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The importance of engrossing dialogue

By: The Rampant Lion

  One of the aspects I see more and more of in OHRRPGCE games these days is dialogue that fails to envelop me in the game’s story. Any Joe-six pack can walk in off the street and come up with a great story line, but it takes some practice to make dialogue that fully immerses the player in the world you have so endeavored to create.

  One of the easiest ways to accomplish this is to give your world and everything in it a history. It doesn't even have to be crucial to the gameplay or story, just something to let players know your characters have a past, present and will have a future, whatever you wish that future to be. This may be as simple as NPC's reminding you of something that happens before the game takes place, to more complex things, such as flashback scripts or legends of creationism. One such example would be changing this...

  "Say, Nicky, do you wanna go get me a turkey? You can't have Christmas without a turkey."

  To...

  "Hey, Nicky! I sent you off to get me a turkey for Christmas a day ago! What happened? Did ya get lost at the corner store or something?"

  It may be corny, but overall its much more interesting, no?

  Another simple thing to add depth to your game is to give it a type of religion or belief. A well known game that accomplishes this very well is Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete. Throughout the game people ask their god to bless you and the save points are shrines devoted to the god (goddess to be exact.) Let your player learn more and more about the belief system of your characters, but do NOT dump it all on them at the same time, some games have been known to do this and it is VERY overwhelming. Lets look at another example shall we? Change something like...

  "Have a good day Nicky!"

  To...

  "Good luck Nicky, and may the goddess of virtue smile down on you. God-speed my friend!"

  Again, its corny, but its much more engrossing.

  Another thing that can add to your game, but may or may not be difficult, depending on your abilities, is to slowly develop some sort of traumatic event in your character’s past. Personally, I find games with numerous flash backs and histories to be very engrossing. Just as with a religion, do not reveal it all in one sitting. Dish it out sparingly, only giving a peek to players a little at a time. My favorite example of this is Final Fantasy 8 or 7. Initially, we are lead to believe one thing about the hero's past, but as the game proceeds and you meet more characters who are connected to this character, it slowly, almost painfully becomes clear what their past really involved. This need, this lust to know more about someone is a human characteristic both easy and crucial to exploit in games.

  Since this is my first article, I'll keep it light and wrap up here. As with everything you do in your games, quantity, quality and placement are important factors. If you spend hours on end crafting that crucial scene, that apex of emotion, release it at a time when the game’s tensions are at their highest. This is very effective and can be seen as a reward of sorts for playing your game. However, overuse of low quality scenes can ruin a game and detract from the playing experience, making it less of an involving experience, and more like simply watching the game on TV. Your goal is to let people to actually play the game. To live it, and feel it, to keep them guessing. To finish I will leave you with an ol' show-biz quote: "Leave 'em wantin' more!"