I am an odd one to bring up this concern and I have never been a "PC Gaming Elitist" but I am more and more disappointed that the First Person view is being neglected in the modern game scene. I really see 3rd person, 2D side scroller, and 1st person as separate and valid game-play presentation styles.
The real questions are:
What controller is best for which view?
What genre of game is best suited to which view?
Do hybrid views work for the game?
For fans of The Dark Mod (who are primarily from the ilk of Thief 1 and Thief 2 fandom ) the question of view is almost a religious matter. The 3rd person play-style of Thief: Deadly Shadows was a big disappointment for them and The Dark Mod provides the next-gen Thief-Style satisfaction with their preferred view.
To me it's all about the right tools for the job.
Pacman = Joystick
Marble Madness = Trackball
Sonic the Hedgehog = 2d Side-Scroller with Gamepad
Mario 64 = Analog Gamepad
House of the Dead = Lightgun
Starwars flight\dogfight games: Flight Yolk
PC Shooter = FPS with mouse and keybord
Thief style stealth game = FPS with mouse and keyboard
Ghostbusters = (Would have been better as an FPS or Lightgun game... Wii waggle doesn't count Sob Sob Sob)
Racing Game: Steering wheel
All the above examples show that any of these game-styles can be enjoyable with their own tailored controls. It is the trend of trying to make all games playable with an analog gamepad that is driving all games towards a homogeneous 3rd person game-style. The new motion controller craze is helping drive some diversity back but mostly it is a coy marketing gimmick rather than any actual concern for proper alignment of control-style to game-style.
Well that's my ramble on the matter.
If you visit The Dark Mod's forums the topic of FPS control for Thief and Thief style gaming will be a recurring matter of discussion.
nbohr1more
