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NPC DIALOGUE.
Posts
Feldschlacht IV
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Closeauthor=Erave link=topic=1691.msg27500#msg27500 date=1219022361author=Feldschlacht IV link=topic=1691.msg27456#msg27456 date=1218942164
Uh, one lesson I learned with NPC dialogue is to be consistent. I'm playing Xenogears, and even though it's one of my favorite RPG's, the NPC dialogue frequently wavers from people being very realistic or informative, to straight up spewing nonsense.
What does consistency mean? Not everyone is going to say the same thing. Or even same type of things.
Even when one NPC is talking about the ascension of God, the folly of man, Deus, and the the war of God vs. Man, and the NPC in the same room is going BLAAERGDFHH I'M SO DRUNK.
Not...really consistent.
Shadowtext
120
author=Feldschlacht IV link=topic=1691.msg27513#msg27513 date=1219027972Just as an aside, I have been in rooms in real life where you could have either of those conversations simply by turning your chair around.author=Erave link=topic=1691.msg27500#msg27500 date=1219022361author=Feldschlacht IV link=topic=1691.msg27456#msg27456 date=1218942164
Uh, one lesson I learned with NPC dialogue is to be consistent. I'm playing Xenogears, and even though it's one of my favorite RPG's, the NPC dialogue frequently wavers from people being very realistic or informative, to straight up spewing nonsense.
What does consistency mean? Not everyone is going to say the same thing. Or even same type of things.
Even when one NPC is talking about the ascension of God, the folly of man, Deus, and the the war of God vs. Man, and the NPC in the same room is going BLAAERGDFHH I'M SO DRUNK.
Not...really consistent.
maia
737
Captain Bligh is such a dastard.
He'd kill you if he heard you say that.
What say you new guy? Made up your mind yet about the capt?
I just gotta warn ya, pick a side now before ya get killed in the crossfire.
Welcome aboard, you'll find that I'm a very generous man. At first, I'm generous enough to let you keep your life, if ya last long enough, I might even be generous with me gold too.
Bligh is a dangerous and wanted man, he's robbed many ships of the empires. Careful what friends you keep...
... that is dialog written on the fly!
He'd kill you if he heard you say that.
What say you new guy? Made up your mind yet about the capt?
I just gotta warn ya, pick a side now before ya get killed in the crossfire.
Welcome aboard, you'll find that I'm a very generous man. At first, I'm generous enough to let you keep your life, if ya last long enough, I might even be generous with me gold too.
Bligh is a dangerous and wanted man, he's robbed many ships of the empires. Careful what friends you keep...
... that is dialog written on the fly!
S. F. LaValle
1069
You made me think of a good point.
Dialog can be written on the fly. However, dialogue written on the fly is based off of your (the writer's) mental reflex, and not necessarily the character's. Some people might be able to slip into and out of character mindsets pretty snappy, but I guess the suggestion is to consider what the character might say and react to the events, and not what YOU might say.
Dialog can be written on the fly. However, dialogue written on the fly is based off of your (the writer's) mental reflex, and not necessarily the character's. Some people might be able to slip into and out of character mindsets pretty snappy, but I guess the suggestion is to consider what the character might say and react to the events, and not what YOU might say.
By having no personality whatsoever, I can assume any character I want.
Who knew being devoid of any charm could be so useful!
Who knew being devoid of any charm could be so useful!
author=S. F. LaValle link=topic=1691.msg28292#msg28292 date=1219718246
Dialog can be written on the fly. However, dialogue written on the fly is based off of your (the writer's) mental reflex, and not necessarily the character's. Some people might be able to slip into and out of character mindsets pretty snappy, but I guess the suggestion is to consider what the character might say and react to the events, and not what YOU might say.
I personally always have a problem with this. I kind of fixed it (atleast its a little more consistent) by having each team member do the dialogue for a certain hero, main NPC and such.
Actually, I think a few of them actually fit their personalities perfectly. Its amazing how close you can get to a dwarf in real life. (Both in short stature and constant griping ;))
As far as random NPCs all over the town, I do pretty well with that.
Sam
2200
As has already been said, NPC dialogue should change over the course of the game. When major events happen, have them gossip about it! (For example, a crater appears west of town, have an old man's dialogue change to "I saw it! It were a meteor in th' skies I tells ya! Came crashin' right on down, it did!") Also, they can interact with one another, for example, if you approach a pair of kids you could have them say:
Kid 1: Hey mister! This is a weird town, you should let me hold onto your watch for you!
Kid 2: Jack, stop trying to rip off everyone who comes through the gates!
And in the same town maybe have an elderly woman say something like:
Woman: I'm besides myself, I can't find my ring! I know I had it when I was talking to that little boy...
... OK, maybe that's a little too side-questy, but you know what I mean, have say, a bunch of people refer to the blacksmith as a jackass and have the blacksmith claim to be beloved by all in town. Things like that.
It may also benefit to have each NPC have three or four different lines of dialogue and assign each to a varaible, that way, they'll most likely say something different if you talk to them twice in a row.
Finally, don't be afraid to give them accents or use abbreviations, no one other than the royal family speaks Queen's English, and even their standards are slipping! =D
Kid 1: Hey mister! This is a weird town, you should let me hold onto your watch for you!
Kid 2: Jack, stop trying to rip off everyone who comes through the gates!
And in the same town maybe have an elderly woman say something like:
Woman: I'm besides myself, I can't find my ring! I know I had it when I was talking to that little boy...
... OK, maybe that's a little too side-questy, but you know what I mean, have say, a bunch of people refer to the blacksmith as a jackass and have the blacksmith claim to be beloved by all in town. Things like that.
It may also benefit to have each NPC have three or four different lines of dialogue and assign each to a varaible, that way, they'll most likely say something different if you talk to them twice in a row.
Finally, don't be afraid to give them accents or use abbreviations, no one other than the royal family speaks Queen's English, and even their standards are slipping! =D
Shadowtext
120
author=Sam link=topic=1691.msg28521#msg28521 date=1219882211I disagree. Feel free to use regionalisms and ideolects all you want, but actually putting in phoenetic spellings of accents is almost always distracting and annoying. Remember Chrono Cross?
Finally, don't be afraid to give them accents or use abbreviations, no one other than the royal family speaks Queen's English, and even their standards are slipping! =D
Sam
2200
You misunderstood me. I don't mean putting "Yer" or "Ya" instead of "Your".
More how people from different areas speak differently, for example, I might say
"I'm just poppin' down the shop." where my friend Adam from Yorkshire would say
"Poppin' round corner t' shop". Slang, abbreviations and such doesn't mean mispelling words. (Which actually brings up another point, some people would have said "don't" instead of "doesn't", that kinda stuff)
More how people from different areas speak differently, for example, I might say
"I'm just poppin' down the shop." where my friend Adam from Yorkshire would say
"Poppin' round corner t' shop". Slang, abbreviations and such doesn't mean mispelling words. (Which actually brings up another point, some people would have said "don't" instead of "doesn't", that kinda stuff)
Try having some of your NPC walk up to the player instead of vice-versa. It just makes more sense with certain lines, such as "Excuse me, do you have the time...(Ahh! It burns!")
Also, try pairing NPC's together and having the player eavesdrop on an existing dialogue. For example, in a tavern you might place two monks next to each other and have them discuss religion, or two guards and have them discuss next week's shift schedule, and so on.
EDIT
Also, try to have them react the way most people would normally would if a random, armed stranger from a distant land just came up to say hi. (Pepper spray comes to mind.)
Also, try pairing NPC's together and having the player eavesdrop on an existing dialogue. For example, in a tavern you might place two monks next to each other and have them discuss religion, or two guards and have them discuss next week's shift schedule, and so on.
EDIT
Also, try to have them react the way most people would normally would if a random, armed stranger from a distant land just came up to say hi. (Pepper spray comes to mind.)
dreampainter
55
One thing that has led me to a lot of NPC inspiration is the charas character generator. I've had a lot of fun comming up with unique looking outfits and designs, and imagining what thier personality might be like. Also, I've gotten as carried away as to give every single NPC thier own unique name.
What I usually try to do when writing my own NPC is give each character their own sub-story that may or may not be relivant to the game. For instance one of my recent towns had a cave which the town kids enjoyed playing in. One of the houses has the parents of one of the children. The father talks about how great a town it is to raise a family. The mother referres to her child playing with his friends in the cave.
Inside the cave the kids are playing some game of "pretends." One kid is pretending to the the "Evil henchmen, Gadzooka." Someone else is playing the hero. One kid is off hiding from the other kids, and he states "Shh.. don't tell the others I'm here."
Generally I just say, get wierd and creative, take risks, go wild, and make sure you are having as much fun as possible doing it. My philosophy in design, is that if I am having fun creating it, other people are more likely to have fun playing it.
What I usually try to do when writing my own NPC is give each character their own sub-story that may or may not be relivant to the game. For instance one of my recent towns had a cave which the town kids enjoyed playing in. One of the houses has the parents of one of the children. The father talks about how great a town it is to raise a family. The mother referres to her child playing with his friends in the cave.
Inside the cave the kids are playing some game of "pretends." One kid is pretending to the the "Evil henchmen, Gadzooka." Someone else is playing the hero. One kid is off hiding from the other kids, and he states "Shh.. don't tell the others I'm here."
Generally I just say, get wierd and creative, take risks, go wild, and make sure you are having as much fun as possible doing it. My philosophy in design, is that if I am having fun creating it, other people are more likely to have fun playing it.
