Interview Chris Avellone talks about dialogues

[Vault Dweller]

Tags: Chris Avellone; Obsidian Entertainment

<a href=http://www.rpgdot.com>RPG Dot</a> has asked <b>Chris Avellone</b> <a href=http://www.rpgdot.com/index.php?hsaction=10053&ID=1197&sid=e4279ffeb1fe4969889c4e06ae1f2ac2>a few questions</a> about dialogues and creative writing. Chris used this opportunity to reassure readers that a game like <b>Planescape: Torment</b> won't be made in the near future:
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<blockquote>And lastly, always make sure dialogue doesn't get in the way for people who don't like it. If they want to short-circuit a conversation and just get a journal entry so they can go fireball the next person, they should be allowed to do so - we don't want to enforce a certain playstyle or force someone to listen to an exposition when all they want to do is throw magic missiles in some troll's face. They may not get as an emotionally satisfying experience as a more hardcore role-player, but that's not what they're there for, and a designer or writer shouldn't hamstring them.</blockquote>One may argue that people who like action should stick with action games (there is no shortage of those), and that trying to force a potentially deep RPG to be an action game is a <a href=http://www.lucasarts.com/games/swkotor_sithlords/>mistake</a>, but let's just hope that <a href=http://specialchildren.about.com/od/behaviorissues/ht/goals.htm>NWN2 will be a better game than the original</a>.
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[Micmu]

He's wrong. People who don't like to read dialogue don't like to read journal entries, too.
Unless it's an "upgraded" journal.

 

[DarkUnderlord]

You mean I may have to read? THE HORROR.

 

[Data4]

My God, that's the stupidest thing I've ever read. Why the fuck do games have to be all-inclusive?

Wait... don't answer... The money of stupid people is just as spendable as that from the rest of us. I swear, one day, I'm going to sequester myself in a cabin in the woods with a deck of cards, a notebook, and a pencil, and say "Fuck humanity".

-D4

 

[Atrokkus]

again, it's too early to pass judgement. Just wait until the release, or at least a hands-on preview.

 

[Naked_Lunch]

I think it's a pretty good indication of what kind of game it will be when the developer talks about skipping dialouge to go fight stuff instead. Who needs to read boring text when you can launch fireballs at orcs and see the fear in their eyes. You want to see the fear in the orc's eyes, right?

 

[Mefi]

I don't see the point of even having dialogue. Why not just a big flashing arrow pointing in the right direction and then to the right thing to kill? Would speed up the game no end and help out those poor little fellas who struggle when faced with a speak and spell.

 

[Atrokkus]

I think it's a pretty good indication of what kind of game it will be when the developer talks about skipping dialouge to go fight stuff instead.

Yes, it is a good indication, but hell... I just can't be so sure unless I actually play the game.

 

[Jora]

I think it's a pretty good indication of what kind of game it will be when the developer talks about skipping dialouge to go fight stuff instead.

So did you think there wasn't much dialogue is KotOR2? MCA has been saying this for a while now and probably started thinking so shortly after PS:T. What I think it means is that there shouldn't be much text in the critical path through a game (Much like in Fallout! Wow, that game must suck!) but you're free to talk to your followers and other NPCs and spend hours reading what they say.

 

[LlamaGod]

They should just knock off the shit with making RPGs cater to idiots by making dialog 'optional' and instead put Reading Skills Above Junior High School Level as a requirement on the game box.

 

[Balor]

They should just knock off the shit with making RPGs cater to idiots by making dialog 'optional' and instead put Reading Skills Above Junior High School Level as a requirement on the game box.

They afraid that it would never sell due to "Way too high system requirements".

 

[Micmu]

How the hell can you make dialogues sufficient enough to please BOTH hardcore and casual gamers? That's plain bullshit.
Will there always be a first dialogue option "1. Giimme me quezzt and shutup!!" amongst other lines?

 

[gromit]

I always found conversation in RPGs, hell, ANYTHING in RPGs, to be a lot more satisfying when it's something that I find / unlock / initiate myself. Even Dakkon's magic hooby-whatsit dialogues would not have been the same if, upon meeting him for the first time, he was like "Wait! Before we go adventuring, let's play with my ringy circle Zerthimon thing!"

I enjoy getting rewarded for taking the time to explore and think about the dialogue; I enjoy it even more when it's a conscious decision on my part. I also appreciate the mere presence of a dialogue option along the lines of "Don't you ever shut up? Get to the point!," even if I may never select it.

 

[Rat Keeng]

llol u cant pwn monstrez wif werdz stuopid looollo!!

 

[Jason]

I don't see how Avellone's remarks mean a game like PST won't get made by Obsidian or whoever. As Wallace just reminded me, PST usually had options to skip a lot of the dialogue like "Get to the point" or "Attack him" etc. Most of us didn't use them because we're nerds but they were there.

Whether or not publishers want to bother with a game like PST is another story.

 

[DarkUnderlord]

They should just knock off the shit with making RPGs

... and we'll just stop that sentence right there. I think you'll agree that it's much better now.

 

[TheGreatGodPan]

In Fallout, couldn't you make a character that couldn't talk or read?

 

[Fresh]

http://specialchildren.about.com/od/beh ... /goals.htm

Haha!

 

[DarkSign]

Great link,!HyPeRbOy!.

Here's the applicable nugget:

3. Pick the thing that's easiest, not necessarily the most important.

Simple is smart, not silly. The goal you set should be the one you or your child has the most chance of attaining, not the one you most dream of acheiving.

Translation: young gamers cant think so make them twitch.

 

[Relien]

Once I played some pinball game and I was greatly dissappointed with it. It enforced a playstyle I didn't like at all! There was a steel ball which I wanted to talk to, but it just hit some flashing lights and didn't speak with me. My friends told me to play rpgs, but they are stupid - any game should allow any playing style. As for rpgs, removing all dialogue is not enough. What if I want to play chess or minigolf in the middle of some quest? Players should have the option to completely avoid whatever storyline there is and visit some casino or racing circuit whenever they want. Lets make just one genre of games, it will satisfy everyone!