Creating an Immersive World - 1st vs 3rd Person Explained

The Sea of Thieves site has been updated with a new developer blog post by Lead Designer Mike "The Mutinous". The discussion centers around the design decision to keep the game in first person view and how it creates a more immersive game world according to Rare. This decision was one of the first and most critical decisions made at the game's inception.

Reasons given for the first person viewpoint:

• players are looking through the eyes of their player which feels more immersive
• players only see what is in range of vision, not what is behind, again enhancing immersion
• it provides a more realistic view of the world
• players stop, look around, listen and make decisions based on what is in the field of view
• more of the "moment" is taken in -- not by watching a character, but by experiencing things as that character. "Everything feels more immediate and real"
• strengthens cooperative play - "If the crew are discussing their course through the world, they can choose to huddle around the map table on the ship and inspect it. The crew can then refer to a specific treasure map and discuss where it might be by physically showing the treasure map by holding it out up close. "

The blog further acknowledges, however, that players like to see and appreciate their own character's looks and customization. To this end, Rare is looking into selective use of third person in addition to being able to view one's character on the inventory screen.

Check out the full details on the Sea of Thieves site.