Storyline Views

I was just running through the concepts for some of my games and I got to wondering about point of views. In other words, what the player sees of the game world in terms of the storyline.

The majority of my concepts tend to lean toward Group View, but I was wondering what others preferred.

To explain the poll choices...

Single Person View: You only witness the events that occur in front of a single person, usually the main hero.

Group View: You only witness what the people in a certain group, usually the party members, get to see.

Limited Omniscient View: You get to see the story from most points of view, usually all the good people and a few evil.

Omniscient View: You see the story from all views, the good and the evil.


I realize Limited Omniscient and Omniscient are really close, but there has been a small line built between these two.

Also, if you think I missed one or two viewpoint types, just post it and I'll edit it. This is just kinda what I've seen in games that I've played.

I do like the Limited and regular Omniscient views.  Probably more limited than not, as sometimes one too many details can bog you down a bit.  But being over the players and perhaps 1-3 of the major enemies helps to build a sense of familiarity, in my opinion.  The enemy isn't a faceless, warmongering thing, but a person themselves with thoughts, feeling, and motives.  Granted, they can still be an evil bastard (see: Kefka from FFVI) but you can see their villainous ways with your own eyes, and it makes you all the more want to stop them.

That's just my thoughts, anyway.

mostly prefer single person. limited is good sometimes to me for showing off a scene with badguys or something else important. or even for humor. don't think the player should know everything that goes on around. only game I liked in was FFT but was because the story was great

I'll run down on my thoughts of each. As each has their own pros and cons.

Single Person View: You only witness the events that occur in front of a single person, usually the main hero.
This method is best for strong main characters. I don't mean physically strong, i mean dynamic and round characters. This allows the player to focus on the main character's thoughts and actions more than anyone else, giving them a real sense of "role play". Which is generally the point in RPGs. You'll count on this character's interaction with the support cast and antagonists for the most part. This style allows for suspense as the player only knows what the hero knows.

Group View: You only witness what the people in a certain group, usually the party members, get to see.
Similar to the first, but with more characters. A group perspective is probably the most common in rpgs, and the easiest to do. Your characters are generally weaker as focus points, but this allows the player to connect to many differing personalities. The problem with these first two is the lack of antagonist plot revelation through "enemy cutscenes". Because of this, players are left knowing half the plot. Good if you like to have a sense of suspense.

Limited Omniscient View: You get to see the story from most points of view, usually all the good people and a few evil.
This is a good choice if you're focusing on the story rather than characters. Generally you will have weak characters, who mostly consist of stock caricature. Players will feel limited sympathy towards the antagonists, as only few motives are revealed for the antagonists. This is a mere biased version of Omniscient, but it works well if you don't have any real reasons for your antagonist's existence.

Omniscient View: You see the story from all views, the good and the evil.
The best, but the most not recommended because it's the hardest to pull off. Your goal when using this method is to have sympathy for all parties and individuals, as well as give detailed motives and characterization. You will usually have a character who's "good", one who is "neutral/bystander", and one "evil", and each of their viewpoints will be shared equally. Characters can either be portrayed well, or terribly by the author, so I advise most people not try this one.

In a nutshell:
Single - Best main character, worse plot advancement (slow, totally based on hero's knowledge). No antagonist sympathy.
Group - Verity of personalities, not as bad plot advancement (still sorta slow, based on party's knowledge. Which is usually not that much more than the hero's). No antagonist sympathy.
Limited - Generally weaker characters, depending on author's ability. Limited player foresight of events allows for a good plot advancement pace and limited enemy sympathy.
Omniscient - Best or worse depending on ability. Worse if all characters and groups are weak and typically stock. Best if characters are dynamic and round, allowing players to associate with characters. Story is told best as nothing is off limits for the player, however the author may choose to hide details for revelation later as well.

For me personally I like them all but it all depends on the conecpt of the storyline, some views just dont fit well with a certian type of story you want to tell. Personally I love games that let you get inside the mindset of all the characters involved in the game, be bad or good. Also for some I like only the single party member view cause it adds a bit more plot like to it. Take a game I a working on right now, Its called Outbreak and it focuses on the main character who is a cop and an ivestigation he is working on