Dialog is something I have always struggled with. Writing it comes easy enough for me, but should I? I've found myself growing incessantly impatient with long dialogs in games, and unless the characters are engaging enough I simply skip through it.
Adventure games have it tough, especially indie ones. If a company like Bioware wants to have a longish conversation in one of their games, they can usually get away with it. They have production values, so we get all sorts of funky camera angles while the characters talk. We get wide shots, close-ups, even pans and zooms. The characters move. They gesture. We can see their eyes and expressions, and so we get drawn deeper into what they are saying. The fact that the conversations are usually well-written and engaging are just a bonus.
Alas, little games like mine don't have this luxury. Usually you have one screen and two characters standing there. They talk. And that's all you see. The camera doesn't move. The characters barely move. Nothing happens, except the dialog. Even if the conversation is an interesting one, it is bound to get boring for many players.
As I've written more games, I've found myself writing less and less dialog. Or rather, each individual dialog exchange has gotten shorter and shorter. It's very tempting to give your character gobs of words to say, especially if you think they are interesting. And since the characters are interesting, obviously the player will want to spend some time listening to them talk and get to know them, right?
Meh... sort of. It's taken me several games to learn this, but less is definitely more. Games are all about interacting with the world. Yes, you want to talk to the characters, but you also want to explore and get on with the game (and meet more characters). Yes, allow the player to chat with your characters, but try and keep it short.
I am very guilty of this sin. Inspired by the Adventure Game Studio thread, I went and skimmed through the dialog of The Blackwell Legacy. And man, can those characters talk. Here's a particularly evil example of what I'm talking about. It's a long section of dialog which is made worse by the fact that Rosa is on the screen by herself. She's on the phone talking to her boss:
Boss: Rosangelina. Hi.So hm. Let's count those lines, shall we? 1..2...3... 41 lines! 41 lines to tell the player they need to go to a location and ask some questions about a girl, and to grab a picture while there. 41 lines of zero player interactivity. 41 lines of Rosa standing there on the screen with a phone to her ear.
Rosa: Hi Bob.
Boss: Thanks SO much for submitting your last review on time. For once.
Rosa: Yeah.
Boss: I got a little assignment for you today.
Rosa: Assignment?
Rosa: I just review books, Bob.
Boss: Well, today you're not.
Boss: Human interest, Blackwell. And it's RIGHT in your neighborhood.
Rosa: Human interest?
Boss: Yep. College girl. Suicide.
Rosa: Someone killed herself?
Boss: Yep. Some girl named... JoAnn.
Rosa: That's-
Boss: You know the Britany House? The NYU dorm?
Rosa: Yes, but-
Boss: Great! Head over to the dorm and get a few statements.
Rosa: But-
Boss: Speak to some people on her floor. Get a word in with the roommate.
Rosa: Listen-
Boss: Speak to the R.A., too. And hey, if you can score a picture of the girl, that would be a real coup.
Rosa: But I don't do that stuff!
Boss: Like I said, today you ARE.
Boss: Jared's over at city hall covering that strike.
Boss: So you're it.
Rosa: Today is not the best-
Boss: Not hearing you.
Boss: Write it up for tomorrow's edition.
Boss: Pressures of college life, etc.
Boss: It practically writes itself.
Rosa: Wait-
Boss: I'm SO looking forward to reading it, Blackwell.
Boss: Ciao!
(hangs up)
Rosa: I hate him so much.
Rosa: Is freelancing for that stupid paper even worth it?
Rosa: I guess it keeps me writing, but...
Rosa: Oh, whatever.
Rosa: I'll just go over there and get it done.
Rosa: It's not like I don't have enough death in my life right now.
I'm not knocking the dialog. I like the dialog. But hey, I'm a bit biased. However, I can't deny that it could have been much shorter. So as a little writing exercise, I decided to see if I could edit it down:
Boss: Rosangelina. Hi.
Rosa: Hi Bob.
Boss: I got a little assignment for you today.
Rosa: Assignment?
Boss: Human interest, Blackwell. Suicide. A college girl named JoAnn Sherman.
Rosa: That's awful, but-
Boss: You know the Britany House? The NYU dorm?
Rosa: Yes, but-
Boss: Great! Head over to the dorm and get a few statements.
Rosa: But-
Boss: Speak to some people on her floor. Get a word in with the roommate.
Rosa: Listen-
Boss: Speak to the R.A., too. And hey, see if you can score a picture of the girl.
Rosa: But I don't do that stuff! I write book reviews.
Boss: Versatility, Blackwell. That's you make it in this biz.
Boss: Get cracking.
(hangs up)
Rosa: I hate him so much.
Count 'em. It's now 17 lines instead of the previous 41. It's shorter, snappier, and gives you the exact same information. I probably could have cut it down further by removing all of Rosa's interjections of "But!" and "Listen!", but they show Rosa's reluctance nicely and made the dialog flow a lot more naturally. This is how I probably would've written this exchange today.
I have no plans on releasing a "cut down dialog" edition of Blackwell Legacy, but it begs the question. How do you feel about long dialogs in games? Do you enjoy them? Skip through them? Did you play Blackwell Legacy and ever cry out "God, do these people ever shut up?" Please comment and let me know.
-Dave
