Dialogue?

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AuthorTopic: Dialogue?
Agent
Member # 8030
Profile Homepage #0
I am currently workin on a scenario for Blades of Avernum, but whenever I look over the dialogue the first thing that comes to mind; bland.

It isn't horrible dialogue, its just bad compare to that of Spiderweb Software.

Any tips for good dialogue?

[ Sunday, March 04, 2007 15:53: Message edited by: Excalibur ]

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WWJD?
Posts: 1384 | Registered: Tuesday, February 6 2007 08:00
Lifecrafter
Member # 6193
Profile Homepage #1
The Lyceum's Designer's Forum has some good articles, I think a few of them are about dialog, and there are other good ones too. They're written for BoE, but they apply to BoA as well. (Except the coding and "Things that Don't Work" articles of course)

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Guaranteed to blow your mind.

Frostbite: Get It While It's...... Hot?
Posts: 900 | Registered: Monday, August 8 2005 07:00
Agent
Member # 27
Profile #2
Think of each NPC as a real person. Everyone has something going on, everyone has a motive. Once you establish that, the writing comes easier.
Posts: 1233 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Agent
Member # 8030
Profile Homepage #3
OK, Thanks. I also realized that my sentences don't flow as well as they should. That could improve.

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WWJD?
Posts: 1384 | Registered: Tuesday, February 6 2007 08:00
Warrior
Member # 8176
Profile #4
All have troubles with the dialog,my problem is that I use remaked scripts what makes much easier to do them but much harder to configure them

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The revenge is only a wild way of justice.
Posts: 70 | Registered: Saturday, February 24 2007 08:00
Law Bringer
Member # 4153
Profile Homepage #5
quote:
Originally written by Blake81:

All have troubles with the dialog,my problem is that I use remaked scripts what makes much easier to do them but much harder to configure them
Wait... how do you do that with dialog scripts? Are you just copying chunks of other people's dialog?

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Gamble with Gaea, and she eats your dice.

I hate undead. I really, really, really, really hate undead. With a passion.
Posts: 4130 | Registered: Friday, March 26 2004 08:00
Agent
Member # 8030
Profile Homepage #6
I doubt he would be stupid enough to copy other people's dialogue.

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WWJD?
Posts: 1384 | Registered: Tuesday, February 6 2007 08:00
Lifecrafter
Member # 6193
Profile Homepage #7
If you are having problems with the actual scripting of dialog, then Niemand's Dialog Editor is a great tool. Sadly it can't solve problems with poor writing. :D

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Guaranteed to blow your mind.

Frostbite: Get It While It's...... Hot?
Posts: 900 | Registered: Monday, August 8 2005 07:00
Lifecrafter
Member # 7538
Profile Homepage #8
Well, if you are having issues with, say, cheesy lines, just listen to how people talk in real life. Or you could take a look at the sorts of things other designers (including JV) are having the people say.

Something I've noticed is that many NPCs have sort of a one-track mind, so to speak. That is, they generally tend to talk about one thing that's forefront on their mind. There are exceptions, but for most smalltalk situations, this may be the way to go. It all kind of depends on what your scenario's about, though.

Whatever you do, just make sure you check the spelling, grammar, and sentence flow several times before the beta. *cringes from bad memories*

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Do not provoke the turtles.
They do not like being provoked.

-Lenar

My website: Nemesis' Refuge
Posts: 743 | Registered: Friday, September 29 2006 07:00
Guardian
Member # 5360
Profile #9
Yes, you don't want to firewalk with language on Spiderweb.

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May the fires of Undeath burn in your soul, and consume it.
Posts: 1636 | Registered: Wednesday, January 5 2005 08:00
Agent
Member # 8030
Profile Homepage #10
quote:
Yes, you don't want to firewalk with language on Spiderweb.
Huh?

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WWJD?
Posts: 1384 | Registered: Tuesday, February 6 2007 08:00
Guardian
Member # 5360
Profile #11
We're real sticklers for grammar and spelling. Or, at least The Doctor is.

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May the fires of Undeath burn in your soul, and consume it.
Posts: 1636 | Registered: Wednesday, January 5 2005 08:00
Guardian
Member # 6670
Profile Homepage #12
By Laz:
quote:
If you are having problems with the actual scripting of dialog, then Niemand's Dialog Editor is a great tool. Sadly it can't solve problems with poor writing.
If you have a Windows machine, you can use my version of astring for extracting all strings from your scripts so as to run them through a word processor (find it on my site).</shameless plug>

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There: met my quota for one post this week. Back to the Central Limit Theorem!

[ Tuesday, March 06, 2007 08:33: Message edited by: Dintiradan ]
Posts: 1509 | Registered: Tuesday, January 10 2006 08:00
Shaper
Member # 3442
Profile Homepage #13
Crimson Editor also has a built-in spell checker, which isn't perfect but should suffice.

As far as writing dialogue goes, I can't help. Either it comes to me, or it doesn't. It's not a science so much as an art, but at least read through it and make sure it sounds as if it might actually be spoken.

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And when you want to Live
How do you start?
Where do you go?
Who do you need to know?

Posts: 2864 | Registered: Monday, September 8 2003 07:00
Warrior
Member # 8176
Profile #14
No! i don't copy existing dialog,I only errase the words and replace them for others.I'm not good making scripts from zero.In fact im unable to make them from zero,because I don't know much of scripting,I barely can understand them.How I can say it?Hmm...I reusing or reclycling scripts.

[ Wednesday, March 07, 2007 09:54: Message edited by: Blake81 ]

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The revenge is only a wild way of justice.
Posts: 70 | Registered: Saturday, February 24 2007 08:00
Shaper
Member # 7472
Profile Homepage #15
You can get a Dialogue Editor at Niemand's Site. It allows you to create and edit dialogue scripts without a bit of scripting involved.

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I tried to think of something witty to put here.

Needless to say, I failed.
Posts: 2686 | Registered: Friday, September 8 2006 07:00
Warrior
Member # 8176
Profile #16
The dialoge scripts are my minor problem.The big ones are the npc scripts.In this moment I looking for a script that make than a npc that joined the party disapear and reapear in another place.Did you know how to make them or if you have one like it.

[ Wednesday, March 07, 2007 10:16: Message edited by: Blake81 ]

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The revenge is only a wild way of justice.
Posts: 70 | Registered: Saturday, February 24 2007 08:00
Lifecrafter
Member # 6193
Profile Homepage #17
You don't have to write a creature script to do that, just put the NPC in the party, then use erase_char(4) (or 5 depending on which slot it's in) then activate_hidden_group() for the NPC you want to appear in the other location.

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Guaranteed to blow your mind.

Frostbite: Get It While It's...... Hot?
Posts: 900 | Registered: Monday, August 8 2005 07:00
Warrior
Member # 8176
Profile #18
Thanks for the info,I'm now a step closer of finish my scenario,it must be ready in a week or two.

[ Thursday, March 08, 2007 09:18: Message edited by: Blake81 ]

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The revenge is only a wild way of justice.
Posts: 70 | Registered: Saturday, February 24 2007 08:00
Warrior
Member # 8176
Profile #19
I having some troubles with the outdoor script,I wonder if some of us have a script for a spell on the outdoor(like the stone circles in A3).

[ Thursday, March 08, 2007 09:16: Message edited by: Blake81 ]

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The revenge is only a wild way of justice.
Posts: 70 | Registered: Saturday, February 24 2007 08:00
Shaper
Member # 7472
Profile Homepage #20
Do you mean granting the party a spell outdoors? That requires a somewhat steady grasp on scripting to do. I suppose I could make it for you, but I'd need your current outdoor script.

It's pretty much the same as granting a spell indoors. Look at the spellbook in Roses of Reckoning to see what it basically consists of. Or, you could post the script here and I could add the state myself.

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I tried to think of something witty to put here.

Needless to say, I failed.
Posts: 2686 | Registered: Friday, September 8 2006 07:00
Warrior
Member # 8176
Profile #21
Thanks you very much.I will send it to your E-mail.Thanks you again.

[ Thursday, March 08, 2007 09:53: Message edited by: Blake81 ]

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The revenge is only a wild way of justice.
Posts: 70 | Registered: Saturday, February 24 2007 08:00
Shaper
Member # 7472
Profile Homepage #22
Reply sent. As mentioned, you'll need to make a couple modifications, but other then that, it's ready to go.

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I tried to think of something witty to put here.

Needless to say, I failed.
Posts: 2686 | Registered: Friday, September 8 2006 07:00
Agent
Member # 8030
Profile Homepage #23
I decided to test what little I have done on my scenario, strange things happened;
1.Said there was an error in the town script in line 0, but a line 0 doesn't exsist.
2.A bow suddenly went into a character's inventory upon entering the scenario, even though I never said anywhere to give the party a bow.
3. I can't get out of the first town.

I'm using BBEdit for the scripting on a Mac.

[ Saturday, March 10, 2007 11:27: Message edited by: Excalibur ]

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WWJD?
Posts: 1384 | Registered: Tuesday, February 6 2007 08:00
Shaper
Member # 7472
Profile Homepage #24
It would help us if you posted the entire town script. That way, we could see what was going wrong.

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I tried to think of something witty to put here.

Needless to say, I failed.
Posts: 2686 | Registered: Friday, September 8 2006 07:00

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