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Camera Perspective Switch - TV Tropes

  • ️Mon Dec 05 2011

Camera Perspective Switch (trope)

Choose between first- or third-person perspective.

This is a gaming trope where the player's perspective will change between views, such as switching from first person perspective to third person. In some games, the player has the option of switching between these views at their whim; some third person games actually have a designated button for switching to first person, usually to get a better look at something, since third person view doesn't always give a good view of details or faraway things.

Other games handle this dynamically, without player input, depending what action the player is taking. For example, a game that's normally first person might temporarily switch into third person view as the player climbs into a vehicle, and is likely to stay there for the rest of a vehicular section. Alternatively, a game that's usually in third person perspective might switch into first person mode as your character uses binoculars or a scoped weapon.

This is very common in racing games (in fact, most driving games will have a button specifically dedicated to switching between several different views), so don't include any examples from that genre unless it's particularly different than the usual convention.

Also this is specifically about the camera switching perspective in-game. Cut-scenes depicting the action from a different perspective don't count, since this is specifically done for the story, not the gameplay.

Not to be confused with Switching P.O.V., a plot trope where a story switches between protagonists/narrators.

Examples:

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Action Game 

Action Adventure 

  • Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The game is largely played from a first-person perspective akin to the developer's Wolfenstein series, but shifts to a third-person perspective during certain environmental interactions such as sliding down a rope or solving puzzles.
  • Metroid
    • In the Metroid Prime series, the camera switches to the third person while in Morph Ball mode.
    • Metroid: Other M is mostly played in third person, aside from firing missiles or the grapple beam, where you must tilt the wiimote towards the screen to go into first person mode. The problem here, of course, is that you can't move while in first person.
  • In the 3D The Legend of Zelda games, your view switches from third to first person when using the bow or other items that can be aimed anywhere (Except the boomerang, where the camera hangs over Link's shoulder).

Beat 'Em Up 

  • In Battletoads, the first boss fight happens in second person perspective (the player sees from the enemy's point of view).

First Person Shooter 

  • Borderlands switches between first-person (when on foot) and third-person (when using a vehicle).
  • The Call of Duty series, in its multiplayer iterations, will switch a player's view to third person as they die, and then will rewind and switch to the opposing player's view (second-person perspective) to show how they were killed (known as the "killcam").
  • Command & Conquer: Renegade is a FPS that switches to third person when riding a vehicle or climbing a ladder (not to mention cutscenes). It also allows you to switch to third-person when on foot.
  • Crysis has a button for toggling between 1st and 3rd person camera while driving vehicles.
  • Eradicator allows players to manually toggle the view from first-person to third-person. Said feature is available for all three playable characters, too, although kicking ass in first-person is usually easier due to having a crosshair onscreen (and marketing materials tend to focus on the first-person aspects).
  • In Halo: Combat Evolved, you normally see in a first-person perspective through Master Chief's eyes, but whenever you climb into a vehicle the game switches to third person to give you a better view. The game also switches to a third person camera when the player dies. Later games in the Halo series also switch into third person whenever the player gets on a stationary turret, picks up a detached turret (or flamethrower), gets into the passenger seat of a vehicle, or use certain Armor/Spartan abilities like Armor Lock or Ground Pound.
  • The Jedi Knight series automatically switches between first-person and third-person view, when you switch to a ranged weapon or lightsaber, respectively. You can manually switch to third-person with a ranged weapon, but after Jedi Outcast, not to first-person with a saber.
  • Left 4 Dead will switch to third person mode during some actions, such as when your character is applying a first aid kit, or when you've been knocked off an edge and are holding on for dear life. The PC version allows switching between the two on the fly via console command.
  • Overwatch switches from first-person to third when using certain Hero skills, such as Reinhardt's Barrier Shield, Junkrat's RIP-Tire, and Reaper's Death Blossom. It also switches to third-person when emoting and upon death, and while dead you can view other members of your team in third-person until you respawn.
  • Primal Carnage: Humans normally see from a first-person perspective, but it will switch to third-person if they're caught in a dinosaur's attack, when they're performing a taunt, or if they're dead.
  • Team Fortress 2 switches to third person when you perform a taunt. This can also be useful for looking round corners to see if there's an enemy player or a sentry ahead (or taking them by surprise with a taunt kill). Additionally, the camera also switches to third-person view when your team loses a match, where your character throws his hands up, cowering, un-armed, while the other team gets a speed buff and 100% random critical hits to clear out the losers! Last, the game switches to a 3rd person view of your killer when you die so you can see where you were attacked from (particularly important when dealing with snipers). If you were gibbed and any part of your body is visible in the shot the game helpfully points out where your pieces are and what they are.
  • Games running on Unreal Engine 2 usually have a key (F4 by default) bound as a third-person key, letting the player change perspective when on-foot or in a vehicle (which otherwise default to first- and third-person, respectively). However, some games consider it a cheat (Killing Floor, for example, only allows you to use it in singleplayer and prevents you from leveling perks or unlocking Achievements until you restart the match if you do), not to mention you can't adjust your aim up or downwards while in third-person.

Platform Game 

  • The boss battle with the Momma Tyhrranoid in Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal goes into second person perspective as the boss chases you down a hall; that is, the camera is from the boss's perspective.

Puzzle Game 

  • Portal 2's co-op mode will switch the player's perspective from 1st to 3rd when performing a taunt/dance.
  • The Talos Principle has a button for cycling between first-person camera and three variants of a third-person camera: one positioned directly behind the player character and two hanging over their left and right shoulders. The Talos Principle 2 similarly has a button for toggling between first- and third-person camera, but here the position of the latter is set only through the game settings.

Real Time Strategy 

  • Rock Raiders gives you the option of playing things from a Rock Raider's perspective. What makes this a somewhat unique example is that this game is an RTS. You can actually take direct control over a Rock Raider and move him around. While not very practical, it was mostly useful for the fun of it in a low-pressure mission.
  • The Dungeon Keeper games are normally played from a top-down perspective, but allow you take possession of any of the creatures under your command, switching to first person in the process.

Role Playing Game 

  • Albion uses Three-Quarters View for indoor and wilderness environments, while switching to a 3D view for cities and dungeons.
  • Deus Ex: Human Revolution features first-person gameplay that switches into third person when taking cover.
  • Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, and Fallout 4 allow the player to voluntarily switch between first and third person perspective, though the game will automatically switch to third person during a character's death animation. Also, if the player is using V.A.T.S. the camera will occasionally switch to a dramatic third-person shot whenever an enemy dies, showing their death in slow motion.
  • The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion also allows the same 1st/3rd person camera system as Fallout 3 and New Vegas, as does its direct sequel Skyrim, although the former was considered largely unplayable in third person. Skyrim also includes killcams (similar to V.A.T.S. in Fallout 3), where, if you're playing in first-person, the camera will switch to third-person when you trigger a Finishing Move to show your character decapitating/dismembering/suplexing/etc. the enemy. Thanks to a patch, there are killcams for ranged and magic attacks as well, which are shown in the same way.
  • Mass Effect 3, like its predecessors, normally has Third-Person Shooter gameplay, but switches to first-person perspective in two situations: piloting an Atlas mech in the vanilla game, and piloting the underwater mech in the "Leviathan" DLC.
  • Shin Megami Tensei IV and Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse use a third-person perspective for exploration, and a first-person perspective for dialogue, cutscenes, and battles.
  • Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines switches between first-person and third-person views in certain contexts, such as conversations, and the player can switch between the two at any time. Interestingly, the game will automatically switch to a first-person perspective whenever the player equips a firearm, although it is possible to fire a gun in third-person; it's merely incredibly awkward.

Shoot Em Up 

  • In Star Fox, you can switch between cockpit camera and an external one during levels in space.

Simulation Game 

  • Orbiter allows for toggling between cockpit view and external view. The latter is not recommended for controlling spacecraft as it hides the MFDs necessary for such operations like landing, docking or changing orbit.

Stealth Based Game 

  • Metal Gear games switch between 1st & 3rd person depending on the actions the player is performing. If you are crawling through tunnels, guiding Nikita missiles or aiming with certain weapons, the view is 1st person. Otherwise, it is 3rd person. Certain versions of the game allow the player to voluntarily change to first-person, and from the second game onwards the player can aim weapons in first-person.
  • Hitman games from the second one onwards allow switching to first-person view (though some animations, such as lockpicking, still force a third person view).

Third Person Shooter 

  • Lost Planet features the ability to toggle the game's perspective from a third-person view to an over-the-older angle and an expanded FOV. The Colonies Edition later added ability to change the camera perspective from third-person, zoomed-in, and first-person views with the D-pad Up or Down with the default control scheme.
  • The Splatoon series uses third-person by default, but smoothly transition to a first-person view when charging up a scoped weapon.

Wide Open Sandbox 

  • Minecraft allows the player to toggle into 3rd person view with a press of a button.
  • In No Man's Sky, you can open the quick menu to toggle between 1st and 3rd person camera. The camera settings are separate for on-foot travel, exocraft (vehicles made for planetside exploration) and spaceships; by default the camera for the first two is external while spaceships are piloted from the cockpit view.
  • In Rodina, you can open a menu while piloting your spaceship to toggle between a cockpit view and an external view.