DEVLOG #9
28 June, 2024
Author: Sean Dixon
Ski Lodge Murder Dev-log #9: The Art of Dialogue
Capture of the Narrative spreadsheet used to track all narrative elements on the project
INTRODUCTION:
A game’s story is important, but so are the ways in which we convey that story.
Through research we found having strong characters with affective backgrounds and personality, really help add to the general sequencing and delivery of a games narrative.
These insights and key points heavily impacted our decision with designing the cast for ‘The Ski Lodge Murder’.
Personalities within characters are mostly conveyed through their dialogue, the content of said lines and the expression/tone it is voiced in are vital. This highlights the significance for high quality conversations that include insights into the characters background, their impact on the narrative and their interactions or relationships between one another.
In an earlier Blog post, we discussed our thoughts and processes behind picking our characters. In this blog, we'll share our dark secrets- from our methods, tips/advice behind good dialogue writing and how we implement voice lines to seamlessly craft a story.
Early Twine Story Tree
AWNSERING THE QUESTION "WHAT MAKES GREAT DIALOGUE?"
‘Great’ dialogue within a game, requires efficient ways of storing and formatting. This is essential for other departments working on the game to have a clear understanding of the dialogue and how the game engine systems will read it. This comes into play mostly during the implementation of the dialogue after its been written and voiced over.
Above, you can see our method of tracking our ideas. This section of the narrative spreadsheet informs the team of where each character will be placed in the scene and also what their conversations with the player will be based on. Including their mood and key talking points.
Now, besides having good formatting behind documentation of the dialogue, Writing the conversations is just as important. This was done in a shared space clearly stating which conversation it was, its general summary and key points that influence the pronunciation, tone and pace. This can be seen in the below screenshot of Elliot's first chat with the Detective.
Each character has their own personalities, backgrounds, and attitudes, making dialogue writing essential to conveying these aspects of a story. Each dialogue line in a serious point-and-click game goes through three main stages: Early Concept Pass (seen above), Second Pass, and QA + Polish.
The early dialogue lines serve to provide crucial information and set the tone for the characters and the story. This initial stage focuses on establishing the character’s voice, ensuring that their unique traits and motivations are clearly communicated. Writers brainstorm and draft the initial dialogue, often incorporating feedback from narrative designers to align with the overall plot and character arcs.
In the Second Pass, the dialogue is refined and expanded upon. This stage involves revising the initial drafts to enhance clarity, emotional impact, and authenticity. Writers collaborate with other team members, such as voice directors and actors, to ensure the dialogue sounds natural and engaging when spoken aloud. This pass may also include adjustments based on gameplay mechanics and player interactions to maintain immersion and flow.
The final stage, QA + Polish, involves rigorous testing and fine-tuning. Quality Assurance teams review the dialogue for any inconsistencies, errors, or awkward phrasing. Feedback from testers is used to make final tweaks, ensuring that the dialogue is polished and seamless. This stage ensures that all lines fit perfectly within the game’s context, contributing to a cohesive and compelling narrative experience.
Elliot Bordeaux’s Conversation (early) with Lukas after he first enters the Ski Lodge
IMPLEMENTING NARRATIVE SEAMLESSLY:
Implementation of dialogue occurs during the first and second pass. There are many ways to create dialogue systems and handlers for dealing with dialogue in your game, however for basic implementation, creating a branching narrative tree to map out the sequencing of lines allows for integration of events based on elements such as a character giving you an item/quest. This can be seen below;
A sample integration of Ingrid’s and Lukas’ conversation in the Dialogue system (Unity.)
The dialogue system implemented in Unity uses events to seamlessly integrate in-game elements such as NPCs with story elements, such as narrative.
In an event-based dialogue system, narrative documents are key for developers. When a quest starts, the narrative document (Figure 1) guides the integration of dialogues with game events. Events can be triggered directly from player actions, choices, and in-game milestones/plot points.
The narrative spreadsheet document provides great dialogue structure, ensuring the dialogue database matches the storyline intended to be told. This helps create a dynamic and immersive player experience by making sure dialogues flow smoothly and enhance the game's narrative
AUTHENTIC VOICE ACTING
Auditions are an important stage when acquiring voice actors that can portray the characters in a believable and passionate manner. We achieved this by first sharing a form for anyone that was interested in voice acting through platforms such as Linked-In. This form was to give our Creative department insights on each applicant's history with voice acting, vocal ranges, abilities and which characters they wish to try voicing.
