Character POV

[Senkusha]

As somebody who really gets into writing, I've found that I favor the first person perspective when writing. My gaming is no exception, as I like to really get into my character's head and body. I've found that it helps with generating character action that other players can latch onto. What are your thoughts on writing in this perspective? Also, which Point of View do you prefer when gaming PbP?

[hakootoko]

It's an interesting question.

I use third person (i.e. Bob charges the dragon) exclusively in PbP to distinguish between what I want and what the character wants in character. I only use first person when the character is speaking (i.e. Bob says "I think Jane deserves the magic sword"). I have to admit that I slip up in live play and sometimes use first person where I intend to use third person. PbP is less rushed, so I rarely make such mistakes here.

I think that "distinguish between what I want and what the character wants in character" is important. It helps me put my personal preferences aside when making in-character decisions.

[Basil_Bottletop]

1st Person viewpoint in this medium is a tough ask most of the time. IN PbP, the game is generally considered a co-authoring of a story between fellow writers. It's very hard to follow along when everyone writes in 1st person because the narrator shifts from post to post. The consistency also varies, making for a very disjointed storyboard. It's often best to use 3rd Person so that the flow of the story can be read by your fellow tablemates more clearly.

Writing in 3rd Person also helps steer the writer away from getting too in the weeds about information that the other characters cannot actually interact with because it's all internal. It's okay to have internal thoughts -sometimes depicted in PbP through italics- but there should always be something in your post that other characters can physically read and react to in some way. In 1st Person, it's often the habit of the writer to do lots of inner monologues and those can easily slip into passive aggressive acts towards other characters. It's consider passive aggressive because by most accounts the other characters/players don't get a chance to respond to those inner feelings because they never surface.

In novels, I know that 1st Person has become quite the popular writing style. LitRPGs, Isekai(s), and a few other game-related novelizations are really pushing it further down the road. Jim Butcher and Patrick Rothfuss are very popular writers that also used it.

It often grates on my nerves because bad writing or bad story-telling gets handwaved as an 'unreliable narrator'. It's a cop out, Harry*.

 

*I still read Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden, but it sometimes irritates me that Harry is the narrator and it's not in 3rd Person. The tension, the 'romance', and some other aspects of the stories in those books could benefit from a 3rd person notation.

Edited February 23 by Basil_Bottletop (see edit history)

[Roughtrade]

1 hour ago, Senkusha said:

Also, which Point of View do you prefer when gaming PbP?

I tend to flip between points of view. Third person most of the time, but there are times when I like introducing a scene with a touch of inner monologue. This happens more often with modern games than with fantasy/medieval settings.

 

55 minutes ago, Basil_Bottletop said:

*I still read Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden, but it sometimes irritates me that Harry is the narrator and it's not in 3rd Person. The tension, the 'romance', and some other aspects of the stories in those books could benefit from a 3rd person notation.

Roger Zelazny used first person point of view for his Nine Princes in Amber series to great effect. Foremost, it meant the reader was learning things at the same time the main character was. But mostly, in my opinion, it is because his main character is an unreliable, self confessed, liar. He manipulates the story and at times you are not certain if he is being truthful.

By the Way : This works really well in a book. Probably not a good tactic in a game. Never lie to your GM.

[Basil_Bottletop]

I forgot about the Amber series. I got the omnibus from my GM for Christmas one year and then he told me: "Don't read it right now, I've pilfered things from it for this campaign and I can't have you knowing things too early." So then I waited a few months after that campaign had ended to give it a shot. I don't think I finished it, but it's certainly a good example of why 1st Person is tough to do in a collaborative gaming environment.

[rorytheromulan]

Always third-person. It's a style preference and also I don't like using first-person because it gives me Main Character Syndrome vibes.

Sometimes I will dip into 2nd-person for just an air of mystery, what's going on in my character's head? Do you want to find out? And hopefully other players are interested enough to poke my character, but no big deal if they aren't. Well I might get a little sad, but no big deal.

Edited February 26 by rorytheromulan (see edit history)

[cailano]

Third when playing. A combination of third and second when GMing.

[Actana]

Reading novels or whatever other kind of stories, don't care. Use whatever you think is best. First person, third person, whatever. Second person too, if you really want to. Why not.

Running games, I use second person primarily, occasionally dip into third person, especially when trying to keep track of several "you's" at once. I also address the characters as much as I can, not the players.

Playing text games, I use third person pretty much exclusively for descriptions, but when talking about actions out of character I'm pretty sure I always default to first person.

Playing live games, I tend to use first person primarily, but also third person fairly often, especially if matching the other players.