Mod Dialog "Formatting"

[Aquadrizzt]

So, it appears that each Infinity Engine game possesses its own system of indicating actions, whispers, or emphasis in dialog.

 

Planescape uses actual quotes to make it obvious what is actually being said, but I feel like quotes are super clunky and it is already pretty obvious that you are saying the thing.

 

What would be an elegant way (read: not capitalized) to present emphasis ("you are a GOD") without asterisks or parenthetical statements?

 

The system I'm using for the mod is:

1) No quotes around spoken dialog.

2) Emotes are presented in the form of verbs (in present tense) and enclosed in asterisks. (example: "Hmm... let's see *pauses* oh wow.")

3) Quotes from something written in game, i.e. reading a book to a character, is enclosed in single quotes. (Should it be double?)

4) Dialog actions such as lying or bluffing are presented in parenthetical statements. (Is there any way to use square brackets in dialog? Parentheses don't look as nice.)

 

This is obviously not too important, and mostly a matter of presentation that I wanted some external input on.

[jastey]

I'd go for using asterisks for emphasis, as it is used in BG (a la: You did *what*?!) and putting what you call emotes etc. into () a la (sigh).

Because I don't like double use of asterisks as it is done for most of BG1.

[lsass.exe]

I loath asterisked verbs in simple present 3rd person. They are almost indescribably hideous. It's mentally painful to read stuff like that and yanks me out of the game immediately. It's MMO and IM chatspeek. I actualyl have aborted more than one mod in all these years when I came across too many asterisk verbs. I also stopped translating more than one mod when the other members of the team decided to go with the asterisk verbs. I cannot bear it. ^^

 

I don't understand how you could find the system of PST (which is the de facto standard of writing after all) clunky... I would love for BG1/2 to be written like that. It would make everything so much easier. xD

[cmorgan]

Square brackets in strings are comments - they will not be displayed. I use them to denote speakers for translators

 

~[ARAN] Hey there.~

~[iMOEN] Heya~

 

shows up ingame as

 

~Hey there.~

~Heya~

 

BG:EE uses this comment style in a few places, as do BG1 and BG2.

 

(text) is used inconsistently - Edwin in vanilla uses it to indicate muttering. Modders often use it for "action text" as well - so

 

~[EDWIN] Of course you would do that. (Miserable simian fool. I shall have my revenge.)~

and

~(The waterfall flows past you in a steady blue stream, the mist rising from the surface of the pool)~

 

are both in widespread use. It does not match every usage in vanilla BG{1,2,EE,2EE} though - some of the "internal thoughts" and scenery text like this in the original games are treated as if they were exactly the same as regular dialogue (one of the few times I find the original use very jarring and a poor design - but who the hell am I to judge.).

 

 

So, basic usage by most mods out there - (with the understanding that most modders expect as much of the writing as possible to create the emotes and actions and depiction stuff through inference from plain dialogue, and treating all the extra stuff as if it were really hot hot pepper - only to be used if you have no other way of implying it)

 

Spoken text in game by an NPC or PC:

~Hey there. You look cute.~

 

If providing comment only to be seen in editors or decompiled files for troublechooting:

~[C#AJANTIS] Stop! I will not proceed. [arguing with C-ARAN, file mymod/crossmod/aran_ajantis.d]~ NOTE: old skool only uses comments that depict speaker at the beginning of a line - BG:EE uses more information later in the string in a few places - this is not usual usage.

 

If lying:

~(lie) Hey there. You look cute.~

 

If simple action

~*cough* Ahem. Hey there. You look cute. *wink*~

 

If shouting

~HEY THERE. You look CUTE.~

 

If speaking and quoting another source

~Hey there. Imoen wrote you this note. It says 'you look cute'~ OR ~Hey there. Imoen wrote you this note. It says "you look cute"~ (this one is massively inconsistent in usage across mods - dealer's choice, here - whatever looks best to you)

 

If action text or decription text

~(Aran stands aside from the party, looking out across the ravine)~

~(This chest is covered in dust.)~ OR ~This chest is covered in dust.~ Dealer's choice again - I like the first option, but the games have both usages.

 

If emotes then (again inconsistent usage - this is the most inconsistent and crazy thing in the text painting in this game)

~(sigh) This is a hopeless endeavor. *sob* (blow nose) *laugh hysterically* *sigh* (sob) *hiccup* (I am a Red Wizard of Thay - why am I acting like a fool over this lesser creature?)~

 

Usage of termination or capitalization of lines that have action, parenthetical, or text painting/depiction is similarly confused - no real standard:

~*wink*~ ~*Wink*~ ~*wink*.~ ~(wink)~ ~(Wink)~ ~(Wink.)~ ~(wink.)~ ~(wink).~ ~(This chest is dusty)~ ~(This chest is dusty.)~ ~(This chest is dusty).~ ~(Lie) You are cute.~ ~(Lie.) You are cute.~ ~(lie) You are cute.~

 

 

That's basically what is out there. It means you have several areas that are completely open to interpretation, and some where players have been habituated into expecting certain useage.

In my stuff, I do this:

 

~(The night is a dark velvet curtain, with only the small spark of a glow from the bowl of Aran's pipe to light your face.)~

~[ARAN] *cough* Now that be a right fine tobacco, <CHARNAME>. Where did you get it, eh?~

 

~[PC] I stole it from Edwin's pack.~ + stolereal

~[PC] (lie) I stole it from Edwin's pack.~ + stolejoke

~[PC] I did not get it. I want you to STOP SMOKING.~ + stopsmoking

~[PC] Somewhere. Hey, look at this piece of leather. Is it too worn?~ + tooworn

 

CHAIN IF ~~ stolereal

== ~[ARAN] Now that will not set well wi' him, eh? Th' other day, I heard him say "I will kill that stupid sellsword the first time he annoys me".~

== ~[EDWIN] *whack*~ DO ~ActionOverride("c-aran",Die())~

== ~[EDWIN] And now I have. (Though I should have used a spell. Now I have that miserable creature's blood all over the end of my staff.)~

 

IF ~~ stolejoke

~[ARAN] Good 'un, <CHARNAME>. For a second, you had me goin'. Hey, I be writin' this story, an' I need to know... do it be 'Deborah's blazing eyes flashed fire and lust', or should it be 'Deborah's eyes flashed lust and fire'?~

 

IF ~~ stopsmoking

~[ARAN] *cough* *cough*~

= ~[ARAN] Well, why didn't you say so? Fine.~

= ~(The pipe sails out over the lake, skipping once... twice... and then its glow vanishes into the murky depths)~

 

IF ~~ tooworn

~[ARAN] Let me see...~

= ~[ARAN] (sigh) I thought I done repaired that.~

 

 

So you can see internal consistency is something to strive for, but even I have places where the "look" of the line is better swapping things up. I have both *sigh* and (sigh) in usage - *cough* *whack* to me have auditory implications that imply jarring the reader's ears, so the jarring * usage works. With (wink) (sigh) (smile) the sound (if any) is non-jarring, so I tend to use parenthesis. Similarly, I tend to use EMPHASIS rather than *emphasis*.

[Aquadrizzt]

Wow thanks cmorgan. I'm a bit surprised by how inconsistent even the vanilla games are written as, but I guess there is only so many "dialog symbols" that can be used...

 

Looking at the stuff I'm working on again, the Planescape system actually seems pretty well-suited to emotive dialog. I might use double quotes for talking, asterisks for emphasis and sentences for complex emotes.

[ericp07]

I'd go for using asterisks for emphasis, as it is used in BG (a la: You did *what*?!) and putting what you call emotes etc. into () a la (sigh).

Because I don't like double use of asterisks as it is done for most of BG1.

I concur.