Branching Dialogue
Branching dialogue is a way to promote player interaction within a game. By allowing the player to choose from a list of responses when speaking with other characters, you give them some control over the world and make it seem more personalized. Some games alter the storyline based on the character’s responses. The problem with having multiple outcomes for every conversation in the game is the sheer number of outcomes that must be written.
This can be minimized by looping the conversations back to common responses and cutting down on the number of end results, while still giving the player the illusion of having a complete freedom of choice within the game. Here’s a simple example showing a character dialogue with possible player responses:
Villager: The village is being raided by bandits!
- I’d better get out of here!
- How can I help?
- Great! I’m gonna loot whatever’s left over!
- What did you do to deserve that?
The player has four options to choose from in their response. Let’s see where each option leads…
(Option 1) Player: I’d better get out of here!
Villager: Thanks for nothing!
Or…
(Option 2) Player: How can I help?
Villager: Kill the bandits for us!
- I’ll help you! (Villager: Thank you!)
- On second thought, this sounds dangerous, I’m out of here! (Villager: Thanks for nothing!)
Or…
(Option 3) Player: Great! I’m gonna loot what’s left when they’re done!
Villager: Then we’ll fight you as well!
- On second thought, this sounds dangerous, I’m out of here! (Villager: Thanks for nothing!)
- No point waiting then! (Villager: On Guard!)
Or…
(Option 4) Player: What did you do to deserve that?
Villager: Nothing! We’re just peasants!
- I’ll help you. (Villager: Thank you!)
- I don’t believe you! Let’s fight! (Villager: On Guard!)
- On second thought this sounds dangerous, I’m out of here! (Villager: Thanks for nothing!)
As you can see, there are a number of different paths, but only three final outcomes. This cuts down on the complication of the game, especially when you multiply this conversation by the hundreds or thousands of encounters that are possible in the storyline. Branching dialogue, and looping it back on itself to keep the responses manageable, is an important trick to learn when writing dialogue for games.
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