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POV

6 years ago

Okay! I feel like this is important.

I'm working out a story and all, but then I stopped myself! I was like, "Waita minute! What is this like to read? Why am I doing this?" The thing is that I wanna make an enjoyable story, but I'm having a hard time with tenses and whatnot. Like:

  • You kick Jimmy in the face.
  • You kicked Jimmy in the face.
  • Fred kicks Jimmy in the face.
  • Fred kicked Jimmy in the face.

The thing is that I've been writing my stories all past-tense third-person-like, but then I realized that the player would be more involved if I was like "You" versus "You play as Fred". Also, choices would be like:

  • You eat cheetos.
  • He eats cheetos.

So basically, does this matter to you guys? Would you play a game in past tense, third person? What is your preferred thingy?  I appreciate it. 

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POV

6 years ago
Third person when reading a story to get context and feelings of all the characters. Second person when involved as a player so I know what I'm doing and what they're doing from my perspective..

POV

6 years ago
Second person is traditional for CYOAs but it's not a requirement or anything.

Third actually makes it easier to include setting details and asides from the narrator in a more natural fashion. I like third person quite a bit actually, it's what most regular books use so it's comfortable to read.

Really it's only first person I'm not too fond of.

Past or present tense doesn't make much difference with third person. Past tense with second person reads really strangely though, I'm not sure I'd recommend it.

POV

6 years ago

I really enjoy third person myself! I wanted to add details and whatnot, but I was worried that it would play strangely. Like it would lose the immersion? But I guess that I would be going for first person immersion if I was making a story like that.

POV

6 years ago
I guess third person in a CYOA would be more like directing the action in a novel rather than the immediate 'this is happening to YOU' effect, but to be fair even when a story is saying 'you grab the blah blah and blah' there's a disconnect there because half the actions the character does aren't ones I would have chosen, and the things I would do, there's no option for. I don't think it's any more or less immersive than third person really, it's just the traditional thing for CYOAs and IF so everyone is used to it.

POV

6 years ago
Second and third are most common here. Third is especially easy because you can see and do anything. In a way, that can make things harder to write, too. First person can be very exciting, but it takes some skill to get right, even if Mizal doesn't like it.