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1st Person vs 3rd Person Camera

1st Person vs 3rd Person

  • 1st Person

  • 3rd Person

  • Both


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FluffyStudio

Active Member
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Game Developer
May 23, 2017
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I'm about to Finish my first VN. With the next update, I will accomplish to complete the first Chapter of my VN.

Out of Puberty

I have Plans for Chapter 2 but before doing Chapter 2 I would like to make another VN. I was using HS2 but I finally jumped over to DAZ3D.

Now I would like to know, from Players, what they like in regards of Character Camera Position. My Question is, if you prefer a 1st Person look or would rather see the Male Charachter.
If of course the Character would be female then I would choose first person but the Character in the new Game, will be Male.

So please let me know, first Person or 3rd Person and why would be great :)
 
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Doorknob22

Super Moderator
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Nov 3, 2017
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1st person has very little advantages that 3rd person can't easily overcome. On the other hand 1st person has some major flaws that can't be overcome in 1st person: missionary position sex, kissing, cunnilingus and generally any activity that has the MC's eyes very close to an object or person.

Immersion? Video games, TV and movies have been using 3rd person for literally decades with no noticeable immersion problems. Immersion is in the writing, not the POV.
 

Meaning Less

Engaged Member
Sep 13, 2016
3,540
7,058
It depends on what kind of first person you are talking about:
-If you mean just camera position than no, unless the game is an actual fps locking the camera to the mc face is just silly...

-But if you mean first person in the common visual novel style where the main character is just not shown and it is implicit that all characters are looking at him, then yes, it wouldn't be an issue and is in fact very welcome:
1647259953150.png
 
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♍VoidTraveler

Forum Fanatic
Apr 14, 2021
5,164
13,154
Depends on the game type.
For example in something like CS:GO first person is paramount.
I usually prefer 3rd person though, unless it's a competitive exception like the cs.
3rd person gives much wider field of vision to the player and can therefore give unfair advantage.
But that is probably not a concern to you or most other single-player games.
There are however some pretty good rpg action games like... souls, where 1st person may also be preferable for immersion and/or challenge reasons.
 

Futa Queen

New Member
Jan 21, 2022
3
3
For video games I prefer 3rd person hands down with a very small exception like say archery in Skyrim. But visual novels are another bag entirely. I think a mixture of both 3rd person and 1st person is best for visual novels. Most in my experience tend to do 1st person only then swap to 3rd person for sex scenes though some cut out the head (partially or completely) or leave it as kinda blank so it's easier for the (mostly male) audience to self insert.

Though personally one thing I've always thought would be a nice thing to see would be a character creator for a visual novel even if it's something as basic as choosing like hair & eye color (super easy to swap in any scene, can also add flags to them to change any references to their color). More advanced might be like the character's build. That one would actually require additional artwork rather than just quick & easy hair/eye color swaps, but it'd be nice. And with that kind of system developed you could use it as the basis for swapping the character's gender between like say male, female, futanari. But it may double/triple the work in some areas that would be unique or different to those sexes, but you could think of it like adding an alternate route to the VN. The only real problem is additional artwork no doubt required based on sex, depending on the type of VN - and that's beyond just character model. Like room design would likely be different, certain encounters or events - like obviously if you had say a sports locker room it'd be pretty different depending on the sex.
 
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desmosome

Conversation Conqueror
Sep 5, 2018
6,037
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Immersion? Video games, TV and movies have been using 3rd person for literally decades with no noticeable immersion problems. Immersion is in the writing, not the POV.
Immersion can mean 2 different things here.

There is the traditional term that has been used for ages in fiction. The world is so engrossing and compelling that the reader/viewer/player gets drawn into the fictional world. Your attention is so focused in what you are reading that you might not be aware of your surroundings or the passage of time. You experience the story in a visceral way as the imagination takes over.

Then there is the "immersion" that is used interchangeably with self inserting. I find it rather annoying that this meaning of immersion is likely the dominant one on this site. Oh well.

As for the rest of your post, I agree. Unless you are writing the script entirely for a 1st person narrative for a blank slate MC with loads of player agency, 3rd person renders are superior in most cases.
 

anne O'nymous

I'm not grumpy, I'm just coded that way.
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Jun 10, 2017
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And why not an "MC is off-camera" point of view ?

The scene is not necessarily shown from MC's point of view, it's just that the main action being in front of him, there's no interest to show his back all the time. This approach would then permit you to easily switch to a real 3rd person point of view when the action need that you include the MC.
 
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FluffyStudio

Active Member
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May 23, 2017
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And why not an "MC is off-camera" point of view ?

The scene is not necessarily shown from MC's point of view, it's just that the main action being in front of him, there's no interest to show his back all the time. This approach would then permit you to easily switch to a real 3rd person point of view when the action need that you include the MC.
I actually thought about something that is similar to the usual VN Camera. For example, In Discussions directly to the Player it goes into a VN Style discussion. Outside of it its gonna be more Cinematic with all Characters visible. Maybe I can even make Sprites out of the Daz Characters.
 

TowerOfStories

New Member
Mar 12, 2022
3
3
3rd person offers more options than 1st if it's a choice of using one or the other exclusively. 1st person can be useful as a tool you use on occasion but overall 3rd person makes for a better experience as a player, in my opinion.
 
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Feb 18, 2022
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In the first-person perspective, it's easier to connect with the characters and "become" them. And that makes it more captivating (or immersive) as a result. Of course, the writing style and meaningful choices also play an important role.
Third person, on the other hand, allows for more different angles and points of view. It also allows for a more distant view, more of the overall setting, and exposition. This can also be immersive, but in a different way.

Both views are legitimate. The third person is not better or worse than the first person and vice versa.
I disagree that third person has no weaknesses and believe that first person is not inferior to third person, in fact it is equal to it and should be used more.

In adult visual novels I like both, but when it's done well I find the first person perspective very compelling. A good option would be an optional third-person view (e.g. a small camera icon) in some scenes, as many developers who focus on first-person already do.
Some developers have a good sense and know when to switch to first person and when not, or when to switch to third person.