Games with "Unique" PoVs

I've seen side views, top views, anywhere from 10% side + 90% above, to 90% side + 10% above, and a countless variety of isometric/diagonal views. I think that covers everything regarding the angle that's possible.

I think a very wide FOV makes a pretty good impact for top-down and side views. If you use sprites, the FOV needs to literally be drawn into them, but it adds a lot of depth to cityscapes and in-door areas.

What type of game are you going for? Might help to inspire ideas.

From underneath the player? Through a glass floor? You could build at least a few interesting mechanics around that(floor cracking/getting dirty).

Really though, in a 2D game, you're limited in the point of view you have to choose from a lot more than a 3D one. Trying too hard to make innovations with the point of view is likely to leave you with a game not fun to play due solely to the POV.

Quote:

I have been trying to think of game ideas that involve a unique point of view (2d). Most games you either view it from the side (side scroller/platformer) or from above the player (Zelda, Final Fantasy, ect ect).

What about Isometric? Or First Person?

lol. I just watched Eagle Eye, and while I found the movie forgettable, I think that's a unique perspective that games rarely (if ever) utilize. Rather than having a fixed perspective, instead you could have a game where you hijack/hack into perspectives, or manipulate the environment to create new perspectives (going off of the inspiration, say, coercing someone to move a camera to a new position).

Don't forget about the back view(SkyRoads, old racing games)

Quote:

Original post by Zouflain lol. I just watched Eagle Eye, and while I found the movie forgettable, I think that's a unique perspective that games rarely (if ever) utilize. Rather than having a fixed perspective, instead you could have a game where you hijack/hack into perspectives, or manipulate the environment to create new perspectives (going off of the inspiration, say, coercing someone to move a camera to a new position).

That would be interesting. A resident Evil 1 like game where you are actually remote controlling a robot/person from a secure point. And depending on which security cameras you gain access to, you'll get different perspectives to work with and in turn create your own blind spots.

I've always thought playing the game through a series of CCTV/security cameras would be pretty cool. Could have some great tie-ins with the storyline and overall gameplay too.

One idea I had was a small robot performing tasks in a room. You can only view the room from a certain angle (a window or a camera) and it provides a limiting factor that you need to overcome... Somehow. In later levels perhaps you would be able to buy an ultrasound "camera" to get an idea of the level.

2nd Person Shooter. Only way I can think of implementing something like this is by looking at yourself through the eyes of the guy you shoot.

How about a 3D gameworld using a side-shooter-style 2D view? You would always view the player character from the same angle, but you could move deeper into the Z-dimension and the camera would follow.

Quote:

Original post by WeirdoFu That would be interesting. A resident Evil 1 like game where you are actually remote controlling a robot/person from a secure point. And depending on which security cameras you gain access to, you'll get different perspectives to work with and in turn create your own blind spots.

Sorry for off-topic, but have you ever tried Experience 112? It's exactly the kind of game you describe. Might wanna try that one out :)

Animal Crossing for the DS has the "rolling barrel" FOV where the horizontal axis dominates but the vertical axis is limited. Meaning you won't see any buildings until they are probably closer than 20 feet from you vertically. I think this worked very well for the platform that it was on. I don't think it was in any way intended to make up for limits of rendering many models, but it can very well be used like that.

Quote:

Original post by m0nkfish I've always thought playing the game through a series of CCTV/security cameras would be pretty cool. Could have some great tie-ins with the storyline and overall gameplay too.

You mean something like Night Trap for the Sega CD? Waaaaay back in 1992. Boy that game was terrible.

I liked the pseudo-perspective, over the shoulder view in Space Harrier.

The view was pretty interesting in killer7. Being able to see forward wasn't necessary at all times, so the camera was free to sit at some strange angles. My favorite was when it was looking up at your character from the front. Check out videos of it for examples.