Perspectives

Perspectives are the types of views that the player sees in a game. These are:

2D Scrolling
2D Aerial
3D First-person
3D Third-person
3D Isometric

2D Scrolling:

A 2D scrolling game is a game that is viewed from the side. These types of games are usually platformers like Metroid but it is also used a lot in puzzle/ skill games,

Metroid




Space-is-key



Jetpack Joyride



A 2D scrolling game either has a permanent movement system or a background that moves when the character moves. The games above hold all three of these examples, Metroid's background moves with the character, the character never stops moving in Space-is-key and you have to make it jump over obstacles and Jetpack Joyride's background never stops as you move up and down to avoid traps.

2D Aerial:

A 2D aerial game is a game that is viewed from the top. These types of games are usually scrolling shooters, old RPG games and some action games,

1945




The Legend of Zelda



Frogger




A 2D aerial game either has a set background, a scrolling background or a background that moves when the character exits the area, again all three of the said backgrounds are in the examples. Frogger has a set background and the obstacles move in your way. 1945 uses the scrolling background as it's a scrolling shooter, it's background is an ocean style that repeats itself to make the illusion that you are travelling over a large body off water, the game also puts small islands that travel downward to continue the illusion. The Legend of Zelda uses a background that changes when the player exits the area, this allows the player to move freely around the map without it changing when fighting enemies, this also allows the player to escape from enemies.

3D first-person:

A 3D first-person game is a game that is viewed from the characters point of view this is usually a shooter game or a survival horror game,

Battlefield 4



Amnesia: descent into to darkness



The first person perspective allows the game to become more immersive this is especially useful for survival horror games as the player becomes more involved with the game, the music start to make them nervous, they start hearing noises, they become more cautious about their surroundings making the general game experience better. The first person perspective also has an entire sub-genre to do with the shooter genre, first person shooter, better known as FPS. The FPS genre uses the first person perspective by allowing players to hold their players guns and aim them to allow for better accuracy.

3D third person:

A 3D third person game is a game that is viewed from over the shoulder or behind the character, this is usually a shooter game, an adventure game or an RPG,

Transformers: fall of Cybertron



Uncharted 3



Monster hunter 4



The third person perspective allows the player to view all of their character, this can be good for looking at environments for adventure games, trying to find the next part to climb, otherwise you would just be looking at a wall, it also allows the players to look round corners in shooting games, just like first person, third person has a sub genre of shooter: third person shooter otherwise know as TPS. The third person perspective also allows the player to better understand the size difference between a player and another object in the game, this is especially useful in RPG games for giant boss fights.

3D isometric:

A 3D isometric game is viewed from a angle this is usually 45 degrees at the X and Y axis's. The games that use this perspective are an RPG or a turn based strategy, also known as TBS.

Diablo 3



Xcom: enemy unknown



3D isometric views are used to see above the player, this allows them to see enemies above their cover but also keeps the amount of depth in the game that is needed.