.

Here's hoping for Skyrim.

Half-life 2; not immersive but I found it engrossing.

I'm hoping Skyrim can fix all the major problems I've had with Oblivion. I think Oblivion has the potential to be really immersive if I could just get into the right mindset.

With Deus Ex: Human Revolution are you truly immersed or just completely engrossed with Jensen's story?

I'm guessing you've never had this moment, but there's used to be a reason why a person said, "Aw, I died."

Do I think I'm Adam Jensen? Not entirely, but there does get to be this kind of Zen-like moment when you're putting your actions in a controller that you kind of take on the character.

It happens in a lot of little ways. Not many are conscious choices. Why do you suddenly begin to walk when running will get you from A to B without any problem. Why do you pull out your pistol when you think there might be trouble.

You kind of slip into the character. I've done it with Issac Clarke too. There was no reason I had to walk down the hall, the necromorphs were already dead, but people naturally walk down halls.

Immersion comes from one thin: That is the preservation of the fourth wall. Final Fantasy will never be an immersing experience because little arbitrary numbers dictate my character. It is engrossing.

It also relies on the willful suspension of disbelief, of which I have tons.

 

[BlindTom]

Yeah I've never been immersed in any films ever.

 

[Trippy Turtle]

Well I found GTA4 and Jak and Daxter pretty immersive. I actually prefer it because in first person it feels like I am watching through a camera. If a FPS allowed you to look at your hands and control them however you want then that would be immersive.

 

[Aiedail256]

Two words:
Hell. No.

I think 3rd-person games certainly have an automatic disadvantage in immersion, but it is by no means insurmountable. If the game is made right, your conscious mind starts ignoring the fact that it's not real after a while, and seeing your character on the screen is just a speed bump in this process.