Discussion on Dialogue and Ellipses

[TheRiotInside]

I think we all have those friends on Facebook who don't really know how to internet properly and end every single sentence with ellipses. Makes it sound like they are shady or always trailing off in thought. Innocent phrases become uncomfortable like, "I'm really happy for you..." or "I had a great time last night..." or "try this recipe for your kids, I'm sure it will be a big hit..."

Seeing them used improperly so often can stigmatize them after a while, but as long as they're used correctly and only when necessary they can be a useful tool. Though some would argue whether they're necessary at all! Interesting discussion on that by the way. Personally, I'd rather see ellipses than having the text boxes disappear and reappear mid-sentence in order to visually show a character's pause. It feels a bit broken up and distracting to me, but hey, everyone's different.

 

[whitesphere]

@TheRiotInside

I agree that ellipses are great to use to indicate pauses.  And I much prefer using an ellipsis for a pause rather than close and re-open the text box.  Really, all punctuation exists so the written word can more closely emulate the spoken word.  And, as we all know, pauses can dramatically change the meaning of a sentence.

There are occasions when I have characters use a ton of ellipses, but that is if they're really sick, dying --- or otherwise have a huge effort speaking each word.  Like:  "Please...give this...to Mom."  There, it has huge impact, but I rarely use that.  Overall, I only use them to indicate a few specific things.

Punctuation, like swear words, should never be overused, or they lose their impact.  Of course, there's another entire thread buried in my previous statement --- should swear words be used in an RPG, and if so, to what extent?

Mis-used ellipses or other punctuation makes it very hard for me to follow text.  But then again so do spelling or grammar errors. 

 

[bgillisp]

I dunno, I don't like the small font idea, as the player themselves isn't ever supposed to know what was said. Its supposed to be left to your imagination to fill in the blank. I think ... is going to work better there in that case.

As for swear words, what I did was I made up my own to replace the common ones. The player doesn't know the swear words at the start of the game, but they will figure them out based on others reaction.

Just think about it. You could have a dialogue that goes like this!

A: You Orc!

B: A! We don't talk that way around here!

 

[Tsukihime]

As for swear words, what I did was I made up my own to replace the common ones. The player doesn't know the swear words at the start of the game, but they will figure them out based on others reaction.


Just think about it. You could have a dialogue that goes like this!


A: You Orc!


B: A! We don't talk that way around here!

I like it.

A: You TEDDY BEAR!


B: A! We don't talk that way around here!

 

[Kaelan]

What do you guys think of the way planescape torment does it? I ask since it is very descriptive in the text given and it is almost like reading a book.

I feel like it does very well for the time it was released in, but nowadays I think we should be doing show and tell.  Back then it was too much telling, now it's too much showing.  We need a balance of the two I reckon.

Disagree completely. I really don't buy the "times have changed" arguments. I don't see any reason this approach couldn't work in RM.

 

[Scythuz]

Disagree completely. I really don't buy the "times have changed" arguments. I don't see any reason this approach couldn't work in RM.

Sorry, looks like I've worded my original response poorly, allow me to explain.  

It's still a valid approach to do either the show or tell method of plot reveal but what I'm trying to put across is that I'd like to see more games that do both.  I would like see more games where you could have books and books on the lore but you can also put that lore into a cinematic situation and still have it work perfectly well because it shows you what's going on well too.  

Bonus points if the gameplay is still compelling.  I'm definitely not saying it's wrong to like or make these kinds of games, far from it, if it's what you do best then I encourage it.  For example, I'm a big fan of the new Shadowrun games which are based upon the 'tell' method of plot reveal, this style of game probably wouldn't work from a 'show' method of plot reveal and that's fine, it doesn't have to as it works perfectly well as it is.

Speaking of which, if anyone can name some games that balance their plotlines in the above way and do both successfully I would really like to hear of them as I could just not be looking hard enough, or, I'm just being unfair on what games there are that should be considered to have achieved this.

Basically, if it's at all possible to cater to both show and tell methods of storytelling and not sacrifice too much of either element (or the gameplay) I want to see it done.

 

[Matseb2611]

Ah Shadowrun. That was one of the things I really disliked in the game. It used too much of the text describing the character's expression as if it was a book. I would've preferred if they did more showing than telling. I mean really, do I as the player need to know every minute detail of someone's expression? Most times it wasn't so relevant to what was happening, and when it was, you can convey the mood much better with the dialogue itself, as well as any visual cues. It's not so much about "times have changed". It's just immersion-breaking (at least to me personally). I don't want the narrator interfering when I'm playing the game. I want to feel like I am IN the game, experiencing it for myself, and not as though someone is telling me about it.

In the above example, the narrator didn't need to tell us he was drunk. That could've been commented on by one of the characters or something. Likewise, we don't need to be told of a screen switching on. That effect is very easy to show visually and with a sfx.