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- Apr 25, 2014
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Hey guys,
This question is more for Harvest Moon/Stardew Valley/Story of Seasons fans, but anyone can answer! For a while now, I've been making a harvest moon-like game for my own amusement (that I hopefully will release when it's eventually done!). I've been struggling for a couple weeks with villager/bachelor/bachelorette dialogue, as I would love for it to be immersive, semi-unique, but also ideally not take forever to event.
For me, I remember looking back fondly on FOMT/MFOMT (and HM64), in which dialogue changed at every "heart" or "friendship" level. It was always satisfying seeing the heart color change and getting a new line of dialogue that helped flesh out the characters even more! On the other hand, I loved how in RF4, the characters had unique dialogue practically every day for over a year, which made it very rewarding to talk to them every day. However, if I recall correctly, the dialogue was not based on friendship points, just how often you talked to them, so they could hate you and say the same thing as if they liked you. My ideal game would have a mix of those two scenarios, with dialogue also sometimes changing depending on weather, season, time of day, etc.
One of my ideas is to essentially divide dialogue into three main "levels": 1) acquaintances, 2) friends, and 3) good friends (and the start of some more romantic dialogue for eligible NPCs. The first time you talk to them, the dialogue will be random based on "level"and the time of day (with an option for some "generic greeting" dialogue, as well. The second time you talk to them, the dialogue will be based (again) on level, but also could be dependent on location, time of day, season, relationships you have with family members, your stamina, whether or not you're single, etc. Also, at certain points in your relationships, the NPCs will say completely unique dialogue and maybe give you an item or a recipe. Obviously, it takes me forever to come up with unique dialogue for all of the NPCs, but I want the player to be interested in talking to the villagers.
So what's your favorite part of villager/bachelor/bachelorette interactions in games like Harvest Moon that keep you coming back for more? What games have your favorite social interactions and why? I would love to hear your opinions! You guys are awesome!
This question is more for Harvest Moon/Stardew Valley/Story of Seasons fans, but anyone can answer! For a while now, I've been making a harvest moon-like game for my own amusement (that I hopefully will release when it's eventually done!). I've been struggling for a couple weeks with villager/bachelor/bachelorette dialogue, as I would love for it to be immersive, semi-unique, but also ideally not take forever to event.
For me, I remember looking back fondly on FOMT/MFOMT (and HM64), in which dialogue changed at every "heart" or "friendship" level. It was always satisfying seeing the heart color change and getting a new line of dialogue that helped flesh out the characters even more! On the other hand, I loved how in RF4, the characters had unique dialogue practically every day for over a year, which made it very rewarding to talk to them every day. However, if I recall correctly, the dialogue was not based on friendship points, just how often you talked to them, so they could hate you and say the same thing as if they liked you. My ideal game would have a mix of those two scenarios, with dialogue also sometimes changing depending on weather, season, time of day, etc.
One of my ideas is to essentially divide dialogue into three main "levels": 1) acquaintances, 2) friends, and 3) good friends (and the start of some more romantic dialogue for eligible NPCs. The first time you talk to them, the dialogue will be random based on "level"and the time of day (with an option for some "generic greeting" dialogue, as well. The second time you talk to them, the dialogue will be based (again) on level, but also could be dependent on location, time of day, season, relationships you have with family members, your stamina, whether or not you're single, etc. Also, at certain points in your relationships, the NPCs will say completely unique dialogue and maybe give you an item or a recipe. Obviously, it takes me forever to come up with unique dialogue for all of the NPCs, but I want the player to be interested in talking to the villagers.
So what's your favorite part of villager/bachelor/bachelorette interactions in games like Harvest Moon that keep you coming back for more? What games have your favorite social interactions and why? I would love to hear your opinions! You guys are awesome!
