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Table Top RPG Perspectives
By Corvus | November 2, 2009
With the discussion of camera perspectives in video games (and how 1st and 3d person cameras affect “presence”) popping back up on Twitter over the weekend, I got to thinking about perspective in table-top RPGs.
In RPGs, the Storyteller Prime/GM traditionally sets the stage in 3rd person:
The ninja clambers up the drain pipe and disappears over the edge of the roof.
While the storytellers/players (re)set the stage in 1st:
I follow and try not to lose sight of her.
This evolved for obvious reasons–the Storyteller typically plays as a single character while the Prime is responsible for the script, the supporting cast, the stage, sets, and all of the props. But as the HoneyComb Engine allows–encourages, even–primes to share control of the scene and script, I’ve begun to wonder if this traditional approach of using differing perspectives enforces the more traditional division of control.
Is the use of 1st person perspective a limitation? It certainly encourages Storytellers to view the scene from within it, rather than from above, or outside, of it. This arguably acts as a tool of disempowerment that reinforces traditional, centralized, control in a single authority. An authority which has the greater perspective, or greater distance from the action.
Or is 1st person perspective necessary to the experience? If storytellers also used 3rd person to set the stage, would it remove the reason they enjoy role playing? Is the sense of presence dependent upon the the use of 1st person perspective? I’m not entirely convinced that is is, as I certainly feel very present in the world and story while using the more removed 3rd person perspective (it should be noted that I tend to prefer 3rd person video game RPGs, as I feel more connected to the character/world/story when there’s a character on-screen with whom I can empathize).
I suspect the answer depends on the storyteller and the dynamic of the skein. I can’t imagine my Hopeful storytellers stepping back and using a third person perspective during play. They enjoy being these kids exploring a world that’s becoming increasingly complicated by their discovery of complex adult behaviors. But I can easily imagine other storytellers I’ve gamed with in the past using the third person perspective and feeling quite present.
I think, perhaps, a little experimentation is in order. I’ll be starting a couple of small groups, both IRL and online over the next month and I think it might be interesting to change approaches between stories and talk about how it affects the experience.
How about you? Does your skein already use the third person perspective? If so, what system do you use? Do you use minis for combat? How experienced are your storytellers? Do you consider yourself heavy role players, or do you focus mostly on system and combat?
Tagged:Honeycomb Engine, perspective, rpg. | 2 Comments »
November 2nd, 2009 at 10:22 am
During our D&D session over the weekend my group had a new player join, and it was her first time playing a pen-and-paper RPG. It was interesting to note that she would go in and out of 1st and 3rd person depending on the context of the situation. The other people playing have been playing for a few years, and usually speak in 1st person. Also, interestingly enough, I’ve begun to notice more and more situations where the storytellers share my responsibilities as storyteller prime. A lot of it springs from player-to-player interaction.
November 2nd, 2009 at 5:10 pm
I’m not sure it’s useful to read too much into the perspective thing, particularly in RPGs. I suspect a lot of it has to do with how comfortable people are. Alex’s example is a good one, where people new to RPGs tend to think of them in terms of other games. You’re having your character do stuff, so it makes sense to say, “My character is doing X.” As you get more comfortable with the concept of the game, you’re a lot more comfortable syaing, “I’m doing X.”
I remember someone giving a talk about games at a conference a while ago (I think it was Mike Stackpole talking about the benefits of RPGs), and they said that RPG players are better at context switching. His example that could come out of any RPG session: “I charge to attack the enemy. Wait, how much does that leg wound slow my character down? Oh, I don’t like onions, so I don’t want any on the pizza.” In that example the person is talking from three different perspectives: the character’s actions, the character in gameplay terms, and personal preferences. So, supposedly RPGers can do this easier than people who don’t play our silly pretend games. So, perhaps first- vs. third-person perspective is really more about that.
My thoughts.