Dialog options: Vague or verbose?

[Tamanegi]

I have seen several ways of handling dialog options in adventure games:

1. Verbatim: Like in Monkey Island; the character says exactly what you chose.
2. Rephrased: He says what you chose, but may add a thing or two.
3. Vague: You can only give a topic or mood (like "ask nicely", "be snappy", "get angry" etc.) and the character says something appropriate.

Which kind do you prefer and why?

The first option is kind of boring, but it allows you to see exactly what will be said; and also the lines of the other dialogue options so you won't have to try them out in order not to miss something. This allows for a lot more jokes to be built inside the dialog. On the other hand, it is very blunt, and the core information of the dialog option has to be visible in the first line, making more complex answers difficult.

The second option adds a little spice to the second one, but I found that sometimes an unwanted innuendo is added to my choice. Still, it allows for a short overview of your possible lines and a rephrased, more verbose conversation.

I think the third option is both the most interesting and unimmersing one. You never know what you will get, which can be a good thing (for punchlines or plot twists), but at the same time distaches the character from the player. I feel less like being in the game because some important control is taken from me. Also, the character might say something completely different than you expected.

What is your opinion?

[Chicky]

I personally hate it when i choose a dialogue option and the character says something different. Like in Mass Effect when you pick something badass to say and your character doesn't have the balls to say it. I like the idea of having options for the tone of your response, but this could backfire if the gameplay is dependant on picking the right response. I'm also not a fan of persistent dialogue options that you can ask the same character multiple times, i like the options to disappear once they've been chosen.

[Crimson Wizard]

First of all, I consider first two options the same, or second an extended version of the first. Therefore I do not make difference between them.
Secondly, I think that the other (third) option is "vague" only when (because) game designers make it so.

It's difficult to make a perfect categories, but I think there are different three choices:
1. Literal options: character starts the response with the exact replica you chosen. Sometimes it is the only thing he sais. Sometimes he may add a thing or two.
2. Descriptive options: give you a description of how character should behave further.
3. Topics. Gives a list of subjects (events, characters, inventory items etc) that could be discussed. PC may not say anything, it could be assumed that PC asked "what can you tell about X".

In my opinion the choice for the dialog is a part of game design and, as game design in general, does not have answer for all cases.

I may figure that if the game has dialog puzzles, it might be necessary to allow player choose from literal choices, otherwise it will not make much sense.
For purely detective games Topics could be best.
I could argue with "Descriptive" option (or "Vague" in your classification) to be most unimmersing. I can see your point, but for times too many I could not find a line I'd really liked character to say among given "verbatim" choices; and felt like the game forced me to choose something I did not want to. What should be remembered is that, unlike RPG with fully-customizable characters, in adventure games player character is not player. He may think different from player, behave different from player. Therefore the "detachement" from character may be an important feature of game design. It emphasises the distance between player and game world, allowing player to observe the story, like he observes the novel or a movie. In my opinion that allows to give character more depth. When under total controls from player, character may seem not very individualistic, especially when player makes him say something that does not match character's personality.
That's why I'd choose "Descriptive" (or "Vague") dialog style for drama genre.
Meanwhile "Literal" (or "Verbatim") style could fit the comedy genre more, because (amongst other reasons) it may allow the player to "play" the jokes himself (if he will be smart enough).

[selmiak]

another ideas that just struck my mind while reading this is, if you always have the same 3 really vague options, like positive, negative and neutral with no further description and depending on what you chose the game progresses or you are stuck or something completely different happens. With some huge dialoge trees and multiple pathes this could be interesting to play but really intense to implement to work flawless.

[Akril15]

Interesting topic. I'm usually not that crazy about the Verbatim form of dialog, especially if the game is a non-talkie. I tend to prefer "Rephrased" dialog, ideally when the spoken line is an expansion of the option chosen, e.g., the dialog option would be "I'm sorry", while the spoken line would be, "Steve...I'm really sorry about what happened." I'm guessing that the icon-based dialog tree would be equivalent to the Vague option, and I haven't played too many games using that system, but I find that it works better in comedy games like Toonstruck and Discworld 1 and 2.

I think I've actually seen one or two scenarios where the player character never actually says anything when a dialog option is chosen -- the game just jumps right to the NPC's response, as if the act of clicking on the dialog option counts as the protagonist saying that line.

[Radiant]

I strongly prefer #1. It adds immersion for the character.

[Armageddon]

I like number one the most. Season Three of Sam and Max used the vague thing and I never got the character to say or act how I wanted them too, it was annoying.

[Anian]

Depends on the point of the game. Broken sword had choose an icon for topic of conversation (either other character, objects, clues etc.) and the yes/no type - the mood of the whole game is like a Dan Brown novel and it fits really nice, makes you a detective and the yes/no option gives a decision tension which builds drama.

Mass effect had annoying dialog options (not the part where you had a mood of the option), but that sometimes it didn't fit what I thought it will be in intonation and sometimes topic. Walking dead has a problem with this as well.

I prefer the rephrased dialog as well - you choose what you mean to say ("I'm sorry"), but what is said is formed in the character's style of talking and more natural ("Steve...I'm really sorry about what happened"). If that is too complicated to implement, then verbatim might be the next best thing.

[blueskirt]

I prefer the first and second options as the third option backfired too often with me, with the character saying something I didn't want them to say.

[m0ds]

I prefer option 1, and option 2 if it's not altered too much. Case in point (if I remember correctly) was the Back to the Future tell tale game. It was not verbatim, it was supposed to be #2 but actually played like it was #3. I was a bit disappointed on quite a few occasions where Marty would talk about things I'd never even asked him to talk about when clicking an option. When you click to move your character left, you don't expect them to start walking to the right. But that's how some of these conversations played out. It's fine if the original (verbatim) question leads to slightly more vague options later on, but there's no sense of controlling the flow of a conversation with the less verbatim methods, IMO. So my preference is number 1, and hope that the other character actually answers what I'm trying to ask 

Talking to other characters and having in-depth conversations is, in my mind, kind of a key element of an adventure game. In console titles, you might just press "X" to start a conversation and have no control over it. In adventure games, sometimes puzzle solutions are hidden in conversations, so if they're vague - they're not adding to the strength of the dialog puzzle. I'm not a huge fan of the 'Be rude' or 'Be sarcastic' style mini-options, but I do see how they could be quite fun to write, and give the player character an "unpredictable" nature.

The characterization should, IMO, go some way to deciding which to use. Does the character talk a lot, ask a lot of questions? Perhaps it's best to go verbatim. Does the player not talk much, not have a strong opinion on anything? Probably best to go for vague responses. That kind of thing.

[Blackthorne]

See, I know it's not popular - but I loved the Sam and Max thing.  That way, I was surprised and entertained by the things they said!  Made me laugh more... that might work better for comedy, I think. 

It really depends on that you want - some games are and should be immersive, other games are more like you're an observer, doing things and interactive, but being entertained.

Bt

[Ali]

I agree with Blackthorne that the new Sam & Max style dialogue is very economical and effective for comedy.

However I there's a clip somewhere with Tim Schafer and Ron Gilbert (I think) talking about the fact that verbatim' dialogue allowed them to do four jokes really, as the player is presented with four different punchlines. For a voiced game, more dialogue is more cumbersome, so I can see why Telltale Games are tending towards something that makes the most of the element of surprise.

[Trapezoid]

IIRC Sam and Max didn't have any actual dialogue trees. If you wanted to have somewhat complex dialogue puzzles, you'd be tasked with coming up with a lot of icons to represent different responses. And making sure they're not confusing.

[MurrayL]

there's a clip somewhere with Tim Schafer and Ron Gilbert (I think) talking about the fact that verbatim' dialogue allowed them to do four jokes really, as the player is presented with four different punchlines.

It also allows for a type of fourth-wall breaking joke that the other types don't! I really enjoyed it in the LucasArts games (I don't remember exactly which one(s) did it, but I'm guessing at least Monkey Island) when the player chooses some kind of badass response, but the character is too chicken to say it, and uses a different response instead.

[Jared]

there's a clip somewhere with Tim Schafer and Ron Gilbert (I think) talking about the fact that verbatim' dialogue allowed them to do four jokes really, as the player is presented with four different punchlines.

It also allows for a type of fourth-wall breaking joke that the other types don't! I really enjoyed it in the LucasArts games (I don't remember exactly which one(s) did it, but I'm guessing at least Monkey Island) when the player chooses some kind of badass response, but the character is too chicken to say it, and uses a different response instead.

The first one to come to mind is Curse of Monkey Island, where the Voodoo Lady asks if Guybrush wants to see her photo album of her grandchildren, and all the responses are along the lines of "I'd rather claw my eyes out with a pair of rusty scissors", but Guybrush just says "Erm, maybe later..."

It's an interesting argument to have, because it really depends on the amount of immersion you require in a game. As said, hiding the exact phrasing from the player definitely does make the actual response from the character more surprising - BUT if you're being surprised by what your character is saying it suggests you cannot be very immersed in the game. I think Mass Effect one (where certain dialogue options led to Shepard killing people in cold blood) and Heavy Rain ('I'm feeling depressed' becomes 'I no longer have any reason to live') are two big offenders.

[Snarky]

[miguel]

I've been reading this topic with great interest.
Can I add a question as well?
Should dialogues include remarks?
Example: Chet: (laughs uncomfortably) Well, I think it’s time for another drink, don’t you think?
         Vivian: (smiling) Delightful.

When displaying character faces one can add visual clues, but with traditional MI dialogue on top of head it gets complicated, even with different talking animations. What do you think?