In
this article, the ever lucid Chris Bateman identifies the two dominant perspectives in video-game interfaces as evolving out of playing with toys (first person perspective) and playing with dolls (third person perspective). And then he identifies a third perspective:
However, many potential players couldn’t handle either perspective in the way it was being presented to them in videogames, largely because the controls were too complex. Table-view was much more accessible, as “casual games” like Bejewelled (PopCap, 2001) attests.
Table-view evolved out of playing with stuff on a table top and has served as the metaphor for computer operating system interfaces (Windows, Macintosh and even iOS). And while I have witnessed that the first contact people have with such interfaces is all but intuitive, more and more people are getting used to it -and the young know nothing else.
Chris Bateman points out that because the third person perspective evolved out of doll-play, these sorts of games tend to be more narrative, since stories are a natural aspect of playing with dolls. Which makes me unsure about the suitability of table-view for our types of games. But I'm still attracted to the idea of creating interfaces that are highly accessible.
A question is of course whether this is really only a matter of interface. Maybe the table-view is attractive to so many people because of the distance it creates and they shy away from toy-view or doll-view not because the controls are complex but precisely because they do not desire to be immersed in the virtual world.
