The Choice between 1st/2nd PoV, and Present/Past Tense

[Crax]

This is going to be an unusual, and probably very abstract question.

How do you decide what is the best PoV and tense to use for your Choice of Games?

[FairyGodfeather]

I think there’s been a few threads about this. I can’t seem to remember them all though, but feel free to check out these for past opinions.

3rd person, present tense

I’m curious how everyone feels about it - for choose your own adventure type games. The idea is to make the MC more of a real person, with some of his own thoughts, goals, fears… etc. Which would make the player more of an influential force, rather than the one in the shoes. I think it could help strengthen the ‘MC’ type of character (and the overall story). Of course there may already be some Choice games like this, I just haven’t played enough of them yet.

General guidelines (perspective, tenses, etc.)?

I am thinking about making my own CYOA, but I looked up to see if there was anything on the general guidelines. Like most of them that I see are second person, present tense, but is it possible to do first person or third person with past tense? Or will such submissions be rejected? There doesn’t seem to be a general faq so I wanted to know before I start anything.

https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/hardest-perspective-to-write/17847

How does everyone feel about a first person perspective?

The story I’m currently writing reads a lot better in “I” mode than in “you” mode. What are people’s thoughts on that? I noticed an older thread about a similar topic but I wanted to start a new one anyway. It’s just so much easier to write in an “I” perspective.

[Jose_Garcia]

The Pov should be a person who goes through profound changes and has lots of agency in the story to change the outcome.