Horror games, 1st person or 3rd person?

[jokemaster]

I was just playing a demo of System Shock 2 when suddenly a question struck me: Are horror games scarier in 1st person or 3rd? I mean, only in that game was I backstepping, shooting at a monster, then suddenly I scream as I hear something directly behind me, and turn around just in time for another monster to slash my face. That ain't possible in 3rd person, so I have to say 1st person. 3rd person, I think, mostly relies on story.

[Twilo]

Yes! Let's vote for broad sweeping definitions of genre and form!

[Jake]

I suspect it's neither a matter of being first person or third person, but whether or not the game is shit.

I scream as I hear something directly behind me, and turn around just in time for another monster to slash my face. That ain't possible in 3rd person, so I have to say 1st person. 3rd person, I think, mostly relies on story.

Having things hidden just off camera and requiring you to reveal them by moving is in both third and first person horror games. You can turn around in first person and look behind you only in first person games obviously, but that doesn't mean there is no equally effective (if slightly different done) equivilent in another style of horror game.

[jokemaster]

Well, yeah but it reminded me of when you watch a horror movie, the guys backing away slowly, and you know the monster/slasher is behind him, and yell at him for being an idiot, and now the same thing happened to me. Also, I've found that 3rd person games rely more on scaring you through the story, lighting and things suddenly jumping through windows/doors/cabinets.

[Roderick]

A definite plus 3d person has over 1st is that it can use creative, dramatic camerangles that will leave you in doubt whether the slightest accentuated piece of cloth-encovered furniture might be holding a monster or not. I guess it really all boils down to the game being any good or not. A master horror-storyteller will finds ways to scare the shit out of his/her audience regardless of whatever visual perspective he must deal with.

[jokemaster]

Lemme sum up my thoughts: 1st person can make you feel like the guy in Aliens felt like, and 3rd person can make you feel like what if you could tell him what to do through security cameras would've felt like.

And yes, that is a lifeline reference.

[peccaui]

From what I've played so far of Silent Hill 4, it seems to think you can have both as long as there is a motivated reason. And I'm inclined to agree.

[Walter]

I think that 3rd person tends to emphasize the player's sense of vulnerability via the visible exposure of the player character, whereas 1st person emphasizes the sense of viscerality by situating the player as the direct recipient of attacks. 3rd person horror = exposure, 1st person horror = enclosure. Each perspective has its respective strengths, but given that 'horror' tends to encompass a range of emotions, it's hard to say any one is better than the other.

[Roderick]

I'd like to second the remark about vulnerability. In 3D person, the controls are usually less intuitive and direct (see Resident Evil), aiding to a sense of your avatar being very vulnerable. Whereas in Doom 3 for example, the controls are so fluent they detract from the horror, as you are no longer that exposed to the mercy of the monsters, but able to simply strafe out of harm's way without a second's thought. It's more about the visceral experience then, indeed.

[Ryam BaCo]

depends. when i think about these planned horror-sequences of my "game" (it's still more like a concept) valley of angels they - and the whole game - can only work in 3rd person view. but valley of angels is not a horror game, it will just have few horror sequences and probably the story (which is mainly about "character-transformation" - i won't reveal more) will spread some horror flair.

okay, but back to one horror scene in valley of angels: after an accident (caused by somewhat) you wake up. everybody around you is dead. you're all alone. you are walking through a glade/forest. snow is everywhere. you know that there's something out there that may kill you. this feeling alone should arouse horror feelings.

and i decided here for 3rd person view because:

- i want to see my character breathing

- i want to see the footsteps (in the snow) of my character

- there are a few more reasons

i'm pretty excited about this scene and you'd agree if you'd know what i'm planning for this one horror sequence. but this was just one of a few more horror sequences. valley of angels is going to be a pretty "dark" game. and i'm very very excited about it, because it includes parts of storytelling that have never been used (and probably will never be used) in computer games. i can't wait till i'll be able to make it.

[Jake]

I think that 3rd person tends to emphasize the player's sense of vulnerability via the visible exposure of the player character, whereas 1st person emphasizes the sense of viscerality by situating the player as the direct recipient of attacks. 3rd person horror = exposure, 1st person horror = enclosure. Each perspective has its respective strengths, but given that 'horror' tends to encompass a range of emotions, it's hard to say any one is better than the other.

Thank you for putting that so well, you rule.

[toblix]

Why can't games take advantage of the media and switch between perspectives more? I mean, a better alternative than trying to find the right perspective for an entire game, why not find the right perspective for the situation? I know it presents a lot of issues, like for instance controls and whatnot, but I still feel it's weird that you can say "what perspective a game is". I'm not saying every game should do this, but it's an idea for some games where perspective switching might've helped tell the story or whatever.

[Chris]

There are definitely games with multiple perspective modes, and there are games that let you choose perspective. Halo, like Tribes I believe and many other games I'm sure (it just comes to mind since I play it so often; please no Halo-bashing in this thread), gives you a first person perspective for most of the game and a third person perspective when you're in vehicles. It's a good example of the "right perspective for the right situation". Also, I was playing Star Wars Battlefront the other day and in that game (again, like others that don't come to mind at the moment) you can choose at pretty much any point in the game whether you want to use first or third person perspective.

[jp-30]

Well, "Alone in the Dark" scared the bejesus out of me back in the mid 90s. And that was 3rd person and distorted camer angles. I think the fixed cameras & 3rd person view made for a more cinematic feel.

[peccaui]

Why can't games take advantage of the media and switch between perspectives more?

I agree, like I stated above Silent Hill 4 does this, forcing the user to play in first person in some situations, and in third person in others. Then there's The Suffering which allowed the user to toggle modes during gameplay (personally, I don't think the inclusion of first person mode added much, but I honestly didn't spend all that much time with the game.)

And don't forget (Forbidden) Siren, which blends both perspectives - third for environmental exploration and first person for 'sightjacking', or environmental observation. Fatal Frame (1 and 2) are all about the toggling between first and third person (again, first for exploration and third concerning observation (in several facets, as you're viewing the world through not only your character's eyes, but your character's eyes looking through a camera viewfinder. A similar device is used in the recently released (in Japan at least) Michigan, although I haven't played it so...).

I guess what I'm trying to say is that most recent horror games don't stick with just first or third person perspective.

Personally for me, fear has nothing to do with someone jumping and going 'BOO', or in the case of FPS games, an enemy striking me from behind. If that were the case, Burnout 3 would be a horror game (damn cars shunting me from behind!) it has more to do with not knowing what may be coming, the uneasy anticipation. One of my favorite tense gaming moments is in SH2 (which is third person), walking and walking for what feels like miles down a desolate road with thick fog swirling all around me, my eyes are desperately trying to see shapes, to visually make something, anything out of the soup surrounding my character. Scared the hell out of me when I was playing it, enough that a few times I just had to put the controller down to cut the tension. Maybe I'm just a sucker for the atmospheric theatrics though.