I’ve seen first person view, I’ve seen third person view, but never second person.
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A second person view and third person view in video games have a lot of the same characteristics. In first and third person view you’re still the main character controlling the camera just that camera angles are different.
In second person view it’s basically somebody else is controlling where the camera is. For example latkatu in super Mario 64. Another example might be in red dead redemption 2 with the cinematic horse riding camera.you don’t get to decide when the camera changes are where it’s going to be that’s sort of second person
2nd person would be literally a second person. If you were talking about a videogame it would be literally the camera following another character in the scene instead of you.
Technically mario 64 would be that. Since the whole point of view is always from the lakitu following you, but you control it and it’s always acting like a 3rd person camera so it’s only technically true. A real one would be a camera that follows some random NPC then you are walking around somewhere in the background.
First person is “I”, or “we”. Second person is “you”. Third person is “he”, “she”, or “they”.
A book written in first person, is written as if it were written by one of the characters in the story. A book written in third person is written by as if by a narrator outside of the story. A book written in third person would refer to the reader as the subject of the story, which is uncommon.
Second person is common in text based video games. [“You can’t get ye flask!”](https://youtu.be/lkfqE1fkmmI?t=98)
From a quick google 🙂
Basically, **second**-**person perspective** is perceiving the **game** world through a character that is not controlled by you, but is often looking at your personal player-character. This camera would presumably be controlled by either a NPC (non-player character) or a fellow gamer.
There’s a driving video game that did true second person view, it achiced this by having you drive a car being chased by the car you were watching from. Really trippy
A literal example in video games: screen looking/screen peeking in splitscreen multiplayer games (versus or co-op, doesn’t matter). You’re literally viewing the game world and your own character through the perspective of a “second person” controlling their character and camera independently of yourself.
Kill cams would arguably fall in the same category.
I also think I remember playing some single player action/shooter game that had the camera briefly switch to the POV of a sniper shooting at you to give you a chance to dodge a headshot. Might have been one of the MGS games? It was a while ago.
Second person is like one of those “choose your own adventure” books. The Goosebumps Choose-your-own-scare series were really popular in the 90’s. I used to cheat and read through all the endings sequentially. A modern implementation is the Black Mirror Bandersnatch episode.
>I’ve seen first person view, I’ve seen third person view, but never second person.
Look into a mirror.
When you’re thinking about story telling, you’re talking about action. How a person interacts with a person or object is the story. So being told by the person acting is first person (“I did this.”) Third person would be when you view or describe an interaction as a third party, from a distance (“He did that.”) In writing, second person would be used only if the story is being told directly to you, meaning the character is addressing the reader as a character. This is mostly seen in non-fiction, when someone is teaching you something. (“You are doing this.”)
In video games or movies (though rarely movies) the interaction is first person when the action is being done from your perspective, and second when you’re on the receiving end of the interaction. A conversation would flip back and forth between the two perspectives.
Think of Choose Your Own Adventure, or Zork.
Second person –
You wake up in a forest. There is dappled sunlight coming through the canopy. To your east you can hear a babbling brook. What do you do?
Vs
1st person –
I woke up in a forest. I could see sunlight filtered through the canopy above. To my east I could hear a babbling brook.
Vs
3rd
He woke in a forest. He could see sunlight filtered through the trees. To his east, he heard a babbling brook.
2nd person doesn’t get used a lot in fiction in general, but I remember the short story “Paper Slippers” being pretty effective.
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