Conversation as a mechanic.
WHAT A DIALOGUE SYSTEM NEEDS
A structure of nodes and responses Conditions controlling availability Effects applied by choices Presentation
WHAT CONDITIONS TYPICALLY CHECK
Quest state Items held Previous choices Character relationships
WHAT MAKES DIALOGUE FEEL RESPONSIVE
Acknowledgement of what the player has done.
WHY THAT MATTERS
Characters ignoring the player's actions break the world.
WHAT TO IMPLEMENT
Variants conditioned on state, even briefly.
WHAT CHOICE PRESENTATION MUST AVOID
Options whose meaning differs from what is said Summaries that mislead about tone Timed choices without warning
WHY THE FIRST POINT MATTERS
Players resent choosing something other than what they intended.
WHAT TO SHOW
What the character will actually say, or a faithful summary.
WHAT TO TRACK
Which lines have been heard, avoiding repetition.
WHAT AUTHORING REQUIRES
Tooling writers can use without programming.
WHY
Dialogue volume is high, and programmer involvement per line is impossible.
WHAT TO VALIDATE
That every node is reachable That no path dead-ends That referenced conditions exist
