Zhukov said:
I find it makes for more precise control, especially when using a mouse and keyboard. Third person can sometimes feel like I'm wrestling with the controls of an RC car. Also, I find first person better in games where I want to, or am required to, examine the environment closely because I won't have a character taking up a large chunk of screen real estate and getting in the way.
That said, I don't really have any preference one way or the other.
Pretty much my opinion in a nut shell.
I like a wide variety of camera choices. I don't whine about being stuck with one or t'other. Though, I generally prefer first-person.
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Really, I think it comes down to spacial awareness. Many of the people I've met who fervently dislike the first-person perspective often have issue with spacial awareness. They have a hard time creating mental images of the space their character is in and even more trouble with keeping track of where their character is in relation to the objects in their surroundings.
This isn't a failing on their part. I mean no offense. It's even understandably difficult given our reliance on sight, sound,
and touch to form a proper image of our surrounding environment. It's just that I've found that this difficulty is often a major contributing factor to ones disdain or discomfort with the first-person perspective.
I've never had issue with it, personally. Quite the opposite in fact.
(example: I enjoy jumping/platforming challenges in first-person games. Even in games like Mirror's Edge or the Xen maps in Half-Life)
Even so, I can appreciate why some would not like a first-person perspective. They likely have the same "disconnected" feeling I, at times, have when playing a third-person game.
DoPo said:
But at any rate, why are there "camps" on the matter? Going for one of these as TEH ONE TRU WAI, YO!!11! seems like it shouldn't be happening. Like, at all.
Because, this is the internet. And on the internet many people suffer from what I like to call,
I-Don't-Like-This-So-How-Can-Anyone-Like-It Syndrome.
I've heard there's been major progress on a treatment. I believe it's currently in an experimental injection form, but they're getting close to making it into a widely available pill form.
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On a side note:
I have to add that the first-person perspective almost never suffers from something virtually
all third-person, free camera based games suffer from -
No poorly placed view angles.
You never have to worry about your camera view suddenly shifting to an awkward position because it couldn't clip past a wall or something.
This is one of the primary reasons I prefer the first-person perspective. I control what my character is looking at.