Here is my first page so far. I am playing with second person and getting a format going for how each page will look. I have to think about segways between pages and code things it. I am not writing any code just yet. I need to get the meat and potatoes of the story going first. So the numbers in parentheses are placeholders for links and scripting.

*************************************HOME: A DARK AND EMPTY SPACE**************************************
There is nothing but an empty space all around you. The darkness is densely thick. The expanse feels more real than anything you have ever experienced. You expect it to feel cold here, but it seems soft and invitingly warm.

You sense an odd presence nearby.

There are no discernable exits, just endlessness.

Look around. (1)
(1) Call out the the aether. (2)
(1) Wake up.

EVENTS:
(1) You look down to see if you can make out your hands. A strange thing happens, they begin to melt before your eyes as if they are slowly disintegrating. You let out a long scream, expecting to feel pain, but it never comes. Your cries only echo into the vastness. Suddenly, a sonorous voice speaks through the aether, "Hello there, young man." Something triggers in you, a realization that you've been through this before.

(2) You bellow, "Who are you? Why do you never show yourself?" You wait a moment as the expanse rumbles from your voice. The response is silence.

A lot of those pages are dummy pages and will be filled. As I said, I was mapping out the initial area. Its gonna be in an adventure style where you can walk around and talk with people and interact with the environment. To make things easy, I plan to map out the main areas and add to the story as I go. The pages themselves are going to have to be coded carefully. I intend to use text changes to be able to use a page for more than one purpose. For instance, you may need to frantically search a room and rather than be directed to a new page that says you found what you were looking for, the text appropriate to the action or choice selected will just change that part of the page.

Trust me, I have it in my head and tested some basic mechanics, It will work, but now--today--I write! (Because I have the next 3 days off!)

Yes, and that is total coincidence. I had started mapping out the starting area as I was learning the editor and seeing what I could do with it.

I guess I missed the part where I said all second person view stories suck and that therefore all stories on this site suck. My views are not 'puirtanical'. What you are refering to (silent protagonis) and all that were EXAMPLES! Just on my initial FEELINGS. I am well aware many great works have been done in that style: The whole CYOA franchise in fact. I have read a few of them and enjoyed the concept immensely, which is one of the reasons I am here. I also love games. All sorts of games. Classic clickable adventure, pen-and-paper D&D, board games, story games, any game in between. They all have different balance of story vs game and character development vs plot. I in NO WAY EVER intended to say that a story or game had to be good ONLY if it was written in the third person. Just wanna put that out there.

I am 36 years old, I have seen and read many things. I am new here, yes. I get crazy thougths and ideas, yes. But, I am also very flexible and can always change my mind.

Once again, I never thought that second person stories games SUCK (on perspective alone).

PS. I will finish my review of Eternal on maybe another thread as that is a whole nother thing, that is not dependent on the perspective it is told from.

I am still torn on second person vs third. I even had a debate about it with my husband. It was a fun two hours (as always.) It came down to this: My question should have been about whether I want my character should be fully autonomous and have the reader be able to know his thoughts, or more of a plug-in character where you guide his actions closely. Naturally, the former lends more toward third person (in my opinion), and the latter lends more toward second person.

After the debate, I had settled on third person once again.

But, after a few days sitting on it, as I come up with details for the story, I feel that I should do second person. This would give me a good opportunity to try it out. It just sounds better in the CYOA environment. 

Additionally, this has become a great discussion! Thank-you for your input!

I have considered doing something like that, similar to the silent protagonist. You, the player, select everything they say/ask in a dialog tree. Its ridiculously common in games, especially in the classical adventure style like Quest for Glory.

Those types are kinda becoming my inspiration for my current work(The Age of 24). Although, my character is autonomous, has a background, and can speak. So, if there are dialogue trees, it will be by subject.

Yes, a story with nothing but exposition would be dreadful. I am not so much saying I would make a silent protagonist; simply that it has been done successfully in the past. 

A satire where the narrator cannot hear any of the characters could be hilarious. At least for one page/scene as a fourth wall joke where the audio went out.

Keeping to my word, here is an update:

Today, I learned how to get items to be picked up by clicking a link. I also learned how to get text to change on the same page. This will save me from using tons of pages for dialog trees or searching rooms or things like that! Oh the variables! It is times like these that I should have been a programmer or an IT or something. NAH!

The following will change greatly and has been more for testing/learning purposes:

Word count: 548

Pages: 24

I have started my first project and it is in its infant stages. I am starting this post like I have seen others as a motivational thread of how far I have gotten. I don't want to give out spoilers as to the nature of the game. But here is my working intro:

David Jenkins is an ordinary college graduate who failed to get into medical school. He just turned 24 and now is dealing with the humiliation of returning to live with his parents in Podunk, USA.

The town has, surprisingly, changed a lot since he graduated high school and left. New stores have opened on main street. The factory has tripled in size. Half his graduating class has moved into the big city; his little sister, chiefly among them, who is looking to open a small business with her best friend.

Not everything is different. His mom still has her bakery and his dad is still head chef at the town pump diner. His best friend from high school, Garrett Gargus, is still turning wrenches at the only town auto repair shop. And, he can still find peace at his favorite hang out down by the river on Silt Island.

None of that really matters today though. It's the day after his homecoming and he has a choice to make: what is he going to do for the rest of his life? Little does he know how much the next 24 hours matter.

____________________________________

I will update this post again later on today. There are some things I need to rework in my chapter infrastructure.

I havn't logged on in a while cause I usually don't use my computer at home. And I am getting use to working 5 days in a row again. Kinda weird when you get use to two days on then two days off. Also, this site got blocked at work, which is a crying shame. 

I don't think that second person is bad writing. And dumb as a post heroes and blank slate characters are a form for exactly what I said: to bring the reader in (any reader). It's just that most authors apparently suck at doing it well and therefore it is considered bad writing. Additionally, if you have ever played video games, you have the silent protagonist. Mario has been this on many occasions, especially in Super Mario RPG. And that game was awesome, he just acted out what he needed to say and then there was the one to explain everything that he was saying if he needed to talk. Crono in Chrono Trigger was a silent protagonist and that game turned out to be the best RPG of all time in many peoples eyes. It's definitely one of my favorites.

To further this 'unique' perspective: I have started reading Endmaster's Eternal and ........I hate it. I deplore it because of the slight issues it has. Some of it is just personal preference. It appears to be a crapsack universe but we are told that it is more than shown (as least as far as chapter two, BTW I am not going to count the main character's preferred deranged actions solely toward this). Mainly because the hero never seems to hit up the local tavern. He sits his but next to the Emperor and kisses it all day long. The protagonist is VERY unlikable (too unlikable, making me feel that I would not make ANY of those options). That could be the point, but he must be the only one that is programed because every other character so far, laughs at him for being so gosh darn brainwashed. I'm beginning to think he is the only one that is. Once again, that could be the point. But somehow, I don't think so. The Empire is supposed to be crumbling. The grammar may not be wrong, but the writting lacks something, a spark maybe. The characters develop way too fast, there is no time for the main character to learn what humor is for instance. Its subtle things like that. The magic is not consistently described. In the first chapter, the main character could cast on the drop of a dime, but later on during the caravan attack, he suddenly has to focus, and think about it. The writing is on consistent and it is very jarring. The universe, characters, world-building, and magic are underdeveloped, and it shows.

I will finish reading and have a better review. Those above are just my initial impressions. 

As far as reading other second person sources? I have read a few. Overall, the second person does offer itself to be the more superior style for this. The only good one so far on here is Dungeon Stompage! But I will start keeping a list for this thread if any of you would like. A journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step!