Why is it so hard to ride a horse in first person in a video game?

[StaceyPowers]

For some reason, it seems universally true that riding a horse is easier in third person than in first in games. But I don’t understand on a practical level why this is true. Does anyone know how to explain it?

[Withywarlock]

At a wild guess, it's probably because your depth perception has changed so suddenly and dramatically. In typical video games when you mount up, you're not controlling your player avatar so much as you're now controlling the mount itself. And horses are very different animals to us bipedal humanoids, so their locomotive mechanics and where their head is will be harder to adjust to with that sort of camera. Similar problems are in World of Warcraft where - for all intents and purposes - a mount is just a movement speed buff, and you're still in control of your avatar with a different model. You might know where your feet are unmounted, and therefore can walk up to a ledge without much fear of falling off, a mount is a lot harder to guage. because you're looking at it from the rider's perspective, not the mount's wherever their limbs might be.

As far as I can tell it's all about perception. In third person you can see which way your horse's body is pointing, which legs are going in which direction, and where the weight is when jumping, rearing up, or receiving an attack. In first person, because you're focussed on what's in front of you rather than underneath you, you have to do a lot more guesswork. The camera and the horse's body not being in the same places might also disrupt things too (as in nearly every non-VR game the character's entire body turns because their neck is frozen stiff).

That's a lot of words to say I don't know.

[Heatman]

1 hour ago, Withywarlock said:

At a wild guess, it's probably because your depth perception has changed so suddenly and dramatically. In typical video games when you mount up, you're not controlling your player avatar so much as you're now controlling the mount itself. And horses are very different animals to us bipedal humanoids, so their locomotive mechanics and where their head is will be harder to adjust to with that sort of camera. Similar problems are in World of Warcraft where - for all intents and purposes - a mount is just a movement speed buff, and you're still in control of your avatar with a different model. You might know where your feet are unmounted, and therefore can walk up to a ledge without much fear of falling off, a mount is a lot harder to guage. because you're looking at it from the rider's perspective, not the mount's wherever their limbs might be.

As far as I can tell it's all about perception. In third person you can see which way your horse's body is pointing, which legs are going in which direction, and where the weight is when jumping, rearing up, or receiving an attack. In first person, because you're focussed on what's in front of you rather than underneath you, you have to do a lot more guesswork. The camera and the horse's body not being in the same places might also disrupt things too (as in nearly every non-VR game the character's entire body turns because their neck is frozen stiff).

That's a lot of words to say I don't know.

The players perception is spot on what's likely to be the challenging factor in making it seem like it's difficult to ride horses in first person than in third person. 

[The Blackangel]

It's a POV issue. You have tunnel vision in first person and can only see what's directly in front of you. For example, when you approach something that is on the ground, it disappears from sight. But it's still there. In third person your field of vision is enlarged drastically. This doesn't change whether or not you're on a horse. You still have the tunnel vision in first person from on your mount, and the all around vision in third person from on your mount. And from looking at it from a bit of a distance, you can easily and accurately see what is going on, what the terrain is like, and where you're pointed, much much easier. When you dismount, you're obviously free to go back to first person if that's how you play. But regardless of viewing preference, I would recommend that everyone always switches to third person when riding. it doesn't matter what game you're playing.

The only games I can think of that willingly play in first person are Hexen, and South Park 64. But that's just because that's the only option. There is no third person option on those two games.

[Heatman]

1 minute ago, The Blackangel said:

It's a POV issue. You have tunnel vision in first person and can only see what's directly in front of you. For example, when you approach something that is on the ground, it disappears from sight. But it's still there. In third person your field of vision is enlarged drastically. This doesn't change whether or not you're on a horse. You still have the tunnel vision in first person from on your mount, and the all around vision in third person from on your mount. And from looking at it from a bit of a distance, you can easily and accurately see what is going on, what the terrain is like, and where you're pointed, much much easier. When you dismount, you're obviously free to go back to first person if that's how you play. But regardless of viewing preference, I would recommend that everyone always switches to third person when riding. it doesn't matter what game you're playing.

The only games I can think of that willingly play in first person are Hexen, and South Park 64. But that's just because that's the only option. There is no third person option on those two games.

It's just as if feels for me shootings arrows in first person and in third person. It's a very big challenge for me trying to hit a mark in the first person gameplay.