Viewpoint Point of View

Warrior_Princess

I mean I guess
I honestly think that it's so bizarre, I've been roleplaying for about a year now and I ALWAYS use first person. It's come as quite a shock to see so many people asking to roleplay in the third person. Is it kind of an unwritten rule, or is it just a preference?
 
It is also ties into uniformity and multiple characters. In groups for instance it’s easier if everyone writes from the same point of view because it’s jarring to read otherwise.

In 1x1 it makes the reading uneven if one person is writing in first and the other person isn’t. As M Mesenterium said it makes it sound like the reader is doing the actions of the first person post while observing the actions of other posts.

Lastly if you do more than one character it can be hard for people to differentiate them using first person. It’s not impossible mind just harder than it would be with third.

That said if your partner is okay with it there is no reason you can’t write in first. And plenty of people don’t care or write in first themselves.
 
People tend to write in third person because it helps them have a certain... detachment. They aren't their character. It also lets them write multiple characters, multiple scenes, especially at once, with greater ease. Even with my own personal writing, I don't use first person.
 
I generally roleplay in first person, but from what I've seen in previous discussions in the matter, there's a good amount of stigma against first person roleplayers mainly born of previous past experiences several people had with other first person roleplayers, or from a conception of first person based on how a lot of books using first person apply the point of view, where the main character is supposed to be an audience surrogate and thus first person indicates who the main character is.

First person isn't very common, but I definitely wouldn't say you are wrong for using it.
 
Back in english, we read a book called "their eyes were watching god". Its a novel about a girl telling her life story to her friend, phoebe. Its set in the late 1800's i believe in florida. Or rather, after the emancipation of slavery in Florida. Its set in first person, as its based entirely on her point of view. 8/10 read. I dont believe first person is a self insert, but rather the playing of the character through there eyes in a more...personal manor? I would imagine its difficult to deal with when everyone else uses third person.

Another book i read is called "Carry On". A fantasy book, where it doesn't have chapters but rather inter changing segments of dialogue from that characters point of view. Thus you get this strong feeling of contrast in personality and how they think between each segment, which i feel is very clever.
 
Back in english, we read a book called "their eyes were watching god". Its a novel about a girl telling her life story to her friend, phoebe. Its set in the late 1800's i believe in florida. Or rather, after the emancipation of slavery in Florida. Its set in first person, as its based entirely on her point of view. 8/10 read. I dont believe first person is a self insert, but rather the playing of the character through there eyes in a more...personal manor? I would imagine its difficult to deal with when everyone else uses third person.

Another book i read is called "Carry On". A fantasy book, where it doesn't have chapters but rather inter changing segments of dialogue from that characters point of view. Thus you get this strong feeling of contrast in personality and how they think between each segment, which i feel is very clever.
Oh my gosh it's so funny you mention that book!I just finished it yesterday for my Advanced Literary Analysis and Research class.
 
People tend to write in third person because it helps them have a certain... detachment. They aren't their character. It also lets them write multiple characters, multiple scenes, especially at once, with greater ease. Even with my own personal writing, I don't use first person.
That makes sense, roleplay is my escape though so I like to pretend I am the character
 
These are all very valid points about personal preference to third person.
I write third. But I am also a great admirer of well executed first, and of the opinion that there is a degree of elitism attached to the notion of third vs first. Biased to the former.
If you can do it well, I don't think it should matter.
 
Most books in fiction are written in third person, past tense. That - and the fact that I often run multiple characters - makes 3PPT the way to go. However, I have also read some CLASSIC fiction written in first person. John Norman is one of the best known authors I can think of who used first person - for the Gor books. Moby Dick, by Herman Melville, was also written in first person.

Nothing wrong with first person - if your point of view is the sole focus of the story. That isn't generally the case when you have two main characters interacting. In tends to feel awkward to read by the other writer. I tend to find it inappropriate - UNLESS I am the storyteller running NO main characters and am focusing the whole RP around the other writer, describing only what they sense.
 
Yeah I think that’s the part that gets overlooked. It’s not so much about how you feel about your own character. It’s more about how your partner feels about your character.

It sounds harsh but most people aren’t interested in inserting themselves into their partners character. They have their own character that they want to focus on.

So I think that is where the disconnect comes in. If your a passive reader of first person than it’s fine to insert yourself into the point of view characters because as the audience you have no control over the narrative. So inserting into characters keeps you engaged.

But as an active participant of the story you get to contribute to the story directly through your own character. At that point first person for your partners character just feels redundant.

To clarify I am not saying people don’t care about their partners character at all. I am just saying they don’t require their partners character to be their point of view of the story.
 
I for one like to roleplay in third person because I tend to take on the part of multiple characters in the roleplay so it's easier to jump between them differentiating what's what. I don't unearth a distanced clutch from my characters in third person neither, I can still feel a connection with them. Those who try to split the gap between them and the character do it out of preference. All in all its your cup of tea so drink it how ever you will, maybe with a little sugar, perhaps you'd rather have honey.
 
My characters all have different personalities that are unique to them. Using first person language makes them less them and more me, which they aren't. I don't know if that makes sense lol
 
To clarify I am not saying people don’t care about their partners character at all. I am just saying they don’t require their partners character to be their point of view of the story.

I agree with everything Rae said in her post.

Not only that but it is incredibly distracting to read your partner's post from your partner's character's POV. When I read my partner's post I want to read it with my character's POV in mind, so that I can start imagining how they will react to it, what the contents mean to them. I can't do that if I have to read first person and insert myself into the mind of the other person's character.

There's something more going on here than just personal preference, or at least there's a reason why the personal preference of 90% of RPers is 3rd person.
 
I agree with everything Rae said in her post.

Not only that but it is incredibly distracting to read your partner's post from your partner's character's POV. When I read my partner's post I want to read it with my character's POV in mind, so that I can start imagining how they will react to it, what the contents mean to them. I can't do that if I have to read first person and insert myself into the mind of the other person's character.

There's something more going on here than just personal preference, or at least there's a reason why the personal preference of 90% of RPers is 3rd person.

There is more going on your right I wish we could come up with an answer; well, we'll probably never know unless we delve deeper into this topic. Probably the best way to work this equation out is to look into roleplay when it first became popular or when it first started picking through the fiber of it's history. Perhaps there was a rule at one point were the GM's required everyone to write in third person and so it simply evolved from there.

I don't seem to have enough coffee and tea to be of much help on this subject mater.
 
There is more going on your right I wish we could come up with an answer; well, we'll probably never know unless we delve deeper into this topic. Probably the best way to work this equation out is to look into roleplay when it first became popular or when it first started picking through the fiber of it's history. Perhaps there was a rule at one point were the GM's required everyone to write in third person and so it simply evolved from there.

I don't seem to have enough coffee and tea to be of much help on this subject mater.

I've been RPing for 20 years and I have never RPed in first person. Until I got to this site last year, I had never even seen anyone RP in first person outside of script style RP. GMed RPs weren't even a thing back in the early days. It's not because any rules were made, it's merely the logical end to a thought process in which you consider other player's interests, instead of just your own, when you write.

Although there are people who don't mind receiving posts in 1st person they are very much in a minority.
 
I've been RPing for 20 years and I have never RPed in first person. Until I got to this site last year, I had never even seen anyone RP in first person outside of script style RP. GMed RPs weren't even a thing back in the early days. It's not because any rules were made, it's merely the logical end to a thought process in which you consider other player's interests, instead of just your own, when you write.

Although there are people who don't mind receiving posts in 1st person they are very much in a minority.

Agreed, I've been writing for 13 years and never once took a first person point of view. I've been around others who have and I respect their decisions. And honestly as for GMed roleplays I feel that it's the participants choice in deciding on the turn of events in a roleplay. Everyone should have a say. I've started roleplays and when coming to a conclusion on where the roleplay goes and plotting I simply sit back and let my participants have it but that's another topic for another thread.
 
I think it really is the whole - I want my posts to read posts from MY characters point of view not yours.

Third person is also how most multi-character books are written. There are cases where first person books have multiple protagonists but they are a small section of books. I can literally only name one series I have actually read (Simon Snow by Rainbow Rowell) where multiple protagonists are written in first person.

Usually multiple points of view are depicted in third person with first person depicting a single protagonist.

So that is also probably part of it. When you first start out you write in the manner your most familiar with. So that means most people write third cuz that’s what they know.

And since most people write one particular way it becomes a sustained cycle, new players come in and learn to write in third because that’s what everyone else is doing.
 
I wanna see a RP where player 1 RPs in first person and player 2 RPs in second person... The subject being p1's character of course.

That would get confusing if p1 referred to their own character as "you" and p2 referred to their own character as "I".

I'd read that too though.
 
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I wanna see a RP where player 1 RPs in first person and player 2 RPs in second person... The subject being p1's character of course.

That would get confusing if p1 referred to their own character as "you" and p2 referred to their own character as "I".

I'd read that too though.

I think the problem is most people aren’t going to want to be a passive participant in a roleplay. I mean it would be cool to read as a passive project but I can’t seeing it being a particularly interesting thing for player 2 to write.

As you are essentially just writing player 1’s original fiction.
 
I think the problem is most people aren’t going to want to be a passive participant in a roleplay. I mean it would be cool to read as a passive project but I can’t seeing it being a particularly interesting thing for player 2 to write.

As you are essentially just writing player 1’s original fiction.

I could see it done as a one player, one GM type of scenario.
 
I can’t seeing it being a particularly interesting thing for player 2 to write.

As you are essentially just writing player 1’s original fiction.
I mean, as p2 you'd still be able to lead/influence the plotline. It's still collaborative, nothing about that would change. It would just have a different outward aesthetic than most.

In a situation like this I'd actually prefer p2's role over p1.
 
The only reason why I write in the third person is that everyone else did. Now that I am used to writing this way, I don't think about writing in any other voice. It takes me that extra second to switch my voice and my tense when I write. I already take long enough to respond as it is. Might as well stick to what I am used to.
 
I could see it done as a one player, one GM type of scenario.

Yeah that’s what I meant. It’s similar to quests really. In that you are basically just setting up the journey for the protagonist to go through. Those kinda of roleplays are less common for a reason.

It’s in the name of the hobby - most people are here to play a role. Not just write a setting for other people to play in.

As even most GMs in roleplays have their own playable character too. They aren’t just making the setting and then sitting back while the players move through it.
 
Yeah that’s what I meant. It’s similar to quests really. In that you are basically just setting up the journey for the protagonist to go through. Those kinda of roleplays are less common for a reason.

It’s in the name of the hobby - most people are here to play a role. Not just write a setting for other people to play in.

As even most GMs in roleplays have their own playable character too. They aren’t just making the setting and then sitting back while the players move through it.

I know someone who specifically wrote those kind of RPs. He had them set up in 3rd person but there's no reason it couldn't have been done in second I don't think. In a way it reminds me of those "Choose Your Own Adventure" books.
 
As mentioned before, books written in first person can be found throughout literature, with some classics even being written in first person (Frankenstein, for example, that's the one I remember the most quickly at the moment), because, as you mentioned, as we, as simple readers, have no control over the narrative, it becomes actually engaging to put ourselves in the shoes of one of the characters. I have no problems with reading in first person if we are speaking about books. Things become different when it comes to roleplaying.

When it comes to roleplaying, and as you and Crayons Crayons mentioned, things turn slightly different. When reading my roleplayer partner's responses, if they write in first person, I am reading their response as if I am the one performing such actions, which turns things more subjective, and it doesn't allow me to analyse the overall response in an objective point, so I can focus then on my character's point of view and actually write my response having in mind their thoughts and opinions about what happened on the previous reply.

I don't think that having such opinion means that roleplayers that write in third person really don't care about their roleplay partner(s) characters. On the contrary: writing in third person gives us the opportunity to actually overlook the whole story in a more objective point of view, so we can write our response based on our character's perspective, which only adds to the realism behind such character, but it also contributes to the other character's interactions and actions, moving the story forward.

However, whilst this doesn't work personally for me, and as specified there is a huge tendency for roleplayers to write in third person, I don't think that everybody is required to do so, and, in the end, it truly depends on what people feel the most comfortable with. There are people who are perfectly fine with roleplaying in first person, and if their roleplay partner is also fine with it, I don't see any reason why they should do so if that's what they wish.

lol you misunderstood my point. As I specifically said it wasn’t about a lack of care for your partners character. It is just a lack of care for their perspective.

As you yourself mentioned, people don’t want to be inserted into their partners characters perspective. As that’s a tactic that works more when you have no control over the plot than when you are an active participant.

Partially that’s due to a more technical failing (ie you get more of a setting feel through third person) but also just because seeing from your partners characters eyes is unnecessary when your own characters eyes are how you view the story.
 

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