OPINION ON HOW TO DESCRIBE OBJECTS IN GREATER DETAIL?

Theory: Most of the time it should be described yourself otherwise the character comes off as a motormouth.

Using "you" is fine, I don't I have a rule for that.. I think? I use "you" on occasion but maybe it's only when taking key actions such as flipping a switch or opening a chest. ("you flip the switch", "you open the chest", "you take the item" etc) If the character is not actually doing something with the object then maybe avoid using "you". That's not to say "you" is bad. I heard that songs that use that word a lot are more likely to become hits, so maybe likewise reading the word you in an game pulls the player in.

By the way, what might work is to describe it yourself but have the character portrait appear. Meaning he's not commenting on the object but describing it to the player. Kinda fourth wall breaking, but having the player being talked to might draw the player in.

Does your character speak at all? Yes? Then they should be speaking about objects. Preferably talking to each other about the objects. Silly examine texts on scenery is a hugely undervalued place for characterization and it makes games a ton more fun.

Unless you're going for a particular style of game, like Sooz said, I don't think it really matters, but whichever one you pick you need to stick with it.

Same. Or they're like me and mumble under their breath to themselves. All. The. Time.

Seriously. >.<;


...should I be worrying about my mental health?

I mean, it's basically just stuff like "Oh, that's a good book. I wonder if they have the rest?" or "Fucking mug keeps falling in the sink. Stupid." or "...dumb phone not working."

But yeah, I figure it's the character speaking to themselves in an internal voice - their thoughts.

For self-insert characters, maybe look at older point-and-click adventure games like Quest for Glory. There are probably other examples, but, that genre seems to be absolutely infamous for silly descriptions. Especially if the player used the "look" action on the player avatar, or a mirror. Those games tended to have self-insert characters, and the information was relayed via narration, rather than a thought-bubble.

Though, for a more character-focused version, look no further than games like Lunar or Grandia where party members interact with each other, with sometimes hilarious results.

I usually figure it's a character thinking unless it's clear otherwise. But then again people do say things aloud to themselves. I know I do while working on renovations.

author=Sooz

author=LockeZ
If your character is all alone, by themselves, it's pretty dumb for them to talk.

I always assumed the character narration was internal.

I generally just use text in parentheses to denote internal monologue in game text. Mostly I use it for solo commentary like this but since the player has plenty of opportunity to get used to the idea that parentheses=unspoken commentary, I might also use it in a conversation if I wanted to give the player window into what the protagonist was thinking and not saying to other characters.