While I was reading rumours Cyberpunk 2077 may be a first-person shooter RPG, rather than the third-person game I’d assumed, it got me wondering which of the two you prefer, and which could be the better fit for Cyberpunk 2077. Ever since we were rocket jumping around in Quake, the arguments over the benefit of third-person versus first-person in shooters has raged on.
For the shooter purists, first-person is the only way to go. Effectively defined by id Software decades ago, it’s proven the ultimate way to immerse players in the action, as well as tightly define what the player can and can’t see. From a competitive point of view, it’s important that the player can only see where they’re shooting. This has since been riffed on in many ways, with games like Rainbow Six Siege using fixed cameras around the level to occupy both first and second-person viewpoints.
From a storytelling perspective, the benefits and drawbacks of first-person are fairly obvious. As the player, you are seeing and interacting with the world through the eyes of your character. It’s considerably more immersive, demonstrated to great effect in first-person horror games that are pant-wettingly terrifying. In first-person, anything happening to the character feels as if it’s happening to the player, a sort of bond forming between the player and the world they’re inhabiting.
The reverse is true of the third-person perspective, which takes a far more passive approach. Here it is about the player’s connection with their avatar rather than the world, with the player attempting to forge this character in their image.
In terms of gameplay, first-person allows for faster, more accurate shooting and twitchy gameplay. The zoomed in view means threats can be detected more easily, and the player character isn’t hopping about the screen and getting in the way of your view.
The counterpoint to this is first-person shooters, which tend to be slower-paced in general. The wider field of view provides the player with much greater spatial awareness. This puts more focus on positioning, movement and using the environment rather than pure aiming skills. Typically, aiming will be more difficult than in FPS games due to camera’s distance from the action. In a console third-person shooter, they typically rely on heavy aim assist, for example, while the effect is less pronounced in first-person shooters.
It seems tiny but the positioning of the camera affects the design of a game from the ground up. Whichever direction CD Projekt RED decides to go with Cyberpunk 2077, it’s going to have a massive impact on how the game plays. They could decide to support both viewpoints, but we’ve seen with the likes of Skyrim that one playstyle will inevitably suffer depending upon what’s the focus for the development team.
So bearing in mind the possible impending reveal of Cyberpunk 2077, which do you think makes for the superior shooter - first-person or third-person? Can you think of any games which excel us both? Let us know in the comments below!
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PC Specs
1st person - I want my gun to be right there on my screen. DOOM wouldn't be DOOM and Quake wouldn't be QUAKE if they were 3rd person.
PC Specs
It doesn't matter, as long as you know how to make it entertaining
PC Specs
Agreed. If the game is bad, it will remain bad and no VR, no 3rd, no FPS can make it actually good.
PC Specs
3rd person ɛ
PC Specs
something like fallout is what I like, where you can switch between 3rd person and 1st person
PC Specs
Well it's mostly a matter of personal preference but from a developer point of view the best thing to do would be to make it like GTA V , where we can choose whether to play in 3rd person or 1st person.
PC Specs
I prefer 3rd person shooting...I like to view full me while playing game, but not like my arms and gun..
PC Specs
I personally like fp more especially if it's a shooter game.
PC Specs
Mostly i find FPS better than TPS. Can't tell why tho.
There are aswell shooters that have both 1st and 3th PP eg. Arma
PC Specs
Yea, but you only use third person in ArmA if you aren't really that into role-play which is not that often, judging by the fact that you are playing, well, ArmA, a role-playing game.
PC Specs
Arma 3 is primarily NO role playing game - it is a Military Simulator and foremost FPS (first person shooter)!
PC Specs
Its half and half, mostly depends on the situation/scene, but it be better to toggle the view to switch.
PC Specs
I enjoy 3rd Person more but if done right both are equally enjoyable as gamers are the ultimate winners by gaining variety in gaming experience.
PC Specs
I like third person. Don't play multiplayer in shooter games so the advantage doesn't matter.
Feels and looks a lot better to me.
PC Specs
"As Long As It's Made By CD Project Red I'm Fine With Anything !!!"
PC Specs
praise geraldo
ps. EA didnt die... it was murdered
PC Specs
Blind fanboyism is always bad.
Also, CDPR's management is complete crap towards the employees...
https://np.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/54wpup/quantum_break_lead_designer_kyle_rowley_is_woking/d85nheh/
PC Specs
I prefer 3rd person. 1st person is way too scary for me. Where are legs and body when i look down?? Do i have only 2 arms and weapon. Thats scary.
PC Specs
Games like Star Citizen & Arma 3 have that though ^^
PC Specs
Yea. I know that there are some games that show this. But still. I dislike not having legs and body when i look down. But on cinematics, etc.. they to show my whole body
PC Specs
Me too. But some game change my opinion on FPS, like Dying Light. That game was amazing.
PC Specs
3rd person rewards clueless players that camp and sit behind walls all game. A huge problem especially in BR games.
PC Specs
depends on the games really, it would be ridiculous to play Hitman/Splinter Cell in FPS while playing Battlefield in TPS
PC Specs
I prefer seeing the whole character, not just some dumb gun barrel.
PC Specs
First person gives me motion sickness man, and make me want to vomit
PC Specs
You're not the only one!
PC Specs
Yes, I'm in the same boat. If Cyberpunk turns out to be a first person, it's going to hugely impact my decision on buying it.
PC Specs
Try using lower mouse sensitivity and look that you have high fps so it feels smoother.
PC Specs
i prefer 3rd person view because if it's fps i get a headache instantly about 30 minutes or an hour of game play.
PC Specs
depends on the game-setting. games like tomb raider and other adventure-games should easily be 3rd person...but games, like competitive and multiplayer, where third-person camera gives an advantage like peaking corners and stuff is no good.
PC Specs
3rd Person View is often exploited to look around walls or even "through" them ... a pretty problematic view tbh.