BioWare on Writing For Digital Actors

Gamasutra has published a report on the speeches and demonstrations given by BioWare writers Mac Walters and Mike Laidlaw during the recent Austin Game Conference.

Laidlaw then showed the audience a demo of their upcoming Mass Effect game. It uses their new style of character animation and dialog engine. He showed how conversations with NPC’s are handled with a radial interface of summarized dialog choices. So, instead of the player reading three different possible responses to the NPC and then picking one, they’re presented with paraphrased choices on a wheel, with a generally good response at one point on the dial, moving around through neutral responses to aggressive or mean or shy responses. The words displayed on the screen give the player an idea of what response they’re choosing, but it doesn’t give away the exact wording or the way that sentiment will be displayed in actions. This allows for a more complex mood system and camera changes.

From the player perspective, this is dialog interface is a faster, more seamless experience and provides more entertainment value, since they can be surprised by the delivery of the chosen line. Walters also said this results in more replayability because a player can’t read all the responses the first time through. The net effect feels more like a continued game experience, rather than stopping the gameplay to read.