First or second person viewpoint?
Added 2020-09-19 21:46:06 +0000 UTCWhen I started planning the game, I was sure which viewpoint I would go for: second person narration, first person responses.
However, I saw a poll recently about preferred viewpoints in VNs, and first person responses won by a HUGE margin. This has made me reconsider it as an option. It feels a bit strange to me, but on reflection, that is due to me assuming that the more seamless realtime narration of 2nd would always be preferable to the immersion of 1st...but that's for you to help me decide :)
Here's a short scene, written in both 2nd/1st and then in 1st/1st, in the styles I would use in the game. Which do you prefer? Or do you have anotrher suggestion entirely? Let me know in the comments!
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The great grandfather clock in the corner ticks time away as you wait for the man to return with the results. He is really taking his time. You fidget, staring around the room, looking for something interesting to catch your attention. There. On the mantle above a cold fireplace sits a line of coloured clay figures. They seem to be of famous people, and you cock your head in interest and wander closer. They are! One is a little Einstein, another a little Churchill. You pick up the Heisenberg, marveling at the detail in the face...
The door opens unexpectedly behind you and you flinch, fingers losing their grip on the statuette. The noise of it shattering freezes your heart, and you look up in horror at the person who just entered. He stares back, deadpan, and together your eyes lower to take in the sad fragments of clay scientist covering the floor.
"I'm so sorry!" you blurt. The man frowns, and then shrugs.
"It wasn't my favourite one," he says. He takes a seat behind the desk, and gestures for you to retake yours. "So. I have run the numbers..."
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The great grandfather clock in the corner ticks time away as I wait for the man to return with the results. He really takes his time. I fidget, staring around the room, looking for something interesting to keep my attention. There. On the mantle above a cold fireplace sits a line of coloured clay figures. They seemed to be of famous people, and I cock my head in interest and wander closer. They are! This one is a little Einstein, and that a little Churchill. I pick up the Heisenberg, marveling at the detail in the face...
The door opens unexpectedly behind me and I flinch, fingers losing their grip on the statuette. The noise of it shattering freezes my heart, and I look up in horror at the person who just entered. He stares back, deadpan, and together our eyes lower to take in the sad fragments of clay scientist covering the floor.
"I'm so sorry!" I blurt. The man frowns, and then shrugs.
"It wasn't my favourite one," he says. He takes a seat behind the desk, and gestures for me to retake mine. "So. I have run the numbers..."
Comments
That's a very good way of describing it. I'll ponder that.
Zaggy Norse
2020-09-20 07:02:44 +0000 UTCThe first person view point helps with immersion in my opinion. With a second person narration, I feel less like I'm the character and more like I'm in a session of D&D.
takom13
2020-09-19 22:22:06 +0000 UTCI enjoy the first option. For me it just keeps things flowing smoothly and keeps me in the place of the character everyone is interacting with /at.
Arktisk
2020-09-19 21:51:47 +0000 UTC