Conversations

From Shadowrun: Awakened

Conversations in Shadowrun Awakened are social interactions that take place between a player characters and NPC. This is separate from PC-to-PC communication, which will be handled via text or voice chat.

Game Rules Description

When the player meet NPCs, they will be able to converse with them using the time-honored technique of choosing options for their side of the dialogue. This will enable simple question and answer format discussions, with the usual mix of mission-oriented and "getting to know you" options. Games like Fallout 3, Oblivion, and Mass Effect feature such systems. Like in those games, some dialog options and some NPC responses will only be available if the character meets minimum attribute requirements (such as minimum Intuition or Logic), minimum Reputation requirements, or NPC Attitude requirements. This will enable NPCs will have different options and responses when dealing with a PC allied to their faction versus a stranger they may be racist against.

In most MMOs, conversations are not very interesting. We want to make conversations an actual multiplayer experience in the game. When someone on the team engages in a mission-related conversation, it will be possible for any other member to spectate on the conversation or join it as a participant. Once this happens, they will all be given the same NPC responses at the same time. When an option is presented to the team, it is then not selected by an individual, but rather voted on by the team. Each participant's selected dialog option will carry a number of votes equal to their Charisma + Leadership. After all players have chosen or a reasonable timeout elapses, the option with the highest number of votes wins and that is the one used to continue the conversation.

PCs will be able to use their social skills during conversations. Con, etiquette, leadership, intimidation, and negotiations will open up additional dialog options during conversations. These options will advertise their associated skill and cause an implicit skill check. When these checks are made in a multiplayer conversation, the character with the highest total pool for rolling the skill (Attribute + Skill) will be used to make the roll. Hopefully this skill-oriented depth will enable socially-oriented characters, such as the Face archetype, to feel rewarded for their specialization. NOTE: Any character can attempt any skill roll, so having a skill is NOT a prerequisite for seeing its associated dialog options. A lot of mages with high Charismas make workable Faces in a pinch and we need to support that.

Other situational actions, such as immediately attacking someone after choosing a dialog option or making a non-social skill roll, will be possible using scripting. A very common example would be rolling a knowledge skill. These will be skill rolls as the situation permits and will offer a flexible framework for segues between conversation and further action in the mission.

Technical Implementation

The database will invariably be responsible for storing the actual dialog of conversations. This will include the complex graph of options that represents a particular conversation. Most likely, we will have to develop a standalone conversation editing tool to manage the complex nature of these dialogue assets. Also, integration with Kismet to provide a connection between Unreal levels and custom dialogue features seems a necessity.