Orion: Dialog IS Gameplay. Let's Re-Invent RPG Conversations!

[Cyberdude]

Let's really re-invent how RPG's convey dialog and dialog options. Being honest, CP2077 dialog was mostly just a click-thru affair. 90% of the dialog "choices" were just meaningless color language (which still has a place btw).

Yes, some life path color choices.
Yes, a few narrative changing choices (like 2 or 3 max)

For Orion WE NEED to reinvent this and make DIALOG AS GAMEPLAY! What do I mean?

Any input from the user should "move a needle" somewhere. Not just give illusions of something changing. Which players have lost patience for these days.

PROPOSAL
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1. Keep the various color dialog choices but allow them to feed into PERSONALITY TRAIT buffs, not unlike the various existing stat progression buffs you get by performing gameplay feats.

For example, if I want my character to be a SMART ASS, then let there be many "smart ass" dialog responses that give me EXP in "SMART ASS" and different levels of smart ass grant me buffs.
Do the same with other dialog personalities like STOIC, FUNNY, etc.

You might want buffs from different PERSONALITY paths and will need to determine if a dialog response is FUNNY, STOIC, SMART ASS etc. The game SHOULD NOT outright tell you which is which! That turns dialog into an actual THINKING activity with rewards.

2. Do not just highlight the dialog choice that advances the story. That is META. Thinking about the conversation and deciding what you, the character, want to accomplish IS GAMEPLAY. Let's not cater to the normies who just want to button mash through dialog.

Or at least, make it an option to turn highlight or dialog hints on/off.

That is all. Let's DO THIS!

 

[Bios1987]

I completely agree with the idea of turning dialogue into a more meaningful aspect of gameplay, but I’d like to propose an additional layer of immersion: allowing players to communicate with NPCs using their own voice via a microphone. NPCs could respond in ways that are more or less relevant and “individualized” depending on the “personality” expressed during the conversation. This system could evaluate tone, language, and content to assign points to personality traits like SMART ASS, STOIC, or FUNNY.

A similar concept was showcased in the Matrix demo on PS5, where the level of interaction and realism was truly breathtaking. By incorporating this kind of technology, we could genuinely reinvent RPG interaction, taking player engagement to a whole new level.

 

[Tarille]

Let's really re-invent how RPG's convey dialog and dialog options.

Sure. It would be nice to see some more evolution to how dialogue is done in games, so that things can be deeper.

1. Keep the various color dialog choices but allow them to feed into PERSONALITY TRAIT buffs, not unlike the various existing stat progression buffs you get by performing gameplay feats.

For example, if I want my character to be a SMART ASS, then let there be many "smart ass" dialog responses that give me EXP in "SMART ASS" and different levels of smart ass grant me buffs.
Do the same with other dialog personalities like STOIC, FUNNY, etc.

This isn't new though. Pillars of Eternity did exactly this yonks ago.

It also has the same issues as the whole "Alignment based dialogue" stuff. Which is you focus less on what your character would actually say, and more on what gives your character the reputation changes you want (I.e. Your "SMART ASS" character wants to pick the "SMART ASS" options to build their "SMART ASS" alignment for the "SMART ASS" alignment boons)

You might want buffs from different PERSONALITY paths and will need to determine if a dialog response is FUNNY, STOIC, SMART ASS etc. The game SHOULD NOT outright tell you which is which! That turns dialog into an actual THINKING activity with rewards.

This whole thing is tricky to deal with. Since;

- People don't like it when dialogue options include the entire spoken line verbatim.
- When using abbreviated dialogue options (Or vague hints to what will be said) then oftentimes the actual line associated with them can end up being completely different to what the player imagined when they selected it. This makes the concept less "I think about what I want to say" and more "I hope what actually gets said is at all close to what I'd like to say"

This is the main reasons why most games feature indicators for dialogue options. It informs people more about what that particular option entails without having to have the player read a line and then hear the line repeated exactly right after (Even then there can be shifts in meaning due to intonation...)

That and the aforementioned "Alignment" issue, where people need to know what dialogue does what because you need to pick those options rather than pick what you'd actually want to say.

 

[--Kory--]

Those are some good ideas for a dialogue heavy and focused game though.

I think keeping the theme of player agency and choice of tone is a must for dialogue in RPGs. Dialogue we feel we have a real input in as the character. But Orion is going to be no Disco Elysium.