First pespective or second perspective?

[Shadowy]

I have always been a little confused when writing stories/scripts for use in a visual novel style environment as to what perspective to write from.

I usually write from the first person but refer to the reader as the main character to try and draw them in to the story. e.g.

"You throw back the bedsheets and greet the day"

However i am usually torn between writing slightly differently, in a more secondary perspective, creating the idea that the reader is listening to the story being told by the main character.

"I threw back the bedsheets and greeted the day"

I am wondering which would seem the more appropriate for a visual novel, although it is probably dependent on personal preference.

[monele]

I usually like first person better... Can't really say why... It actually means you're reading the story of someone else who is describing his day at the present tense... but you can also think of it as yourself saying what you're doing.
Second person is obviously about *you*, but it might feel impersonal and too "CYOA". It's like you're talking with someone else (the computer, the narrator, the game master?) who tells you what happens to you... It doesn't feel like it's directly happening to you... I'm not sure if I'm being clear XD

[Ignosco]

Just to throw this into the mix: Third person is used occasionally in VN's (such as Crescendo, which is in 3rd person throughout). I think any of these three perspectives could be used, but first person would probably be the easiest to write in for a VN.

[chronoluminaire]

First person ("I walk") is most traditional for VNs, certainly. It's the natural and default choice.

Second and third person are both surprising at first, and using either draws attention to it for those who've played a number of VNs. They each cue a different type of feeling. The third person style ("Takuya walks") can feel more detached, perhaps more as if it's describing events that have already happened. The second person style ("You walk") would be a bit odd, and could risk evoking Choose Your Own Adventure; it's possible it could make people feel more involved, but equally, since it's so unusual, it might have the reverse effect, and make it harder to get absorbed because the player would keep noticing the strange style.

[papillon]

There seems to be some confusion in this topic with terminology - most of us are talking about first person / second person / third person, but the original post was using 'first' and 'second' in an entirely different way... which could make said poster's head hurt when e tries to make sense of the responses.

[themocaw]

In general: First Person is used for visual novels: i.e. "I pick up the bagel," simply because it's easier for the reader to understand, and because in the case of most VNs, the narrator has their own personality and decisions that are, to some extent, out of the player's control.

Interactive fiction and RPGs tend to use Second Person, as if they were a gamemaster acknowledging a character's actions (i.e. the player says, "I pick up the bagel," the game says "You pick up the bagel, it looks tasty.")

[DaFool]

First person should be "I"
Second person should be "You"
Third person should be "S/he"

Don't get things confused.

I'm reminded of that dojo scene in Rush Hour 3:

"I am Yuu."
"No, who are you?"
"I am Yuu."
"How about him?"
"Me?"
"I am Mee."

[BellosTheMighty]

First person should be "I"
Second person should be "You"
Third person should be "S/he"

Don't get things confused.

I'm reminded of that dojo scene in Rush Hour 3:

"I am Yuu."
"No, who are you?"
"I am Yuu."
"How about him?"
"Me?"
"I am Mee."

Dude, that's totally ripping off Abott & Costello...

[Shadowy]

The poll shows that the story-telling style is preferred and tbh i believed to be the more appropriate, despite it being against my natural writing style .

At least now though, i can begin work on my VN project with a set style to follow - First person, present tense .

[rocket]

The poll is biased! I would have voted: 3) Whatever makes most sense for the story! (^_^)

On a related note, everything I've done in my (yet to be published) VN work has been been "implicit" first person, present tense.

What I mean is that the use of a pronoun to refer to the player/main character is completely avoided. All actions taken by any character are implicit in the dialouge or on screen action. I never say, "She playfully put her arm around me... I was so shocked!" instead I would have the narrator 'think' something like "Gahh! What's she doing? She's so close! She's acting playful like usual, but.. her arm on my neck... its so soft."

This may be an awkward example but you get the idea.

My goal is to fuse a cinematic/natural writing style which eschews exposition, and to let the player identify as much or as little with the self of the narrator as they wish.

So far its working out...

[DaFool]

That stream-of-consciousness writing style works. Makoto Shinkai uses it in his most brooding works, I think.

[rocket]

That stream-of-consciousness writing style works. Makoto Shinkai uses it in his most brooding works, I think.

Huh? The Voice of a Distant Star guy?

[BellosTheMighty]

That stream-of-consciousness writing style works. Makoto Shinkai uses it in his most brooding works, I think.

Huh? The Voice of a Distant Star guy?

Doesn't he only have two movies under his belt? I'm not sure you can talk about his "most brooding works" in that context- at the very least, you need new grammar...

[DaFool]

Come to think of it all his works are brooding

[PyTom]

Shinkai has three movies (Voices of a Distant Star, Beyond the Clouds, and 5 Centimeters a Second). He's also done a number of movies for Minori visual novels.