dragonbird said:
I suppose "seeing through the character's eyes" is more immersive than an out-of-body existence?
Anyway, I'd prefer third-person. I'm definitely in the list of people who would rather see My Hero And His Ass while I'm playing. But I still think it would be a good enhancement to the engine if it made it optional.
I'm not really sure that's the case. Most FPS games I've played lack the "peripheral vision" that people possess, to see things that are up, down, and to the sides of your vision, even if you're looking straight ahead. For instance, when I'm playing a FPS shooter, the only things I can see on-screen is a gun or maybe two fists holding a sword and shield. Nothing else. Yet as an exercise, stare straight ahead. You should be able to see more than just your fists in your line of sight.
IMO, first person view offers an extremely limited view through the eyes of a character. It's more like looking through binoculars; what you see through the binoculars is what you see in first person view. You see everything that's straight ahead of you, but anything that's right at the edge of a person's normal view in real life isn't there in first person.
That's mainly why I prefer third person view. I can see everything around my character, and have a better idea of where my character is in relation to the things in the environment surrounding him.