I call this effect "forward zoom". You can try it yourself by using a compact digital camera with optical zoom. Walk or run forward, looking at the viewfinder and then zoom in while walking/running. You'll get same effect. What they do in game is they dynamically change FOV (Field of view) to simulate how FOV becomes narrow at high speeds. Which is idiotic considering humans cannot run fast enough to cause this effect naturally (at least not at such scale as in the game). You can experience it in a car however where due to speed, your FOV narrows down and you can only actually perceive a very narrow spectrum of your vision directly in front of you and peripheral vision becomes extended into your otherwise normal vision field, making your FOV limited. But like I said, human evolution made sure your vision doesn't get impaired at speeds humans can achieve on foot. We don't have high speed vehicles for long enough for us to adapt and evolve in such a way to be able to perceive high speed motion without affecting our FOV. Hm, I wonder how cheetahs are affected at their high speeds...