Okay, so I have only been on this site for a short period of time (a matter of days), but I am not new to role playing. I just don't get the whole "first" or "third" concept: it has nothing to do with anything unless you are talking about actual point of views.
I'm not going to go off in a tangent, but I will break this down plain and simple.
"First," in other places where they roleplay, is referred to as T-2 (Type/Tier 2) role playing, speed role playing, script role playing, casual role playing, and a bunch of other names. I personally like script as the name since I feel it fits better with the way we type our messages.
Now, my main reason for asking about this was because half the time we role play in "first," we're just mixing point of views (which is fun to get away with, but shouldn't be practiced because it ruins grammar). Here is an example of how we do it.
Hi. -waves and smacks you in the face-
What that translates to in the world of grammar.
Hi. - he waves and he smacks you in the face-
The problem with this is that it was supposed to be first point of view, but the person used second point of view to convey their character's greeting. Yeah, I ain't too big on grammar (this sentence proving it), but let's just make some sense here and practice it so we don't ruin our English skills by practicing bad grammar habits in script role playing. This is how it should be done:
What up? *I grin and munch on my burrito* (First point of view; I do note that people do use this correctly.)
What the ? /she raises a brow at the other's statement as she slowly backs away/ (Third point of view; I also note, again, that people use this correctly.)
At least like this, we are being logical with our replies and such. I don't know if it is the fact that I know English grammar well enough to point that out or the lack thereof that upsets me, but I do know it does and that it can change the way non-native, novice speakers see the English language.
In the case of "third," it is called turn role playing or paragraph roleplaying to some, but I feel we should call it paragraph roleplaying because we type in ing paragraphs to use it. (That was a no duh, but I strangely felt I should put that in there.)
With "third POV," you really don't need to use third. You can do it as if you were writing a story in first, second, and third point of view. For example, I'll tell a quick story in all three.
First POV: It was the night of my eighty fifth birthday that I passed. No, I did not go out the peaceful way like you see in those fake movies for sissies. I went out like a real man; in the middle of a war between us and the robot unicorns. They beat me, pummeled me, threw me, defecated on me, and all I did was laugh in return. It was absolutely horrible, but there was no such thing as weakness. No such thing as pain. Before it was time to choke my last smart remark, I smiled, the smell of feces riding strong in my nostrils making me want to vomit, and I shook my head. They knew it was coming. They knew. So I had to ask them, "Is that all you got?"
Second POV: "It was the night of his eighty fifth birthday that he passed. No, he did not go out the peaceful way like you see in those fake movies for sissies. He went out like a real man; in the middle of a war between us and the robot unicorns. They beat him, pummeled him, threw him, defecated on him, and all he did was laugh in return. It was absolutely horrible, but there was no such thing as weakness. No such thing as pain. Before it was time to choke his last smart remark, he smiled, the smell of feces riding strong in his nostrils making him, and me, want to vomit, and he shook his head. They knew it was coming. They knew. So he had to ask them, 'Is that all you got?' and man, did they put the hurtin' on him!" told the young girl, describing the death of her great grandfather to you.
Third POV: "It was the night of his eighty fifth birthday that he passed. No, he did not go out the peaceful way like you see in those fake movies for sissies. He went out like a real man; in the middle of a war between us and the robot unicorns. They beat him, pummeled him, threw him, defecated on him, and all he did was laugh in return. It was absolutely horrible, but there was no such thing as weakness. No such thing as pain. Before it was time to choke his last smart remark, he smiled, the smell of feces riding strong in his nostrils making him, and me, want to vomit, and he shook his head. They knew it was coming. They knew. So he had to ask them, 'Is that all you got?' and man, did they put the hurtin' on him!" told the young girl, describing the death of her great grandfather to thier younger brother.
Other than that, I don't have much else to say about this. I apologize for the gross and weird examples, but my brain cannot comprehend the word "normal" so bear with me. If somebody has a legit reason as to why I should continue to call it "first" and "third," do enlighhten me. I want to know. But if you don't have anything to say, thanks for reading this. From this point on, I'm only referring to he different role playing styles as "script" and "paragraph/para," and that is final. Thank you for your time!
*Let me know if I made a typo anywhere.
*I'm really not a fan of grammar like that, but I do belive there are some rules we should follow.
* Here are my sources if you want to check them out and junk to getting a better understanding of the names.
• Role-play styles, formats, and rules.
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