What is the appeal of fixed camera angles?

[La Femme Fatale]

I never really got why people are so crazy about fixed camera angles and tank controls. I find the controls are always a pain in the ass and it's so much easier to become engrossed in the game if you see what the characters are seeing, rather than from some random camera in the sky.

Not that I'd begrudge anyone their personal preferences, I'm just curious as to why people like them so much.

 

[Venomous Oddball]

I think nowadays it's nostalgia. Back when we still had them a lot of people complained that they were stupid and it was too hard to see, and that it was too hard to control and getting repetitive. But now that we have the behind the shoulder view, people miss the fixed angles and tank controls. So yeah, I'd say for most people it's just nostalgia now.

 

[mjk321]

it's part nostalgia for me, and also I feel it's better of the 2 control schemes. you could cleverly hide zombies behind corners or blind spot, hearing the groans and knowing that they're in the room with you without really seeing them exactly. tank controls gives you the feeling of vulnerability, so it adds to the scare factor, keeps you more tense than usual. both of those limitations added to the horror in my opinion, and modern control schemes with the over-the-shoulder camera actually makes games less scary for me, you could just look around the corner and check everything before advancing, and if you are surrounded you don't have the hindrance of being limited in your movements, thus making it MUCH easier to dodge or escape a tricky situation, making it less scary.

 

[ROCKMAN X]

I don't really care for controls but fixed camera angles are cinematic it gives a new perspective to the game rather than the bland 3rd person shoulder camera you see in almost EVERY game made after RE4.

 

[Springhosen]

Like a couple others have said, the hindrance to your sight and the limited movements make it scarier; it's more satisfying.

 

[Spikeyroxas]

Theres nothing scarier in the older resident evils than not knowing what's around the corner due to a strategic camera angle change.

 

[Agent Spike]

I don't believe it's nostalgia. My friends and I grew up with Resident Evil and we never complained about the tank controls.

As for fixed camera angles, it's just for a cinematic effect. I personally love that. Especially in Silent Hill and early RE games.

 

[echoey]

In the Remake for Resident Evil, the fixed camera angles compliment the graphics quite well ...Except, sometimes its kinda weird fighting bosses. Can't say what I prefer out of the two. Ideally I prefer 3rd person but what I don't like about some 3rd person games is being so close to the character in 3rd person view that all I can see is the characters back, like in recent games MGSV The Phantom Pain when your in corridors and confined spaces the camera just zooms in on your back and you cannot see anything, Also In Resident Evil 6 there were some parts that felt really strange because yet again all you could see was the characters back and not what's in front of you. Its like you get to peak over there shoulder, with poor peripheral vision when in reality you'd have more of a focus on what is directly in front of you.

In RE5 they added some DLC a long time ago with Chris and Jill exploring yet another mansion, And I think in a few of the rooms you could switch between fixed and shoulder mounted camera angles, That was pretty cool.

 

[ResidentDevil]

I think the fixed camera angle is some sort of RE's trademark/gimmick and it makes the game arguably scarier than TPS which I don't disagree. Now if you look at Until Dawn the fixed camera style can actually work well in modern survival horror games as well.

 

[Scrumpeh]

I think there is a certain charm to the fixed camera angles that I can't really explain. I just love the look of it.

Though I sometimes wonder why there is a camera in the sky, like you say. I think I've finally figured it out.

 

[echoey]

Fixed camera angles adds a atmospheric and movie-like feel to the game. Plus it's a puzzle game tendency to have fixed camera positions, they have fixed camera angles to make you think about things more directly. It's hard to explain but the camera helps you focus on specific puzzles, surroundings are also designed to throw you off, or sometimes the opposite.

My post before was more of a rant about a game I played recently... with terribly camera moments. (Cough MGS)