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Monday Meme: Video Game Perspective
By Corvus | August 16, 2008
I’m posting the Monday Meme a bit early so that people looking to idle away their time on the internet this weekend have something to do.
Got a moment to help me out? I was talking about 3rd person games vs. 1st person games with a lay person (gentlemen in his upper 40s who plays with his teenaged son) the other week. It got me to thinking about the various reasons people give for their preference and I started wondering about the possible correlations between personality and perspective preference.
What I would like to hear from you is your Myers Briggs personality type (if you don’t know off the top of your head, you can take a short version of the test at HumanMetrics), and your whether you prefer 1st or 3rd person video games (and why if you’re so inclined). If your MB personality profile tends to fluctuate–let me know, and if you don’t really have a preference–let me know that as well. Feel free to leave your answer in the comments, post on your own blog, share this link, etc. Obviously, the more answers I get the more fun we’ll all have sifting through the collected data. *kniw*
Here’s my answer:
INTJ/INFJ, 3rd Person
I tend to shift pretty evenly between thinking and feeling, depending on my mood and energy level when I take the test.I prefer 3rd person games for two reasons. Firstly, I find it easier to empathize with a character I can see on screen and that creates a greater sense of immersion for me. Secondly, I feel that the 3rd person camera more successfully compensates for a lack of body awareness and peripheral vision.
Tagged:camera perspective, myers briggs, video games. |
August 16th, 2008 at 7:29 am
My test results from that link were:
INTJ
Introverted 78%
Intuitive 25%
Thinking 25%
Judging 56%
I vastly prefer third person games. I like the bit of distance between the character and myself; generally I tend to be a bit analytical when I look at any type of art be it film/painting/game and I always love to go backstage at the puppet show, so I suspect that first person is just a bit too subjective a view for me to really love. I’m not totally averse to a good first person view, but I definitely favor third person.
I also am prone to get the occasional motion sickness feel when doing rapid first person stuff, so that doesn’t help.
August 16th, 2008 at 9:47 am
Surprise surprise, My test results from that link were pretty similar:
INTJ
Introverted 22%
Intuitive 38%
Thinking 25%
Judging 56%
And I largely prefer 1st person perspective. I guess it mostly depends on whether or not I want to be immersed AS the character, or immersed in viewing the character and watching. I find it easier to ‘be’ the character if I’m looking out from behind their eyes - whether it be Master Chief, Gordon Freeman or some tailored individual in Oblivion.
August 16th, 2008 at 9:49 am
I’m INFP these days. I tested for a while as ENFP, but I think that was me overcompensating. At any rate, I used to be close to the border on the I/E spectrum, and now I test as much more firmly Introverted.
I tend to really, really dislike first-person gameplay, particularly of the first-person-shooter type. There are a few reasons for this. The main one is that I quite simply find the first-person perspective really disorienting and claustrophobic. I hate not having peripheral vision, and I get lost and turned around in the game landscape really, really easily. If there’s a pit of lava, I’ll blunder into it. Hell, if there’s a wall, I’ll bash my head against it (not on purpose; I will simply just seem to run into that wall no matter which way I turn). The other reason I dislike first-person gameplay is that I’m just not all that into the types of games that lend themselves to that style. I’m not really a big fan of running-and-shooting games like Doom. Historically, my favorite games are what I think of as straight-up puzzle games (Tetris, Bejeweled), puzzle games with an adventure component (like Myst), and RPG-ish games. I don’t do well with fast-paced arcade-style games where I have to run and shoot and time jumps properly, even if they’re in the third person, but I did enjoy “Kingdom Hearts” despite that aspect of it, because while it was fast-paced (well, once it got going) and required me to use my reflexes, it wasn’t insanely difficult.
Oh! I did just think of one exception to the first-person-gameplay rule. I used to really, REALLY love “Wing Commander.” I think the difference is that while I would still have problems with getting disoriented sometimes, since I was flying a vehicle instead of “walking,” a lot of the problems with peripheral vision and the like became moot.
August 16th, 2008 at 9:58 am
Consistently test as an ENFP (another friend asked me a week ago, so those results are still rather fresh).
As for perspective? I tend to prefer a camera that can fluctuate between the two, though I prefer third person perspectives. This is my preferred method of playing Oblivion, but unfortunately, I tend to play spellcasters and archers, so I switch to the first person perspective quite frequently.
Much like you, however, I prefer showing empathy for a character I can actually see. The visuals of what my character may wear also worry me. Definitely the type that worries about the aesthetic of my character. Some characters just won’t wear certain articles of clothing/armor. While some don’t care, there are others that are extremely fashion conscious.
August 16th, 2008 at 11:01 am
INTJ according to the test. I agree with the individual characteristics, but the overall character analysis doesn’t really sound like me.
I prefer first person games. I find them more immersive, since they have the same perspective as real life. I find it easier to identify the player character as myself, rather than some character. I also appreciate that video games can use FPP while films and television typically don’t, that really distinguishes the medium in my opinion.
August 16th, 2008 at 11:06 am
INTP; I score all over the E/I spectrum depending on the test and my mood, but generally I end up on the I side more often.
I would say that I prefer third-person perspectives, but I’m not certain right now if that is more due to the preference of game styles that favor third-person.
August 16th, 2008 at 11:20 am
If you’re not certain about the 3rd vs 1st person question, a good measure would be your reaction to watching a Mirror’s Edge gameplay trailer.
Do you think, “Awesome, a parkour game. I can’t wait to leap from rooftop to rooftop!”
Or do you think, “Oh my god, how can they be developing a parkour game in first person? Do they hate me?”
August 16th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
ENFJ (Note that I got extroverted by one point though, so it’s probably closer to INFJ)
I can’t make a casual decision on whether I prefer first or third person, really. I think it more or less determines the game in question. Now 7 years ago or so, I would have said 3rd person without question, but I love Bioshock, Half Life and similar which offer a great cinematic experience, or as I prefer to think of it a “Funhouse” approach to immersing the player. But that’s ‘those’ games. There are plenty of third person games I love just as much, like say God of War or the Prince of Persia games.
Also, Mirror’s Edge looks like the bees knees, and I think the first person camera helps it. Otherwise, there probably wouldn’t be much that makes it unique.
August 16th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
I love these psych tests, as I usually can guess what my results are.
INTJ
introverted 89 intuitive 12 thinking 25 judging 44
I think I’m split about 1st vs 3rd. I like the idea of a 1st person perspective, but haven’t played a game in a way I like it. I don’t like FPS games anymore, too closed in and the shooting aspects get boring fast for me. Mirror’s Edge does look pretty cool and I hope that it turns out great.
I agree that it is easier to see your surroundings (and make jumps) in 3rd person then it is first.
August 16th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
ISTJ.
introverted - 89%
sensing - 1%
thinking - 1%
judging - 22%
I prefer the first person perspective. I dunno, I guess it makes the world feel more alive, and it makes me feel like more of an active participant in it.
August 16th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
That test claims that I’m INTJ, but other tests claim that I’m INTP, which I believe a lot more. Third-person perspective, though it’s a bit hard to separate that from the fact that first-person is FPS-dominated, and I’m a bit tired of those.
August 16th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
I almost consistently test as INTJ, and I generally prefer third person.
August 17th, 2008 at 1:28 am
INTP
11% Introverted
50% Intuitive
1% Thinking
22% Perceiving
I wouldn’t call it a strong preference, but if given a choice, I generally go with a first-person camera. I find spatial orientation easier, and I prefer the experience of the game world I get that way.
August 17th, 2008 at 4:30 am
I’m INTJ, have been so for as long as I can remember.
If memory serves me correctly, the specifics are
44% Introverted
75% Intuitive
38% Thinking
1% Perceiving
I am very much a 3rd person enthusiast, mostly because I tend to associate it with the games I like the most.
You know, considering only about 1% of the overall population is considered to be INTJ (though most TJs are hard to find) there is something to be said about this blog and the number of intjs surrounding it. Doesn’t it?
August 18th, 2008 at 3:16 am
INTP
44% Introverted
50% Intuitive
25% Thinking
11% Perceiving
I tend to prefer a 1st person perspective, given a choice, although I have no problem with playing from a 3rd person perspective.
August 18th, 2008 at 3:28 am
Mirror’s Edge looks interesting indeed, makes me sorry I’m no longer at EA to test it. Pity my hardware wouldn’t be able to run it in a million years.
I do get a creeping feeling that what probably isn’t being shown in the trailers is how you die if you mess up any of those lovely manoeuvres, in classical (and infuriating) platformer style. Hopefully that isn’t the case though.
August 18th, 2008 at 10:38 am
INTP
(100, 75, 38, 78 respectively)
That 100% introverted is a bit high, in fact most of these scores seem to be extreme, do I have some kind of borderline personality? :S
Erm, anyway, I don’t think I have a preference between first and third-person per se. For me it comes down to what best serves the style and mechanics of the game, and how I can relate to the main character. I don’t feel particularly comfortable with a first-person perspective in a game with multiple player characters. But in a single player game, where I’m controlling an avatar without a strong character, then I can definitely enjoy first person. Otherwise I’ll generally prefer a third person view.
Is it worth making a distinction between different forms of third-person perspective? Specifically I’m thinking the difference between Gears of War and one of the early Resident Evil games. In the former, the camera is pretty much fixed behind the character and the gameplay is almost indistinguishable from a first person shooter. In the latter’s shooting sections, the camera’s view is perpendicular to the line of sight between the character and the target.
August 18th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
INTJ
I really don’t like first person cameras, I feel almost claustrophobic for some reason. I think I just need to be able to see more, I hate that with first person cameras you have no peripheral vision.
August 19th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
INTX
This may be an artifact of genre preferences.
3rd person. I did play Oblivion & Morrowind in first person without trouble, perhaps because of pacing, but I find that:
- lack of peripheral vision isn’t compensated for in most games
- in first person shooters & the like, I over-immerse: serious adrenaline response, heart rate out of control, …