Skyrim allows the player to alternate between first person and third person perspectives almost instantaneously. Earlier in the semester we read Wolf’s article, Invented Space: Toward a Taxonomy of On- and Off-Screen Space in Video Games[1], which described the effect of a player’s perspective on the development of an interactive three-dimensional environment. In chapter 10, Wolf describes how “the first player perspective increases the importance of off-screen space” because the player is now “within the game”. Placing the player within the game, takes away the ‘objective’ perspective of the third person. The player may be less aware of what is going on off screen. However, this perspective forces the player to be more aware of the game’s diegetic environment, even the elements they can’t see.
While I haven’t played enough to develop a preference for first or third person perspective while playing Skyrim, I did a quick google search to find what most players preferred. In summary, most players varied in how they used the first vs. third person perspective in the game. Often, players prefer the third person when in combat or exploring their environment. This perspective gives the player the ability to ‘search’ and identify elements in the environment better than in first person. If in first person where you are within the game, and an enemy comes at you from behind, you may be caught off guard. Disadvantaging the player in this situation. While navigating the environment, third person can be advantageous when searching a room, or cave so that you can notice multiple elements in the environment all at once and you are not limited by what the player is directly facing.
A few players said they preferred the first person perspective because they felt more immersion in the game. Some of them never switched between first and third person because they prefer the immersive qualities of the perspective. In a way, they may feel that playing in third person breaks them out of the Magic Circle sense that they have developed while playing in the first person. First person is also preferred when interacting intimately with the environment. For example, picking up alchemy sets and other tedious tasks that require the player to look at the object closely, or even shooting an arrow, which requires some precision.


Overall, the ability for players to choose their preferred gameplay perspective in Skyrim is an example of distinguishing the differences between Wolf’s on and off screen gameplay. The choice also allows players to identify the advantages and disadvantages of the different perspectives in different forms of gameplay within the same game.
[1] Mark J. P. Wolf. “Inventing Space: Toward a Taxonomy of On- and Off-Screen Space in Video Games.” Film Quarterly 51, no. 1 (1997): 11-23. doi:10.2307/1213527.