3 Tips for Writing Dialogue Worth Reading in Games
Move the Story Forward with Each Dialogue
Dialogue is how players get to know your characters.
It’s how you turn your characters into real people in players’ head, give quests, deliver information, guide and engage players, etc. The uses of dialogue is endless. But when writing them, we usually do it without intention.
Time to change that. Some of you might be aware that the current game I’m working on is nothing but a huge dialogue tree. So I’ve been educating myself on the matter. I’m here to share what I’ve learned. Let’s go!
3 Tips for Writing Dialogue Worth Reading in Games
1. Give Each Character a Unique Voice
When they speak, each character should reflect their personality, background, and role in the story. Distinct character voices make characters more memorable and believable (and NO, I’m not talking about accents).
Giving characters a unique voice starts with actually knowing them. For that, I generally use Justin Alexander’s Quick NPC Template, simply defining these 4 things about the character:
Appearance: Small pieces of information about the character’s appearance. No need to get detailed, just enough to help readers shape something in their minds.
Roleplaying: The character's mannerism and repeated behaviors. Like constantly sniffing, or using certain phrases over and over.
Background: A few most important details from the character's past. No need for too much detail unless it's a very important character.
Key Info: A key information an NPC has that is important for the player and/or the story.
The more important the character is, the more I refine the details. And remember, even the smallest things can be enough to make them unique and memorable. They don’t need to have a huge scar across their face. Frequent eye blinking, covering the mouth when laughing, and using certain phrases over and over are small details that set people apart.
Nameless One - “And if a man does not know himself?”
Dak’Kon - “When a mind does not know itself, it is flawed. When a mind is flawed, the man is flawed. When a man is flawed, that which he touches is flawed.“ Dak’Kon pauses. “It is said that what a flawed man sees, his hands make broken.“
[Planescape: Torment]
2. Use Fast Rate of Revelation
Rate of Revelation means the speed in which information is given to the player. This is the rate of how much and how quickly players learn about characters, plot points, the story, etc. Let’s take look at an example:
Slow Rate of Revelation: "The mists have been acting strangely lately. Some claim to hear eerie sounds when they venture into the depths. They speak of a mist creature unlike any other. It whispers, surrounds you, and tries to deceive your mind. There are even those who went in and never returned. My grandson went to play there hours ago and hasn't come back. Would you search for him, adventurer? Such a favor doesn't go unrewarded around here.”
Fast Rate of Revelation: "Since my grandson ventured into the cursed mists, he hasn't returned. If you find him for me, you'll be generously rewarded.”
People generally suggest that if you can say something in 10 words, don't say it in 11. This doesn’t mean that you should have a fast rate of revelation all the time. On the contrary, you need to find the balance depending on the purpose of the dialogue. The point is not to overwhelm or underwhelm the player.
However, it’s no secret we players often prefer brevity over lengthy conversations. So keep the dialogue short. Get to the point and move the story forward with each dialogue.
Player - “You could have talked to us instead of attacking us.“
Nelius Dorsey - “Yeah. We could have, but we didn’t. Mistakes were made, and people died. Story of the fucking world, right?“
[Wasteland 3]
3. Earn the Emotions
Have you ever had an NPC pour out their emotions and problems, and you couldn't care less?
This is a problem I've encountered in many RPGs I've been playing lately (looking at you, Starfield). My companions suddenly start opening up their inner worlds, but I don't really care because I don't feel like I've earned those emotions.
We don't just randomly spill our emotions to others; they need to be earned. One of the games that does this best is Dragon Age: Origins. In this game, no character fully trusts you at first. Only after you spend a lot of time with a character, complete quests, and get to know them better do they begin to gradually share their problems and thoughts.
So when writing character dialogues, especially emotional ones, ask yourself: Has the player earned these emotions?
Sten - “Either you have an enviable memory, or a pitiable life, to know nothing of regret.”
[Dragon Age: Origins]
Final Note
The most important tip EVERY single writer suggest, however, is to rewrite. Boring, yes, but this is the secret: rewriting, editing and refining until it sounds good enough. It takes time for characters to fully shape in our minds and find their personality. So it is only natural their voice in our heads will evolve and change as we write.
Which game has the best dialogue in your opinion?
Me
Reading: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne & Dave King. A very insightful book on how to improve what you write. It inspired this issue too.
Playing: I’ve been playing Starfield, and, surprising enough, I’m quite enjoying it. Despite all its shortcomings, I found myself lost in its vast galaxy. Entering abandoned ships and discovering what happened to them, solving mysteries about the lore, etc. was quite fun. The biggest letdown of the game for me was the ship combat and driving. As much fun as building and costumizing a ship is, fighting with that ship is just as unpleasant. The main story revolves around the mystery of strange artifacts that you collect around the galaxy. That means many of the main quests are just fetching missions, which is a bit disappointing. But the storyline itself is quite interesting, and I was eager to solve the mystery. Let me know what you think if you played it.
Listening:
Thanks for reading!
And that’s it from today’s issue of GameDev’s Journey. I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful. If you did, please like and leave a comment. Reach out for suggestions, objections, questions, or just say hi.
But regardless, thank you so much for reading, and have a great game dev journey!
The more a character(s) speak about a topic, the more key it is to your hero's journey. If a major questline is solving the "cursed mist", then the slow revelation would be a strong 1st step. If rescuing the grandson is more important, then the fast revelation is better.
This would also hold true w the emotional revelations. Are they at all relevant to how I play the game? Does this NPCs depression, guilt, regret, etc help me solve a mystery, unlock a secret, or complete a quest?
In novel writing all this is also true, u can think of emotional exposure & revelations as backstory. Info dumping is never good. The better option is to "hit it & quit it". These NPCs have come to grips w their world as normal. They have no reason to dump info. Instead they drop words or sentences that hint at the reality they all know & aren't willing to talk about, but u aren't privy to. Every statement in the beginning should be vague & raise more questions than answers?
* Ever since that night, I haven't slept well.
>What night? What happened?
* I don't dance. Guilty feet have got no rhythm.
> Guilty of what?
* If I hadn't said that, maybe she wouldn't have done what she did.
> What u say? What did she do?
* We deserve this fate. Why do u fight it?
> Why do u deserve this fate? What makes u feel so guilty that this world is considered a just punishment?
As u get to the middle, the statements are less questions & but still not revelatory.
* Sure, that worked, but you're just making things harder for yourself.
* I thought like you once ... until HE showed up.
* Your quests have been easy thus far. U do not know the true power of the dark side.
Did u watch or read the "Game of Thrones" series? The BIG secret guarded & denied in book 1 becomes common knowledge that no one cares about by book 3. Instead, they're working on a newer, bigger mystery or challenge w new rumors & inuendos flying & being denied.
Every challenge follows that same pattern:
1) Not true.
2) I wish it were true.
3) It's kinda true but the details differ.
4) It's regrettably true because it's your fault.
5) Of course, it's true. It's a good thing.