J.E. Sawyer on key dialogue writing concepts

[UncannyGarlic]

What might be nice in games would be to color questions that you have already asked (or rather that you have already received the answer the character you are talking with supplies to that question) as a different color (like links on websites) so that you'd know whether or not there was new information and you could save some time, especially with generic NPCs (who I'm generally against being able to get into a dialogue screen with).

 

[Jidai Geki]

The only Obsidian game that springs to my mind is KOTOR II, which was a buggy as hell spin-off of the Bioware original. I know they did Neverwinter Nights II as well, but I never played it.

 

[Viliny]

The only Obsidian game that springs to my mind is KOTOR II, which was a buggy as hell spin-off of the Bioware original. I know they did Neverwinter Nights II as well, but I never played it.

Neverwinter 2 was a game i would have absolutely wanted to love but i never got into it properly... Wish it wouldn't have felt so very very linear.

I played it through i think though... if thats the one with the volcanic place towards the end

 

[Corith]

Never give false options. Do not create multiple options that lead to the same result. It insults players' intelligence and does not reward them for the choices they make.

This coming from the champion of the led-by-the-hose-no-choices school of thought.

 

[tekhedd]

* Don't put words in the player's mouth. With the exception of conditional replies (gender, skills, stats, etc.), phrase things in a straightforward manner that does not mix a request for information with an emotionally loaded bias ("I'd like to know what's going on here, jackass.").

Well... this is great advice if your team tends to write boring dialog options, and horrible advice if your team has a sense of humor.

So, the examples from, say, Mass Effect show us that having more boring dialog options is not an improvement. On the other hand take the Fallout 1/2 approach where often the last dialog option is the "thing you're thinking but probably really shouldn't say". As in "You're completely crazy, aren't you?"

On the third hand, in Fallout, if you chose the "thing you probably shouldn't say" option, 6 times out of 10 it would get you into trouble, so there were consequences. So this leaves me wondering: is he advising you to code more possible consequences into a dialog, or advising you to code boring dialogs.

The lesson here, I guess, is that interesting dialog isn't fun if it doesn't affect the game. At least in an RPG type game. Whether an F3-based game can be consdered an RPG is left for a different thread.

 

[Judici]

It's not hard to voice it as well, but it's expensive. The more words, the more money for the voice actors.

I have always wondered why game developers need voice actors to record the voices anyway, why can’t they just use their own voices? It would be much cheaper and much more realistic at the same time; in a post-apocalyptic world, not everyone have an actors voice.

 

[Morbus]

Specially when, as in Fallout 3's case, the said actors are reading the lines for the first time as they are recording.

And it's not like the voice actors in FOE are bad. They are clearly talented and professional, it's obvious, but it kills it that they don't have much booth time...

 

[Crni Vuk]

well at lest I am not worried that much about the voices with Obsidian. After playing Kotor II I think they will do a much better job here then Bethesda. I really liked most of the voices they had in Kotor II.

 

[Dario ff]

What might be nice in games would be to color questions that you have already asked (or rather that you have already received the answer the character you are talking with supplies to that question) as a different color (like links on websites)

I'm sure Sanitarium did this. Was a really good feauture.

 

[draeke]

Conversation AI has evolved a long way. Can you imagine a future RPG where all NPCs are something like this?

Oh, imagine that!!!!

Lieutenant: Hello
Kirk: Lieutenant?
Lieutenant: I'm a lieutenant?
Kirk: I remember.
Lieutenant: I don't.
Kirk: Take him.
Lieutenant: Take who?
Kirk: Then we'll both die.
Lieutenant: Die? What? Where?
Kirk: Enough of that type of language, Lieutenant. How much older was your husband than you? Ten feet away from me.
Lieutenant: I'm a man, I never had a husband
Kirk: The gender of aliens is not always obvious to us.
Lieutenant: Aliens? Are we on a planet?
Kirk: Request denied. I gave everybody the afternoon off. I'm watching the store.
Lieutenant: Ok...so are we going somewhere?
Kirk: Navigator, lay a course away from Colony Five. Buy me some time. I gave everybody the afternoon off. I'm watching the store.
Lieutenant: What colony?
Kirk: Spock knows.
Lieutenant: Spock knows what?
Kirk: No, he's right. Continue.
Lieutenant: Who's right?
Kirk: A member of my crew.
Lieutenant: Spock?
Kirk: You'll go home, Christopher but you'll do it our way.
Lieutenant: [Intelligence] So you're saying I'll go home, but in your way?
Kirk: No.
Lieutenant: No?
Kirk: Is that you, Lieutenant?
Lieutenant: No, go back here, what did you mean "no"?
Kirk: Read out.. We can't do that. Perhaps you know his name. Lieutenant. Lieutenant.
Lieutenant: Look, you're obviously retarded.
Kirk: You're the doctor, Lieutenant. Can you explain this?
Lieutenant: Yes, your brain is small.
Kirk: Lieutenant, what do you make of it?. Take care of Lieutenant.
Lieutenant: I'm going to kill you.
Kirk: No, we are following the Prime Directive.
Lieutenant: The prime directive is to kill you.
Kirk: I did not create perfection. I created error.
Lieutenant: Goodbye.
Kirk: Goodbye, Lieutenant.

Ya, wow man. I'd want to spend money on that oblivibeth crap. In fact what this reminds me of is the old 'keyword' responses you would get from NPC's in text based games and were next to near impossible to get any meaningful dialogue from them unless you hit on exactly the right keyword, so great example. ai still has a long way to go.

 

[Ausir]

well at lest I am not worried that much about the voices with Obsidian. After playing Kotor II I think they will do a much better job here then Bethesda. I really liked most of the voices they had in Kotor II.

I doubt that Obsidian was actually involved in recording voices for the game, as they likely won't be for FNV. It's LucasArts that is better at it than Beth.

 

[UnidentifiedFlyingTard]

if I hear the same voice actors from Fallout 3 I will be pissed.

 

[Crni Vuk]

well at lest I am not worried that much about the voices with Obsidian. After playing Kotor II I think they will do a much better job here then Bethesda. I really liked most of the voices they had in Kotor II.

I doubt that Obsidian was actually involved in recording voices for the game, as they likely won't be for FNV. It's LucasArts that is better at it than Beth.

Ausir, why do you always come up with such horror-stories to scare us ... you will NOT be allowed to tell anything when we sit around the camp fire.

 

[Brother None]

I doubt that Obsidian was actually involved in recording voices for the game, as they likely won't be for FNV. It's LucasArts that is better at it than Beth.

Ausir, why do you always come up with such horror-stories to scare us ... you will NOT be allowed to tell anything when we sit around the camp fire.

Wish it was a horror-story, but it's the truth. Obsidian, like most normal developing houses, does not have an in-house recording studio. Usually the publisher takes this task on themselves, Bethesda is a bit of an exception with their own recording studio and suitably incompetent staff, so they'll be doing the VA work for New Vegas. No real doubt about it.

I keep shouting for them to outsource it to TikiMan Productions, whose recent credits include Mass Effect 2, DA: Origins and Gears of War 2, but Bethesda enjoys their lack of competence in this area. Again, they get away with it anyway.

 

[Crni Vuk]

And exactly thats the issue ... I dont understand how other companies get a lot of Flak regarding that and see criticism (even biger companies) but Bethesda always gets away with it.

 

[Ausdoerrt]

Then I hope they'll have a "disable all VA" in the game options upon release.

 

[Lexx]

Then I hope they'll have a "disable all VA" in the game options upon release.

Sounds like a feature for the Hardcore-Mode.

 

[Santoka]

It's already available in FO3, in settings, just drop the voice sounds to 0 and make sure you have all subtitles enabled.

 

[Batcha]

Bethesda is a bit of an exception with their own recording studio and suitably incompetent staff, so they'll be doing the VA work for New Vegas. No real doubt about it.

Doh!
That really made my day...

 

[Ausdoerrt]

It's already available in FO3, in settings, just drop the voice sounds to 0 and make sure you have all subtitles enabled.

I won't be satisfied until there's a checkbox saying "Turn the fuck off all the piss-poor voice acting"

Needs to be modded in, yes.