Project Details
- Role: Narrative Designer
- Team: Solo Project
- Project Type: Bark Sheet
- Major Tools: Microsoft Excel
- Time Frame: July 2024
A spreadsheet containing sixty lines of ambient dialogue for a hypothetical action-adventure game known as “Lightning Strike”. These lines serve to characterize generic NPCs that one could meet on the streets of its city setting, and by extension influence player emotions towards the in-game factions they represent. It includes sparse notes on line delivery and context, as if this was a central resource.
Initial Concept
When practicing writing ambient dialogue like in this project, I know that these kinds of lines need context to work properly. For this project, I started from an old worldbuilding project I completed called Lightning Strike. The project centered on a city powered by energy siphoned from constant lightning storms, and the class disparities these conditions have brought about. It also included a short pitch for a 1st person action-adventure game set in the setting. While this was a large project with its own manuscript, I drilled down to what I needed for the bark task: the game’s logline, genre, mood, protagonist, and broad strokes about the setting.
Using that wider information, I came up with some broad gameplay context for my barks. I decided to show the kind of factions the player might come across while exploring the streets of the city setting. I pulled directly from the information I collected on the setting, deciding on two factions. First would be Ashmore Solutions, upper-class mercenaries who patrol the streets on behalf of their industrialist employers. These would be potential enemies and this would need to be signaled even in neutral contexts like walking around city streets. Next would be potential allies in the Stormtender’s League, the downtrodden organization of electrical workers who make the city run. The NPCs represented on the bark sheet would be generic examples of each faction that could be scattered around a large explorable world rather than named, unique characters.
| Trigger | Trigger Condition |
|---|---|
| Approach | Player approaches the NPC. |
| Bump | Player collides with the NPC. |
| Interact | Player presses ‘Talk’ when near the NPC. |
| Bored | Player idles near the NPC after a short period. |
| Threatened | Player draws a weapon near the NPC. |
| Alert | Player is initially heard sneaking near the NPC, but not yet found. |
| Sees Theft | Player tries to take an item that is not theirs near the NPC. Given as a warning to the player. |
| Sees Craft | Player finishes crafting an item near the NPC. |
Player Character Details
Even though these lines are said by generic NPCs representing factions, they’re directed at the player character and triggered by their actions in the game. Therefore, I needed to work out some details about the player character and how they can interact with the world around them to create proper reactions. Again, I could draw from my initial concept for ideas. The player character is a noticeably lower-class orphan, whose father was a Stormtender. This presents some interesting opportunities for interaction with the factions I chose. Stormtender’s League members might recognize the player character, if not directly then as one of their people. Meanwhile, members of Ashmore Solutions might be hostile to him, seeing him as below their station.
There are also player actions to consider before writing barks, as these will trigger the lines. Here the genre and gameplay matter more than character and setting details. I created a short list of triggers that these NPCs can respond to, summarized in the table above. I immediately created some triggers based on moving around the game world, like approaching, bumping, or idling around the NPC. The game concept has stealth and combat elements, so I added triggers for drawing a weapon or attempting to sneak by the NPC. The game might also include an inventory system, which seemed like a good move considering the theme around electrical technology. This prompted me to include triggers from trying to steal or craft items. Finally, a basic interaction for having the player attempt to talk to an NPC felt appropriate. As generic NPCs, they would respond with a bark rather than their own unique dialogue tree or similar element.
| NPC Name | Description | Faction | Adjectives |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashmore Enforcer | An upper-class mercenary from another land, hired by industrialists to impose their authority on the city. | Ashmore Solutions | Arrogant, Aggressive, Out-of-Place |
| Stormtender Worker | An impoverish but spirited worker with the dangerous job of maintaining lightning collectors that power the city. | Stormtender’s League | Jovial, Patient, Exhausted |
NPC Details
In my final bit of preparation, I crafted some details about the NPCs I was writing barks for directly. As summarized in the table above, I assigned both NPCs a name that might be displayed in the game UI, described their role in the world and game, and gave them some simple descriptors. The Ashmore representatives, Enforcers, are not from the city and that influences what they say. They also believe they’re above the lower-class player character, and are spoiling for a fight to reflect their authoritarian role! Meanwhile, the Stormtenders Workers are more jovial, as they perceive the character as part of their in-group. They are more likely to be patient with the player, even when they are threatened or stolen from. These notes all made their way into the barks I wrote for this project.
With that information noted, I started writing lines. I kept track of character count, as I wanted the barks to cap out at about 50 characters to create short lines that wouldn’t be overly difficult to fit into an ambient scene. I translated all the details I determined during my preparation into 60 lines, a minimum of three per trigger and character so there would be variation on which line played. I also noted specific line deliveries or where I drew upon specific worldbuilding details as if this was a central document on a team project. Once I was done, I sought feedback from some of my classmates and took the document through three rounds of revision to improve the character voice in the lines.
Looking back on the project, I think that my portrayals of the two characters need a little more nuance. They come off as a little flat in their characterization, even for generic NPCs. This accounted for some of the feedback I got from my peers, and though I made revisions to improve, I think there’s still work to be done on that front. Next time I approach a task to write ambient dialogue, I plan to flesh out more details for the speakers to make sure I can make their characterization more nuanced.