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The more I play Cafè Enchante, the more I realize that I read entirely too many articles/books about writing interesting, natural-sounding dialog in games
And not a single one about *pacing it*
And not a single one about *pacing it*
To use a more popular example:
Phoenix Wright's dialogs are not well written by any means, and yet they have an impeccable sense of *timing*.
They read like a good tv show because the dialog beats, the animations, the cuts, all create a sense of flow
Phoenix Wright's dialogs are not well written by any means, and yet they have an impeccable sense of *timing*.
They read like a good tv show because the dialog beats, the animations, the cuts, all create a sense of flow
We keep telling writers "you don't need other people to make games, just use Twine or Ren'Py!"
But we never teach those young NDs to think visually about their games, screen by screen
Even if you are working on a text game, the way text appears on the screen has a visual value
But we never teach those young NDs to think visually about their games, screen by screen
Even if you are working on a text game, the way text appears on the screen has a visual value
You can make a VNs with a handful of assets and no animations, yet make them feel alive by using zooms, cuts and camera movements
Cafe Enchante, for example, uses zoomed versions character busts to empathize intimacy - like characters whispering around a table
Cafe Enchante, for example, uses zoomed versions character busts to empathize intimacy - like characters whispering around a table
And this makes scenes feel SO MUCH BETTER, with no extra assets&no extra costs!
If you are a writer in a small VN team, you really should pick up such visual tricks - because I know you are also the one who ends up implementing the art in-engine.
Might as well do it smartly.
If you are a writer in a small VN team, you really should pick up such visual tricks - because I know you are also the one who ends up implementing the art in-engine.
Might as well do it smartly.
"But how do I learn to think visually, Giada? You just said narrative design books don't cover this topic"
Comics
Writing
Comics
Writing
Grab comics manuals. Study them. Draw bad storyboards. No, you don't need to learn how to draw - just learn how to break down a scene in a sequence of panels.
Take your game script. Visualize your character talking. Will they use the same tone of voice, the same expression, for the whole scene? Twenty lines of dialog, all with the same face?
Probably not. They will say two lines and then snicker, and then five more and smile. In a comic you'd break the sequence in two panels.
In a game you do the same, using visuals or music or camera to empathize the change.
In a game you do the same, using visuals or music or camera to empathize the change.
In prose fiction, we are taught to avoid "talking heads" - endless dialog sequences devoid of visual descriptions
In games, we should avoid "talking busts". If nothing on the screen changes apart from the dialog in a text box, you are doing something wrong.
In games, we should avoid "talking busts". If nothing on the screen changes apart from the dialog in a text box, you are doing something wrong.
