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Piranha Games on why MechWarrior Online is getting a third-person mode
Sometimes you find yourself railing against something at one point only to support it later on. That's the process that Piranha Games president Russ Bullock went through regarding a third-person viewing mode in MechWarrior Online. Bullock addresses player concerns about the inclusion by detailing his own experience with the project and how he went from vehemently opposing a third-person view to arguing that its inclusion is necessary for the long-term health of the game. One of the key elements to understand about movement in MechWarrior Online is that your machine moves more like a bipedal tank with an independently rotating torso. Bullock states that he's watched new players trying the game in first-person and third-person modes, and being able to see how 'Mechs move on the screen instantly translates to better play. He also remains adamant that the inclusion of this new view mode is not meant to unbalance the game by allowing players to see things outside of their normal fields of vision. [Thanks to Dire Phoenix for the tip!]
The Daily Grind: Do you ever play in first-person view?
Meet Uggo. I bumped into him in The Secret World the other day as he was trying to rip my face off my skull. I felt bad for him even so; he's got a bit of a skin condition and a slug crawling through his head. I know I'd be cranky in his position. The weird thing is that I didn't notice all of the incredibly disgusting details of Uggo until I killed him and came in close. Playing in the default third-person view means that I'm not usually in a position to get a good look at what I'm killing, but instead I just see it as an identifiable shape. Whenever I do force myself to go into first-person view, I discover so many more details about the game world and its inhabitants. Unfortunately, it also makes me a bit queasy, and I sorely miss the peripheral vision that third-person perspectives bring. Does anyone out there play a standard MMO in a first-person view? Maybe you do it to get into the shoes of your character more or to see these details up close and personal. If so, I'd love to hear about it today! Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Rooster Teeth experiments with third-person driving in real life
In the pilot episode of a new web series titled "Immersion," the comedic machinimists of Rooster Teeth attempted to bring a popular action game phenomenon into the real world: What if you could really drive a car from a third-person perspective? Using a pole, some dumbbells, an expensive camera and some vision-impairing black sheets, the troupe was able to have an entertaining, albeit entirely irresponsible out-of-car driving experience. Check out the NSFW video after the jump to see their automotive shenanigans in action.
The Daily Grind: Does viewpoint matter to you?
While the ancestry of MMOs were played via text-only clients and thus didn't have to worry about it one way or the other, the modern generation of games has either a first-person view or a third-person view. (Experiments with a second-person view were briefly carried out via webcams, but it proved distracting.) And it can produce some passionate opinions on both sides, much like, well, every other issue about MMOs under the sun. Proponents of first-person views are quick to point out that it's more immersive and forces a player to be more aware of the field beyond what they can see. It lends depth to the game, frees you from concern over needless aesthetics of gear, and it was how things were done back in the day of EverQuest. Proponents of third-person views, on the other hand, point out that it gives a better view of the world as a whole and is more responsive to controls. It lets you see the character you've sculpted, gives you a better sense of what's going on, and it was how things were done even further back in the day with Ultima Online. So today, we ask you -- which do you prefer? Is a good first-person or third-person mode a must for you to consider the game, or do you simply prefer to play one way or the other?
