Game Perspectives

Over the years, I have played literally hundreds of games ranging from the Atari 2600 to present day. Each title has it's own respective perspective, as one would expect. For example, the Call of Duty series stands as being one of the most popular First Person Shooter titles to date. But what is it exactly that makes it so popular? (Image Below: Deetman 2014).

While there is no doubt in my mind that basic game design principles come into play here where players are able to 'do the impossible' such as going on murderous rampages, one of the more important factors is the psychology behind FPS games in general. Games from this perspective have been known to have more of a connection with the player as they don't always have the distraction of the avatar that is on the screen. This is again common game design principles.

The effectiveness of the perspective in any given game would change vastly dependent on the game's content. A deep, story driven game such as the Uncharted series likely wouldn't be as memorable in my opinion if it was in a first person view. This is due to the fact that we as player's build a relationship with the protagonist and, in a sense, befriend him. (Image below: Frank 2016).

When talking game perspectives, we also do not necessarily restrict ourselves to camera positions. From a design perspective, these could include several steps in the design process. Tony Ventrice wrote an article on Gamasutra that proposes four 'layers' of game design.

• Concept

• Paradigm

• Mechanics

• Interface

The concept stage is exactly what it says on the tin. Conceptualising an idea. The paradigm step involves discerning how the player should be thinking when playing the game, a basic rule set that the player should follow. The mechanics flesh out those rules, while the interface considers what the player sees. (Ventrice 2009).

By breaking down a game or genre, we can begin to identify the varying styles and perspectives in each. What I find interesting is that, although there may be 100s of FPS or RPG titles out there, each one is still slightly different in some small way, which only further supports what Ventrice proposes, which gives us more power as designers to branch off these existing ideas.

References:

Deetman, K. (2014). What happened to FPS games? [Online Image] (Available). Retrieved on 2/10/16 from http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/KoenDeetman/20140205/210078/What_Happened_To_FPS_Games.php

Frank, A. (2016). Uncharted 4 multiplayer will receive updates for free. [Online Image] (Available). Retrieved on2/10/16 from http://www.polygon.com/2016/5/2/11565092/uncharted-4-multiplayer-modes-updates-free-dlc-guide

Ventrice, T. (2009). The Four Perspectives of Game Design: Insight from the Mobile Fringe. [Online] (Available). Retrieved on 2/10/16 from http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/132427/the_four_perspectives_of_game_.php

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