Your perspective in the game

[Quasqueton]

How do you imagine a D&D scene? What perspective do you visualize the game in your mind's eye? Does the situation matter in how you imagine it -- battle or social interaction? (I'll use computer game analogies to better describe what I mean.)

Do you imagine the game from a first-person perspective? Seeing the world, people, and combat through the eyes of your character? (Like the Half-Life computer game.)

Do you imagine the game from a third-person over-the-shoulder view? (Like the Tomb Raider computer game.)

Or a third-person off-to-the-side view? (Like a side-scroller game.)

Or a third-person bird's-eye view? (Like the Diablo computer game.)

Or does your view change throughout the game? (Like a movie.)

Something else?

Do you refer to your character in first person (me, I) or third person (he, she)?

Has your perspective always been this way, or has it changed over the years?

Quasqueton

 

[Psion]

I never really thought about it. I guess like a movie.

 

[apesamongus]

View: varies. Almost always 3rd person.
Description: varies. 3rd person if refering to character action. 1st if talking about metagame stuff ("move me beside the column")

 

[fusangite]

Like my perspective on life, my perspective is alienated and abstract, unless I'm drunk, of course. I don't visualize what is taking place at all, except occasional times when the DM describes scenery or architecture. I just internalize the information in a social, political or geometric scheme rather than a strictly visual one. But then again, I hardly ever visualize anything unless it's an incredibly intense or important memory.

If I had to see it metaphorically, I would go with your "bird's eye view" option.

Do you refer to your character in first person (me, I) or third person (he, she)?

About 25%/75% of the time; if I'm acting out a protracted social or political interaction in the game is about the only time the former comes into play, that and when I discuss treasure with the GM.

 

[Brain]

I'd definitely say that my perspective changes depending on what is going on. When roleplaying intently with an npc or the other players it shifts to first person. When visualizing overland travel or the like, an overhead view comes to mind. Interesting subject.

 

[JimAde]

Visualization: Movie style. Also, all the pc's tend to look like idealized versions of the players unless they are very different.

Description: Since I generally GM, it's always 3rd person for me, but for the players/PCs, it's a mix of 1st and 3rd person. We never seem to get confused. 3rd person usually comes up when discussing the character's background or motivation ("I know it's not smart, but Trevor's a hothead"), while 1st person is generally used to describe action ("I'll go open the door").

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

Movie style. I definitely "see" it in my mind's eye, and mostly its a first person view point, switching to 3rd person at opportune moments - for example, there was a rooftop chase in last Saturday's game, and I imagined that more from the perspecitve of the folks on the ground. I visualize things quite a bit beyond the DM's descriptions, hopefully not to the point of misinterepreting the scene.

 

[freebfrost]

Long, sweeping shots like Russell Mulcahy's direction in Highlander or his videos for Rio and other Duran Duran songs, strangely enough.

 

[Ranes]

It varies. As I'm usually the DM, my view is usually third person - bird's eye view, in fact. But when the situation calls for it, my mental image zooms in on the detail I imagine is necessary to visualise in order to determine an appropriate ruling (or even to express an appropriate interpretation of a ruling in as evocative a manner as I can).

When I play (which is so rarely it hurts), I almost always refer to my character in the third person. I like to roleplay by having the character say or do what I think would be right for him but I don't get in there and say, "I do this." I'm just not that comfortable doing that.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Interesting question. Probably closest to like a movie. Though, now that I think of it, I envision a lot of still-shots, like my brain is translating the adventure into illustrations.