Most video games are played from a first-person perspective (think Doom or Half-Life), in third person (Max Payne, Tomb Raider), or they offer both perspectives (Skyrim). But what about the second person? How could a video game apply it properly? After all, it's usually associated with guides or instructions, not so much with action. Some videos on the Web use the second person as a joke, but there's a very specific case that deserves to be studied closely...
There are games that do an extraordinary job with their cameras, while others can't get it together and ruin the whole experience. There are also times when the limit of a perspective plays in its favor (Dead Space is a good example), and of course, there are always mods or hacks that modify it completely. Then we find "evolutionary leaps", among which Fallout stands out. The first two games in the series boast an isometric perspective, but once Bethesda took control, everything fell under the domain of the first person. So... first or third person? Is that all there is? What about the second person?
It's not very common in the world of video games, but that changes once we move to projects like the the "choose your own adventure" books, and the world was left open-mouthed after the release of Bandersnatch. Even so, Nick Robinson explains a case that could well be considered the most compelling in favor of the second person in video games. It's the last mission of chapter 6 in "Driver: San Francisco", called "The Target".
Long story short, a police officer (John Tanner) has the power to "enter" other people's bodies and take control of them while they drive, a power he uses to stop a dangerous criminal, Charles Jericho. The officer assumes the role of a criminal named Ordell (whom he quickly moves up within the organization) to undo Jericho's plans from the inside... but there's a problem.
Ordell becomes Leila's driver, Jericho's right-hand woman. The order both have is to finish off Tanner... who is inside Ordell. The player, from Ordell's perspective, must chase himself, with an extra twist: the vehicle he drives is not Ordell's, but Tanner's Dodge Challenger. In other words, the game uses Ordell's first person (which the player doesn't control) to create a "second person".
The game applies some tricks to make the mission work. Ordell's car is controlled by AI, a clock sets time limits, and the overall route is quite closed... but there's a way to break the whole process. The timer activates as soon as you enter the mission zone, however, by going in reverse and driving in the opposite direction, Ordell's "second-person camera" will follow you throughout the city, forever.
Nick managed to crash the game once he introduced Tanner's car into an alley, reached the other end, turned 180 degrees, and started driving toward Ordell. The AI controlling Ordell's car had no choice but to go backwards, and after a few seconds, the glitch appeared.
The error was so deep that the restart option disappeared, and he could only keep going. Undoubtedly, one of the strangest missions ever seen in a video game, but the important thing is that it gives us a fairly solid idea of the "second person" as a main perspective. Do you remember any other example besides "Driver: San Francisco"? Leave a comment!
https://old.neoteo.com/conducir-un-coche-tercera-persona-dron/
