Lets talk about: Talking & Dialogues

[Underserial]

Hey there,

im searching for ways to improve my dialogues writing.
Im feeling this is one of my weakpoints in game design.

How do you improve here? Do you have an tipps?

 

[slimmmeiske2]

Writing dialogue is not a game mechanic.

I've moved this thread to General Discussion. Please be sure to post your threads in the correct forum next time. Thank you.

 

[Underserial]

Writing dialogue is not a game mechanic.
[move]General Discussion[/move]

you missunderstand what i was asking =)

there are two parts and therefore are two threads opened:

1. General Question was:
How to improve the skill how to write better dialogues

2. How to write (in the program or external program and import)
I find it very hard typing into the maker =)

 

[slimmmeiske2]

Both of those questions belong in General Discussion. So just discuss them in this topic. No need to make two topics about it.

 

[Underserial]

Sorry this wasn’t as clear for me as it is for you.

@topic:
Can you help:

1. General Question was:
How to improve the skill how to write better dialogues

2. How to write (in the program or external program and import)
I find it very hard typing into the maker

 

[VitaliaDi]

This is largely a creative writing skill. I'd say pay attention to dialogue in books and tv, you want a natural flow and you want the word choice to be characterizing and unique for each character. And exercise you can do to improve your dialogue writing is to pay attention to conversations. Go to a public place and discreetly listen. Or sit quietly in a group of friends/family and listen, mentally or physically taking notes in either case.

 

[SolonWise]

You can read books (even short ones) to learn how each author do theis dialogues. Another good strategy is to write small file about every character, like what are their likes, their fears, their personality, and then ask yourself "what this one character would act if he/she was in this position?" With a little training, your characters will be talking by theirselves in your games. Its a long process, but I think it works.

 

[woootbm]

I don't mean to come across as mean, but have you considered hiring a writer instead?

I understand if you just want to do a solo project why you would want to do the writing yourself, or if you consider yourself a writer, but otherwise I tend to think trying to write for yourself is a mistake. Like, writing is so much harder and such a bigger deal than dev's seem to realize (even in professional spaces where I work). For some reason people just think, "Whatever, I'll do it myself!" I guess just to have one less cook in the kitchen? I'll never know.

There are so many writers out there, too. If you post in the recruiting forums they will surely be easy to come by, especially if you give them a lot of creative freedom. Having someone who is dedicated to that craft working on it is so much better than just stumbling through it yourself.

 

[Underserial]

There are so many writers out there, too. If you post in the recruiting forums they will surely be easy to come by, especially if you give them a lot of creative freedom. Having someone who is dedicated to that craft working on it is so much better than just stumbling through it yourself.

thats an good idea!

 

[Eleneid]

Hi everybody,I'm new here

 

[Kes]

@Eleneid Your post has nothing to do with the topic of this thread. Please do not spam threads with unrelated comments. If you want to introduce your self, I suggest you start a thread in Introductions.

 

[LycanDiva]

A good book to look into if you're trying to sharpen your writing skills is Writing Fiction: The Practical Guide From New York's Acclaimed Creative Writing School. It not only covers characters and dialogue, but also pacing, setting, plot, and theme as well.

For me, however, I tend to think of writing dialogue as acting. This involves knowing each character fairly well, and being able to fluidly switch between them when they're going back and forth with each other. To practice this, as crazy as it sounds, practicing conversations between your characters out loud when you've got a moment alone (house to yourself, in the shower, mowing the lawn, etc.) really helps in this regard. Also, reading psychology text books can do wonders for helping flesh out characters in your mind and make both their words and actions flow more naturally in the story.

 

[Borio]

Hello. I would also like to know how to do this optimally.

 

[ave36]

The trick in writing good RPG dialogue that differentiates it from book writing is that RPG plot is fluid, and the characters who can end up in a situation can be different each time. So writing dialogue means weaving conditional branches for every other line.

Example:

A party stands near the entrance of a Fire Cave. Two mandatory characters are required by the plot; the third can be anyone of the available party members.

Dramatis Personae:

Mandatory party members:
Oscar, a brooding, silent monster hunter, a protagonist
Presto, a spy, jester and sorcerer, the resident black mage, the knowledgeable guy

Possible party members

Mira, a jolly and a bit rude paladin of a common upbringing
Melle, white mage, a well brought up princess
Kaori, the extremely silent and terse ninja maid, speaks more or less like Fujin from FF8
Nightwind, the repentant thief, anxious
Solomon, gadgeteer genius extraordinaire, speaks like a professor, which he is
Geas, a cat familiar. Does not speak, meows

Oscar: The Caves of Fire?
Presto: Exactly, my friend. Aren't they majestic and intimidating?

- check if Mira is in party, if yes then say this line:
Mira: Yikes! Presto, are you sure you won't get us a-barbecued?
- else check if Melle is in party, if yes then say:
Melle: It is clear that it is hot inside. Isn't it dangerous?
- else check if Kaori is in party, if yes then say:
Kaori: HOT. Dangerous?
- else check if Nightwind is in party, if yes then say:
Nightwind: This place looks like hell! I'm sure that it's very hot down there. I wouldn't enter this place if I were you!
- else check if Solomon is in party, if yes then say:
Solomon: What an interesting phenomenon! Doubtless, we shall encounter volcanic magma. However, it seems risky to explore this cave!
- else check if Geas is in party, if yes then display message:
* Geas anxiously nips Oscar's finger (lose 1 hp, play sound effect Cat)
Oscar: See, Geas is afraid to enter. Maybe, the creature is smarter than we think!

(end conditional branches)

Presto: Poppycock! I've been to these caves. Yes, it is hot and the air is harsh, but it's not fatal.

This is a very simple example: the same line is retold in the style of everyone who can theoretically say it. However, writing dialogue like this helps you learn understanding the characters and switching between them on the fly. Giving each character a memorable and distinct speech pattern, such as Mira's copious colloquialisms, Kaori's kanjispeak or Solomon's professorial sesquipedalian loquaciousness helps.

 

[Drpsyche]

A few people have solid political and individual perspectives which they use in writing dialogues. Others either hush up about their feelings or have no specific suppositions, so they do not use this trick in a custom writing service perspective. The stubborn will appear to be more grounded characters, however less agreeable than the individuals who appear to be progressively liberal and tolerating, even where the assessments of the previous character type are politically right or hard to contend against. But how to be sure you're good with the structure of your writing?

My first thought about a dialogue is its classification and structuring: event dialogues and non-event dialogues:

About Dialogue in RPGs

In RPG Maker games, dialogue is pretty common, but there are a lot of different ways to use it. Do you keep your dialogues short, or maybe you have none at all; do you give dialogue only to side characters and NPCs or do you let your protagonist speak? I'd like to hear from you the length or...

forums.rpgmakerweb.com

Then you can look at the RPG dialogue systems at Iron Tower Studio.

 

[Conflictx3]

there are countless writing styles when it comes to dialouge, i'm a newbie myself but i can atleast say i went from fearing the whole process to enjoying the actual dialogue i'm writing, albeit i do alot of "i'll clean that up later".

i think what i'm trying to say is, don't be afraid to write out your conversation, then READ your conversation, then edit it as needed. you don't have to get it right on the first time. and honestly i would say DON'T write the convo in RPG maker, only because test playing that cutscene 25+ times is exhausting. get a word app (evernote, google docs) and literally TYPE the convo (best part is you can copy and paste them into RPG maker once you got it how you want it!)

Hero: "The dragon's here!"
Support: "We Have to kill it it!"
Dragon: "Finally I'm Free!"
*Breathes Fire*

^^ this is something you can visibly and quickly pick out the issues, as someone said earlier, you should know your characters likes and dislikes to decide who speaks when and how. Maybe your support's more squirly and excitable while your hero is brave and responsible, Maybe your dragon is more about intimidation and saying his intentions aloud than just beig happy he's free from whatever seal he's been in. Plus those dang typos. so your text reads more so like this:

Support: "T-the dragon! H-he's here!!"
Dragon: "Finally!,"
*Breathes Fire*
Dragon: "I'm free to feast on mortals once more!"
Hero: "We can't let him reach the village, we have to kill him now!"

not the best example but that process helps me tons.

you should also go to youtube and look up how to's on writing characters and dialogue. There're a lot of neat stuff like character arcs and profiles you should know. I suggest iWritely she is a YA author and former...i forgot the job title but the person who reviews books for traditional publishing. she has a lot of great short videos on do's and don't as well as a few videos of OTHER cool youtube and tools you can use to improve characters and writing.