@Student: Judge it by yourself with RE4.

But that's third person, just over-the-shoulder. It's no more "second person" than Gears of War is.

No it isn't, it's over the shoulder 3rd person.

IF you were the eyes of Ashley, but controlling Leon, then it would arguably be 2nd person.

Any game where the camera is positioned as if there are a pair of floating invisible eyes in the environment is a 3rd person game.... because the "third person" is a godlike character, you can see, hear, control things in the environment, but you are not really there. So all main Resident Evils are 3rd person, it's just the older ones are fixed camera and RE4 is over the shoulder.

For a 2nd person game, the camera would essentially be a first person view, but not the view of the character you control.... so you are actually part of the environment/story/game.

I thought second person would be watching the main player of the game, kind of impossible to do.

Aren't the skate games 2nd person since you control the skater but the view is that of the camera man following you?

1st person --> I'm the hero, I move seeing through his eyes.

3st person --> I control the hero, but i see him shooting the enemy from outside (camera).

2nd person --> I control de hero, but I se him through the enemies eyes!

"I kill you"  --> "I see the hero killing me, but I control the hero. I'm in the enemy, but controlling the hero, so I have to... kill my self? no way, that's game over! but then do i have to kill him? No, I'm the hero, I mean him.  Okay, but if I don't kill myself using the hero, then I, I mean, the enemy will kill the hero... Aaarrrgh..."

That's why there are no 2nd person shooters or games... because it's so confusing... it has no sense neither...

I'm going to have to say that there is no second person.  You can say what you want about controlling the character through the enmies eyes, etc...but you're just stretching the analogy.

In grammar....

1st person...I like to go to the store.  It gives me something to do.

2nd person...You walk into a room.  You notice something different and then you see it: Your girlfriend is sleeping with another man.

3rd person...He reaches into the nightstand, quietly, and pulls out the gun he's only shot once at a firing range.  The grip is warm against his fingers and his hands aren't shaking like they should be.

FPS games are told from the first person perpective.  You are the avatar.

Third person shooters have you portraying an avatar on the screen (from whatever angle).

The second person analogy just doesn't apply.  Even if you were controlling the character through the enemy's eyes, it would still be a third-person perpective.

At least, that's the way I see it.

This is an excellent explanation of third-person perspective as it applies to videogames.

Thanks.

I think I agree with super_etecoon too though about 2nd person.

What I described as 2nd person in my post (in italics) is more a combination of 1st and 3rd person into a scenario, and really combining 1st and 3rd doesn't make 2nd person.

Yeah, I started to respond with a "defense" of second-person perspective, but decided its rather pedantic and ultimately academic. Plus, it makes me head hurt thinking about it.  :)