I’m working on the rough draft of a story where the player makes choices for multiple characters. Right now I’m using third-person for convenience, but I think I will end up changing the POV to the first or second when it’s finished.
In a game like this, would you prefer the first, second, or third person? My main concern with the third person is that people may feel disconnected with the characters, but I also think that the second person has potential to get confusing if the player doesn’t check the title or stats page for every other chapter.
I am reading a WIP where it states at the beginning of the scene from what character’s perspective you are playing.
Most I have read, however, use a third-person perspective when playing as a character other than the MC. Those tend to work pretty well for keeping in mind which character you are playing as.
I think using first person or second person would be too confusing, since it won’t be specifying which character you are playing as in that scene. However, ultimately you are the author and if you want to do it that way nothing is stopping you.
To me, 1st and 2nd person is a distinctive trait that can only apply to the main character, the protagonist. Having multiple “I” or “you” in the story usually leads to heavy dissonance and pulls me out of experience.
For all other characters I find 3d person POV to work well.
I’m pretty flexible with any of the PoVs. If you’re going to be switching frequently among characters, I’d probably just put the character’s name in bold at the start of the passage. It’s simple and efficient for getting your point across with telling the reader who they’re playing as right now.
