Optional: wear a hat while playing.
When Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was first revealed, players quickly noticed that the game takes place largely from a first-person perspective. As in, you see the action through Indy’s eyes, rather than watching over his shoulder.
This creative decision wouldn’t come as a big surprise to anyone that has been following its developers, MachineGames, over the last few years. Their famous Wolfenstein series is also shown from a first-person point of view.
But why did they decide to stick with that first-person view for their Indy game? Thanks to the official Xbox podcast, which published a deep-dive discussion of the game after the Xbox Showcase, we now have an answer to that question!
You can see the exact answer at 16:09 in the video version of the podcast, which we’ve embedded below. We’ve also typed it up for you underneath.
Why is Indiana Jones and the Great Circle a first-person game? Perspective explained
When asked about the decision to show Indiana Jones and the Great Circle from a first-person POV, game director Jerk Gustafsson explained on the Official Xbox Podcast: “I think I can go back to what we talked a little bit about previously, when when it comes to Indiana Jones not being this, you know, guns blazing action hero, it’s something that we have been focused on a lot.
“When it comes to gameplay, he solves problems with his mind first and really relies on smarts, not this excessive combat that we have seen or done before with the Wolfenstein games.
“So, you know, when you are playing the game, choosing the more authentic, stealthy Indy route or just, you know, some classic old fist-fighting, it will be a benefit to the player and, more times than not, it’ll also make for a very fun and challenging experience.
“But in my mind, what we’re asking the player to do in our game is really to step into the shoes of the world’s most famous archaeologist.
“And we strongly believe that the first-person perspective is what makes this experience the most immersive; it allows the player to focus on the adventure, to feel like they are Indy, interacting with the world around them.
“And also, since first-person games are very much part of our pedigree here at MachineGames, it felt like a natural approach for our take on Indy, and the feature that will set it apart from from many other action adventure games out there. And I think, you know, it is something that brings something really unique to this game.”
Some players might be pleased to hear that certain parts of the game will switch into a third-person perspective.
Example footage shown in the video shows Indy’s face in cutscenes and his whole body in select gameplay moments (eg climbing up a drainpipe).
As Gustafsson said during the podcast: “We do bring in this mix of first and third-person gameplay, just to… you know, we wanted to have the mix of both.
“The players could literally have Indy’s point of view, with first-person allowing us to really be transported into the story.
“But at the same time, we felt doing third-person was also important, so that they can see, you know, the iconic character.”
You can listen to the whole discussion on the Official Xbox Podcast, available on all good podcast apps, where many other games from the recent showcase have also been discussed in detail.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will launch later this year on Xbox Game Pass for PC and Xbox Series X/S, or you could order a physical version from retailers like GAME. We’ll bring you more news as we hear it!
Read more on Indiana Jones:
- Harrison Ford gets emotional about “extraordinary” Indiana Jones legacy
- Indiana Jones director explains why Short Round isn’t in Dial of Destiny
- How to watch all five Indiana Jones movies in chronological order
- Harrison Ford defends Indiana Jones de-ageing: ‘It’s not Photoshop’
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