Types of Dialog
Not all dialog in IF follows the same structure, as each discussion does not serve the same goal, just like in real life. Some conversations are for fulfilling social needs (relieving boredom, establishing social harmony, making friends). Others are for obtaining information, or obtaining goods or services. Still others are initiated by people besides yourself to get you to do something or give something. Yet, in IF, usually conversations are one-size-fits-all and cut right to the chase. Either you need something or the NPC needs something, without even a “Hi” or “Bye” mixed in.
It’s important to keep in mind the motivations of the NPC when planning your conversations. Of course the NPC exists for a specific game purpose, but the NPC brings his or her own personality and preferences to play. Say that you have an NPC that serves largely to explain some of the strange goings-on in the mysterious mansion. He could be a historian of manses in the South with unrequited love for Vicky, a manor-owner’s daughter. When the player interacts with this NPC, he dispenses background information readily, but requires you to find out more information about Vicky before he reveals the secrets of her father’s palatial residence.
Not all NPCs should dispense whatever the player wants to know, or do whatever the player needs to have done at the drop of a hat. They must be convinced, either through ask/tell actions, or displaying of objects (say, an incriminating photo — which is an idea I got from some old RAIF posting), or by the PC befriending them, like bringing a blackberry cobbler to a hungry recluse.
This is something I’ve learned while designing the characters for Seasons — each serves a game purpose, and each has his or her own motivations, which makes fulfilling the game purpose a challenge for the player.
