Interactive Narrative Design/Week 7
Interactive Narrative Design
Cai Zihan / 0378043
Interactive Narrative Design/Bachelor of Design in Creative Media / Taylor's University
INSTRUCTIONS
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LECTURES
I. Learning Overview
This week's core learning content is creating an interactive dialogue system in Unity using the third-party tool Dialogue Editor. The core goal is to make the dialogue between players and NPCs more dynamic—allowing player choices to trigger different environmental effects such as color changes and object activation. This learning combines narrative design with technical implementation, making it highly practical and engaging.
II. Practice Process
(I) Project Setup
First, import a Unity project that already contains one NPC and several scene objects. Add the Dialogue Editor resources to the Assets folder and place the Simple Conversation Manager prefab within the Canvas UI. Then, create a game object named Initial Conversation and associate it with the Dialogue Editor window, through which dialogue nodes can be visually designed. This process helped me understand that dialogue systems can be built using visual flowcharts without writing a lot of code.
(II) Dialogue System Creation
Design a basic NPC dialogue starting with "Hello, welcome to this world." and add "Go left" and "Go right" options. By using a custom script, NPCInteraction, I implemented a feature where pressing the "E" key near an NPC triggers a dialogue. This was my first time learning how Unity detects player input and directly links it to a dialogue sequence.
(III) Correlation between Dialogue and Game Effects
Using the EnvironmentController script, I implemented an environment response to dialogue choices. For example, selecting "Go left" changes the sky to blue, and selecting "Go right" changes it to red. I also experimented with activating or disabling objects based on dialogue results. This process made me realize that dialogue not only drives the narrative but also directly affects the game's visual atmosphere.
(IV) Smooth Transitions Using Coroutines
To avoid abrupt color changes, I learned to use coroutines in C# to gradually blend lighting and skybox colors, making the transitions smoother and more realistic. I believe this technique is very useful for enhancing player immersion, making the game environment more vibrant and responsive.
(V) Expanding Dialogue Branches
Later, I added more color options such as yellow and green, each associated with different environmental changes. This practice visually demonstrates the logic of branching narratives and how player decisions shape the game world through visual means. I found the dialogue system to be easily expandable, allowing for the creation of multiple story paths with exceptional flexibility. III. Key Takeaways
1. The Dialogue Editor tool greatly simplifies the construction process of complex branching dialogues, and its visual design approach is more intuitive and efficient; 2. The dialogue system's role extends beyond narration, directly influencing the game's aesthetic style and emotional atmosphere; 3. Coroutines are a powerful tool for creating natural visual transitions; 4. This learning experience profoundly helped me understand the connection between interactive narrative design and the dynamic changes in the game environment, clarifying the supporting role of technology in narrative expression.
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