Impossidog

I have been playing a lot more dialogue driven games in the past year and I find that I hate being out right told the implications of a plot point. This mostly happens in cut scenes but it is still off putting. Also games seem to be afraid to represent the player a bit better in cutscenes. Movies have characters that point out some of the flaws of the protagonist and are there to kinda call out them out on their bullshit. I don't know how many of you have seen Frozen by Disney, but they have a character in that movie named Olaf, he is a snowman, he is used to bring some of the weird tropes that Disney has made in the last few years and help them be addressed in a meaningful way. Correct me if I am wrong but I haven't seen many characters that do this in games, if there are please mention them I would love to see them. Maybe I am completely off base with this observation, I would love to hear what you guys think.

I have been working as a freelance games writer since 2005, in fact my first review was Resident Evil 4 for a local magazine. However my true passion, is to make games and from the research I have done over the past three years there is no typical way of getting into the industry. So I thought why not make a game? Well I am currently working a full time retail job and am in the process of applying for University. So this terribly written paragraph is leading to one question, should I focus on going to university to get a game design degree? or should I take the next four months or so to finish the game I have been working on?

oh man, that is some gross stuff going on right there

I don't drink often, maybe every six months. But when I do I have pretty bad hangovers and always want a nice tasty breakfast. Any suggestions?

Hey guys, there has been talk about making games on here and you all seem really capable at making games! If you are like me you may have some cool ideas so why not share them and get some feedback? I will start by pitching the game I have been working on for the past 6 months (which I have like nothing done) So it is a single screen Adventure Game that takes place at a bus stop. The main goal is to explore the aspect of meeting new people and using your observation skills to get a sense of what kind of person they are and what matters to them. It is all about the dialogue and what the player gets from it. I would love to hear your feed back. and lets hear what ideas you have for a game!

I think I should mention why I want to make games. I want to have a career that allows me to make friends and make things with them, I love meeting new people and being creative with them. You have no idea how jelly I am of the Thumbs crew. Being best buddies and being able to work on something they love. ugh. the best.

There is an old GDC talk from John Blow about prototypes and in that he made a prototype for this exact concept. He explains the problems he ran into and why he ultimately gave up on the game.

Binary Domain is a great game, the story has its moment. I found the ending to be so campy that it ruined a lot of the experience for me. I haven't played The Stanley Parable yet, but does anyone know what the dialogue in that game is like? it may be the least subtle or the most from the demo I played.

I think the main thing is the whole luck is really just preparation meets opportunity. The last tone control had some good stuff in it about keeping positive about your work.

AC4 had some great dialogue and might be the only AC worth anything really. I need to replay Enslaved, one of the most life changing experiences I have had.

That may be the wrong word then, I will check out the video though.

This. Please

Want an example of bad dialogue? Play Spec Ops: The Line. The game did a few interesting things but mostly came of pretentious

I think the key is to look at why you love games and how much of your life they occupy, for instance I spend about 70% of my life thinking, consuming and reading about games. I find it fascinating and I love the art of it. but to the point of it ruining relationships I am a pretty introverted person and I prefer to be occupied by my work. Crunch sounds hard but to me it sounds interesting, I want to be apart of something that makes people happy.

The big problem with dialogue in games is they don't represent the player in any tangible way, sometimes they try with branching conversations but rarely do they do anything tangible with the choices.

If anyone wants to me on steam I play pretty regularly

aw you guys are silly

Can we all agree the Binary Domain is the pinnacle of game writing?

Ya, I am well aware of working conditions in the industry, I visited my friend at EA during crunch and he looked like he may die. But I love games and I would hope in the next ten years that stuff gets better

I more or less didn't want to start talking character match ups or something if y'all are into mostly items and stuff haha I think the game is fun both ways.

I ate a full thing of ice cream

I just feel like the games have been pretty overt about their plot, but I think Tycho has a point

Shouldn't we try to promote games that are more about their writing on not systems?

@Cine I think you guys could make a great stealth game with the Hotline Miami style, you should also look to Gunpoint and Mark Of The Ninja as examples of great 2D-stealth design. Stealth games are all about tools and information.

Oh yes, hm. Have you considered a non lethal based stealth game with your engine?