I would like to create an interface where you're given dialogue choices while you're in the thick of the action. What would be the best way to present these choices, and create the exchange of conversation, without pausing the game or requiring any cumbersome activity on the player's part?

It's an interesting idea. Final Fantasy Tactics does something similar with dialogue interrupting certain battles. The game doesn't offer you choices (I don't think), but you might want to see how they do it. I couldn't help but think of it as annoying, though.

... I guess you want to have conversations occur while combat is also happening? Could be tricky.

Yeah, that's the idea. It'd be part of the gameplay.

I had a thread called "Arresting People" a while back and someone mentioned hostage negotiators, something along those lines.

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Original post by Beige Yeah, that's the idea. It'd be part of the gameplay. I had a thread called "Arresting People" a while back and someone mentioned hostage negotiators, something along those lines.

Oh yeah, I remember that thread. You have some good ideas!

What if you had a "shout" button. I'm imagining this on a PS2 controller. The player could use the two left shoulder buttons to scroll through the available choices for responses. As they scroll through, the responses appear at the bottom (or top) of the screen. Maybe the further they scroll, the harsher the responses get. Then when they see the response they want, pressing the triangle button makes them say it. This could leave other buttons open for movement and shooting, jumping, whatever. You should make it such that it's a little bit cumbersome, because they shouldn't be able to do something like shoot a gun and yell a response at the same time.

I like this idea, the ability to reason with whomever your fighting with in an attempt to reach a non-violent solution. But no matter how you do it you'll usually end up with something that will either slowdown gameplay, or be incredibly basic. Hmm..

The best system i could probably suggest is Voice Macroing, as seen in Tribes and Planetside. Usually sentances like "Defend Our Flag" or "Incoming Enemy Units", Etc are abreviated into a few short keystrokes like (V)oice (D)efend (F)lag, or (V)oice (W)arning (E)nemy.

GTA: San Andreas has a "response" system. As you walk down the street, people will speak to you, and you can choose to answer positively or negatively. Sometimes it's someone trying to sell you drugs (both are negative, but aat different levels of hilarity), or a woman complinenting your build, or whatever. It's easy and fun.

If you could have key points present you with a handful of dialogue options, you could bind them to the D-Pad or something, so that you could respond to stimuli in a quick, natural way.

I remember a gunfight in Resident Evil 4 where Krauser is shouting something at you and you get to choose whether or not to reply. It doesn't seem to have a huge impact on the fight, but having a "reply" prompt appear on-screen while I'm dodging explosions and lining up headshots is a very easy way to incorporate conversation into a fight.

What purpose would this serve in-game?

You would be attempting to persuade enemies to give up, or shouting things to decrease their morale, or shouting things to increase the morale of your team. Encouraging statements, threats, in context with enemy statements/responses.

Morale would be a numerical score, with negative or positive status effects on your units depending on the value.

An example would be the hostage negotiator with a megaphone, shouting at the desperate bank robber holding a hostage as his human shield, while the police get ready to storm the building.

Monster Seed has a lot of automatic dialogue during battles, but no choices. Some games automatically have the PC speak one of a few prepared phrases based on the actions they take. These often take the form of error messages ("Hmm. Maybe something else." "That would harm even me!" "I don't know what I'm supposed to do here."), phrases accompanying an unusual action such as charging up for a super jump or magic spell ("Here I go!" "3, 2, 1..." "Take that!"), phrases after accomplishing a goal ("Victory is mine!" "I'm rich, I'm rich!" "Bwahahahaha! Take that, sucker!"), and phrases in response to being idle ("This is boooring!" "Hey, hurry up!").

I don't think it would work well to distract the player with dialogue choices during combat or when the player is trying to do any sort of realtime action like jump or shoot.

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Original post by Beige You would be attempting to persuade enemies to give up, or shouting things to decrease their morale, or shouting things to increase the morale of your team.[...]An example would be the hostage negotiator with a megaphone, shouting at the desperate bank robber holding a hostage as his human shield, while the police get ready to storm the building.

You've described two different things here. In the first case, I'd say that the "shouts", be they threats, encouragement or whatever, would be more like special attacks than actual dialogue. You use your "Bluff", or your "Verbal Challenge" attacks to affect enemy behavior in combat, like shouting "Police! Don't move! You're Surrounded!" before engaging. I think simple combat controls can do this. Since you'll just be attacking your enemy's morale meter with these, you could reduce it to two or three "moves".

You have your challenge, which is effective before a fight and might get a lot of enemies to surrender without resistance, but if he's looking for a fight, you're just wasting time, or worse, getting him pumped up with MORE morale. Then you might have a bluff, to be used when the fight is at a stalemate. You put your hand up to your ear for a moment, and then say into your cuff, "Negative, helicopter support is unnecessary, two tactical teams will be adequate." If he falls for it, he might get a little less confident, but if he doesn't, then he'll assume you're desperate and pour it on. Finally, some kind of simple negotiation that can be used repeatedly in a fight to wear the guy down.

You can use these strategically through a conflict, and they will manifest differently based on the scenario. A little bit of writing, and maybe some voice acting, could take care of the repetitive nature of the commands.

Your other example of the hostage negotiator seems to be pure dialog, not "in the thick of combat" at all. That could be a purely strategic system, using some kind of menu system to choose dialog options. You could even have other options, like "sniper take-down" or "pull police back 50 yards" or "accept conditions" in the mix to make it a little bit more active.

The idea needs to be fleshed out, but could be very good.

Something not exactly related to this just sprung through my mind while reading this thread...

What about funny dialogues between you and your teammate? Say, the kind of dialogues Will Smith and the other one are always having in Bad Boys? Or the kind two heroes could have, the very kind that is supposed to irritate or disturb your ennemy.

Let's say you are playing... Time Crisis II on your PS2, with that special lightgun, ok? There are also the regular 4 buttons on the gun. So what if, as an addition to the game, you had to pull through the dialogues in order to end the stage? It would require a lot of voice acting, but could be done pretty easily, like holding button X puts the voice on "read", whereas NOT holding it simply leaves you a possibility to concentrate on your fight. Or maybe get it to shut up while you're reloading, and have the acting take place while you're fighting...

Some added possibilities would spring from that. Like trying to sneak at some point, but being unable to do so, since you HAVE to talk, in order for this corridor to get to an end, or having to land some heavy jokes IN THE SAME TIME as some heavy blows on the bosses...

I say it could be cool and laughable, a little like the Viewtiful Joe games, or maybe, to some extent like Earthworm Jim, but in a shooter.

I think I might like it...