I know this idea will inherently be unpopular. That's fine, I just wanted to get it out there to have it out there (especially after I put so much work into thinking through it).
I want to make it clear that I'm very well aware that this won't happen, but it's something I'd genuinely like to explain because if it were done carefully, I genuinely believe it would be possible to do without ruining the first-person experience. Remember that I'm saying 'option' and that I'm personally intense about that. I'm not saying get rid of first person, and as I discuss below, I think it would have to be handled carefully to make sure it's not the better camera mode to use. If anything, over-the-shoulder would maybe be the slightly worse one.
I've actively hunted for an MMO with this camera style—and can't find it. I like it because it's serious, it's immersive, but it's also cinematic in a way that first-person can't be. When we talk about things like aiming and staying 'immersed', I think people tend to think in the two extremes: Immersive first-person or un-immersive free-camera third person where you're entirely zoomed out and looking from far away at your character, but there are other 'immersive'-heavy options and there are other kinds of immersion. There's the immersion of imagining yourself as a character, but there's also the immersion of seeing the character as a real person in the world.
You typically only see what I'm suggesting in shooters and action games, and in this sense I think having it in MO would make it stand out as a 'serious'-toned MMO. It's a somewhat uncommon camera style, but it keeps the immersive tone quite well. My proposal for a third-person mode (if one were to be considered) would be a blending of the third and first perspectives that favors the first-person principles heavily:
Very Close Over-the-Shoulder Third Person
With what I'm thinking of, you wouldn't be able to zoom in and out, your character direction would still follow your camera direction, and your ability to peek around corners would be nearly nonexistent if the right precautions were taken (which I detail in the breakdown below). Ideally the camera would be as close in the example video, but the character would be close to centered unlike the video where he's far off to the side.
Important Points:
The black wireframe shape behind the character is the camera, and in this example the player will be a Tindremic knight standing behind an object such as a tree with a Khurite warrior in the area.
With this camera style, the Khurite cannot be seen even though she's right there.
If she steps to the side, she can be seen, but considering the width of the knight player's avatar...
He can also be seen by her once she becomes visible to him, even if she's in first person. (Ignore the arm/sword sticking out and focus more on the shoe and the shoulder.)
This applies both near and far, and is extremely similar already to the ability to partially peek out in first person without exposing your entire character model.
The distinct disadvantage of third person, and why I don't think it would necessarily be used as often, is that it leaves a huge blindspot. The knight player's viewpoint still looks like above, while he's plainly visible to her. Ideally, the players would be able to use a button to swap the camera over to the other side.
This is the perspective from the left shoulder camera. Swapping would allow players to account for that blindspot.
What third person has, that first person doesn't, is the concept of 'Cinematic' Immersion. Being able to see your character helps you form a bond with them in a way that first person doesn't—even if it's just the back of their head. They begin to feel like a real character in the world, and not just a pair of hands floating in front of you. They feel like a protagonist in a story that you're writing with every action you take. The way your character styles their beard, hair, and armor/clothing all begin to matter more because you're seeing it all the time. What weapons they carry and how they hold them become apparent even when they're sheathed. Animations of attacks, emotes, and actions like skinning something would also become more clear and would be something the players could appreciate better.
If we can preserve immersion, preserve the intensity of the action combat, prevent corner-peeking, allow it to still focus on aiming-based combat, and keep the serious tone of the game—I don't think it would necessarily be a bad addition to the game. I know that some people are first-person purists, and I don't mean that in a bad way. That's entirely fine, I understand that viewpoint. People have their preferences and there's nothing wrong with that.
This all being said, I know what SV's game design direction and decisions around this have been. I've been playing the game since the early 2010s, I know the first person experience is important to people. I wanted to propose this because I think it's a good combat-appropriate camera type that would offer us a refreshing alternative—without destroying the game or making first person obsolete.
I also think it would make some screenshots and videos even more beautiful and 'cinematic', and that it'd have a lot of appeal to a lot of people who hop into the game and ask 'how do I go third person?' There'll be an answer, but it won't be what they expect. Not the WoW/GW2/BDO/FFXIV/New World style camera, instead it'd be an immersive form of third person that still firmly plants them on the ground, in the world, in the perspective of their character. Something new for an MMO, but something that'd fit right in with MO's tone and vision (in my opinion). Again, I do not envision this as something to replace first person—just as an option. If anything, maybe it would be slightly worse with the character blocking a part of the camera.
I'll still love MO2 without this and it's not a game-breaker for me. I'm not kicking my feet and screaming, and I'm not naively waddling into this saying 'oh I need third person to feel like my other MMOs'. I genuinely think it would add something to the game's atmosphere and experience, that's why I'm throwing the suggestion out there while tackling the concerns that've been brought up about peeking around corners or seeing above bushes that the character is hiding in.
I want to make it clear that I'm very well aware that this won't happen, but it's something I'd genuinely like to explain because if it were done carefully, I genuinely believe it would be possible to do without ruining the first-person experience. Remember that I'm saying 'option' and that I'm personally intense about that. I'm not saying get rid of first person, and as I discuss below, I think it would have to be handled carefully to make sure it's not the better camera mode to use. If anything, over-the-shoulder would maybe be the slightly worse one.
I've actively hunted for an MMO with this camera style—and can't find it. I like it because it's serious, it's immersive, but it's also cinematic in a way that first-person can't be. When we talk about things like aiming and staying 'immersed', I think people tend to think in the two extremes: Immersive first-person or un-immersive free-camera third person where you're entirely zoomed out and looking from far away at your character, but there are other 'immersive'-heavy options and there are other kinds of immersion. There's the immersion of imagining yourself as a character, but there's also the immersion of seeing the character as a real person in the world.
You typically only see what I'm suggesting in shooters and action games, and in this sense I think having it in MO would make it stand out as a 'serious'-toned MMO. It's a somewhat uncommon camera style, but it keeps the immersive tone quite well. My proposal for a third-person mode (if one were to be considered) would be a blending of the third and first perspectives that favors the first-person principles heavily:
Important Points:
- FoV is slightly lower than it is in first person, narrowing the screen to prevent having a wider range of vision by going to third person.
- The camera should likely point slightly in the opposite direction of whatever side it's sitting on. This is what I mean.
- The camera would have to not allow the player to pull the camera further back.
With this camera style, the Khurite cannot be seen even though she's right there.
The distinct disadvantage of third person, and why I don't think it would necessarily be used as often, is that it leaves a huge blindspot. The knight player's viewpoint still looks like above, while he's plainly visible to her. Ideally, the players would be able to use a button to swap the camera over to the other side.
- I think of first-person as an "I" camera, as in "I swung with my sword."
- I think of the un-immersive third person found in other MMOs as a "they" camera, as in "they swung with their sword", it has nothing to do with you—you're just watching things happen from far away and can't see what the character is seeing. That far-above/away perspective makes everything look like a toy/figurine, and allows for things like corner peeking.
- Over-the-shoulder is a unique one, in that you recognize it isn't you—but it still feels personal and immersive, it's a camera perspective that says "We". "We swung with our sword". You're along with the ride, it's still you, but it's also someone else: the character you created, who both is and isn't you. A crowded market still feels like a crowded market, something rushing out of the darkness is still terrifying in the same way it is if you're in first person, you still feel like you're right there on the battlefield. You still see what your character sees.
If we can preserve immersion, preserve the intensity of the action combat, prevent corner-peeking, allow it to still focus on aiming-based combat, and keep the serious tone of the game—I don't think it would necessarily be a bad addition to the game. I know that some people are first-person purists, and I don't mean that in a bad way. That's entirely fine, I understand that viewpoint. People have their preferences and there's nothing wrong with that.
This all being said, I know what SV's game design direction and decisions around this have been. I've been playing the game since the early 2010s, I know the first person experience is important to people. I wanted to propose this because I think it's a good combat-appropriate camera type that would offer us a refreshing alternative—without destroying the game or making first person obsolete.
I also think it would make some screenshots and videos even more beautiful and 'cinematic', and that it'd have a lot of appeal to a lot of people who hop into the game and ask 'how do I go third person?' There'll be an answer, but it won't be what they expect. Not the WoW/GW2/BDO/FFXIV/New World style camera, instead it'd be an immersive form of third person that still firmly plants them on the ground, in the world, in the perspective of their character. Something new for an MMO, but something that'd fit right in with MO's tone and vision (in my opinion). Again, I do not envision this as something to replace first person—just as an option. If anything, maybe it would be slightly worse with the character blocking a part of the camera.
I'll still love MO2 without this and it's not a game-breaker for me. I'm not kicking my feet and screaming, and I'm not naively waddling into this saying 'oh I need third person to feel like my other MMOs'. I genuinely think it would add something to the game's atmosphere and experience, that's why I'm throwing the suggestion out there while tackling the concerns that've been brought up about peeking around corners or seeing above bushes that the character is hiding in.
