Greetings, I come with a very simple question.
When you are creating dialogues and it's time to decide the reaction of players, how many and which "characters" do you use?
I mean
NPC: Alms for the poor..
The nice guy: 1) Here you go (Give 10 silver)
The mean guy: 2) Get away from me, filthy beggar *Kick him*
The something guy 3) Shouldn't you try to find a job instead?
Here we got 3 characters, nice mean and something. What's your pick, how do you decide it?
Dialogue options and characters
Débuté par
ArathWoeeye
, janv. 23 2010 11:40
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#2
Posté 24 janvier 2010 - 01:54
LightPhoenix
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Personally, I'd only provide a choice if there's an actual consequence to the choice.
For example, if the beggar takes part in a quest later, maybe kicking him removes him from the quest. Is that a consequence? Not necessarily. I would argue that if you can complete the quest with the same outcome (including reward), it's not really a consequence.
In fact, something I've been analyzing recently while planning a module is what purpose it serves to having different characters, if it doesn't influence the game. To continue the example, what good is having a "mean" option if it doesn't change the game any? Or for that matter, what good is giving the donation? For a company like Bioware, they have the resources to throw stuff like that in. However, for most of us, that's a fair bit of writing/scripting/testing that we don't have to do. It's neat to have NPCs respond to you based on how you act, but if it doesn't change the gameplay, then I'm not certain it's worth the time to implement.
For example, if the beggar takes part in a quest later, maybe kicking him removes him from the quest. Is that a consequence? Not necessarily. I would argue that if you can complete the quest with the same outcome (including reward), it's not really a consequence.
In fact, something I've been analyzing recently while planning a module is what purpose it serves to having different characters, if it doesn't influence the game. To continue the example, what good is having a "mean" option if it doesn't change the game any? Or for that matter, what good is giving the donation? For a company like Bioware, they have the resources to throw stuff like that in. However, for most of us, that's a fair bit of writing/scripting/testing that we don't have to do. It's neat to have NPCs respond to you based on how you act, but if it doesn't change the gameplay, then I'm not certain it's worth the time to implement.
#3
Posté 24 janvier 2010 - 02:42
ArathWoeeye
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That's true, but I think the key issue is to define what a consequence is.
Some people would be content with a different reaction from the NPC, others seek for a more obvious change in the game, where some mean whole plot changes.
For me, saying a few different lines is fun and immersive. Personally I value this sort of immersion in details and it's very appealing to me, even if it's not of direct practical use.
Some people would be content with a different reaction from the NPC, others seek for a more obvious change in the game, where some mean whole plot changes.
For me, saying a few different lines is fun and immersive. Personally I value this sort of immersion in details and it's very appealing to me, even if it's not of direct practical use.
