Crosshair

One of my favorite types of media (pictures, music, shows, etc) are ones that generate the exact same reaction regardless of the person. It's quite entertaining to be in a Discord call, post a picture, and each time someone new joins, and they same the exact same thing as the last three. So, let me show you something that did that, something that'd perfectly fit on r/mildlyinfuriating.

This, is Goldeneye Rogue Agent.

For those unaware, it was EA's first attempt at a James Bond game released between Bonds, when MGM were still searching for Daniel Craig, but frankly, that's irrelevant.

It doesn't really matter what type of game this is other than being a First Person Shooter. What's bizarre is this crosshair placement, and when I eventually cover this game, will be the subject of several comments.

Now, this is not the first time it's happened. In-fact, one of the most famous FPS franchises of all time, Halo, didn't center it's crosshair. Even Bungie's modern franchise Destiny, doesn't center it.

The theory is Bungie places their crosshair a little bit below center, to both account and encourage the game's verticality. It's much easier to account for enemies in the air, or players jumping floors, when your perspective is inherently pointed upward.

It's a subtle refinement, one of many, that make Bungie's games so much fun to play on Controller, and part of how the FPS genre became so much more refined on the platform compared to earlier attempts like Goldeneye and Timesplitters, as great as those games may have been.

But this… this directs your eyes to the floor…

I could think of a couple applications for this. Games emphasizing traps for instance, I could see an FPS in Vietnam encouraging you to focus on the ground to look out for hazards.

That's definitely not a description for Goldeneye though.

What's even more baffling is that it wasn't a set decision. The first screenshots released for the game clearly show a conventional first person perspective. Though that might explain why the scope is cut off at the top. This decision was made so late in development, they couldn't adjust the UI to not look so silly.

The only reason I can fathom is putting the crosshair up would make headshots easier, but with this game's horrible aiming system, refinement of the controls would've been a better use of someone's time.

I can't say there's a really a point I'm making here. It's hard to make one when there is absolutely nothing to hint towards this decision. No word from developers, no mention of it in promo, and no immediate intention…

It's just weird, and now you too are aware of it.

You're welcome.