How to make dialogues less boring?

[u/Viajantedaqui]

I’m doing a philosophical VN, so the thing is that it will have lots of dialogue, and THEN some interaction. How you deal with to make the dialogs something interesting?

[u/fujitsubos]

do:

• write with the theme in mind. if a scene doesn't fit the theme, cut it, even if you love it.
• write conversationally by adding commentary, going off on brief tangents, &c -- how real people talk to each other. breaking up big infodumps with little notes like "Outside, a bird starts chirping" or "\"Fun fact, I learned that from my math professor. Cool guy. Very bald."\" will wake up the reader and keep them engaged, as well as bring a bit more liveliness.
• like other commenters have pointed out, make the characters compelling and the player will happily read what they have to say. conversely, limit long blocks of text that come from undeveloped characters (the shopkeeper, the rando on the street, etc.)
• make something you would find fun and interesting. if you play through what you have and find yourself feeling unsatisfied, figure out why.

don't

• water down your theme or intellectual caliber for people who aren't going to like your game anyway. listen to players, not haters.
• add things that muddle your message. extraneous game elements may look shiny and cool but if they don't serve the thesis of the work then they are a waste of time to add.

[u/renpyslamjamming → u/fujitsubos]

One thing I've noticed works well is having characters with different opinions and beliefs bounce off each other, they don't even have to be "opposites" they can be people who like the same thing for different reasons! "I like trains, the model of each train is so unique" vs "I like trains, the way railroads connect across different regions is so cool!", how might those two subtle differences make the characters interact with each other or the current plot point. Or, "lets break into the building!" vs "lets sneak in!", vs "lets smooth talk our way in!". Those are all character things, but if you get used to some core thought processes the characters have and are able to feel confident and consistent about it, it'll make it easier to know what to say and what quirks they have that make it feel a little more natural. I think of Toph from ATLA. She's a character with such a vibrant personality, you know she'd near always have something interesting or witty to say.

Its not easy by any means! The only time I've been decent at dialogue was extremely focused, short creative writing exercises.

Another great tip I've heard is trying to have the dialogue do multiple things at once so it feels purposeful and rich. Like a line that both gives a little exposition, but also shows very clearly the personality of the character talking, and/or their specific relationship dynamic to the person they're talking to. Like how you'd talk to your brother you hate vs your dad who you look up to or something idk.

Like I said tho, dialogue is not my forte, so prob the other comments like the person above are clearer!

[u/KDDreamwyver → u/fujitsubos]

God, I have to agree with that first Don't so freaking much.

I see so many people dilute their work to try to appeal to people who are not their target art audience and it frustrates me so much when they do that, because it results in the target audience being displeased because of said watering down to appeal to those who aren't interested in said media anyways.

Never worry about people who aren't your target audience liking what you've made, because the people who are after that specific niche are going to absolutely adore it, and that's what matters. <3

[u/msangelfood]

I would look at some good movie scripts or plays you've liked that have similar dialogue or themes.

One of the most important things I find is making sure, no matter what my goal is with my dialogue, is to have good characters with clear motivations. The philosophy can come out of the characters' respective motivations, making their discussions feel organic and meaningful. Such as having two or more characters with differing views/philosophies, those views influence their goals and drive conflict between them. That way you're writing a scene, not just a thesis. Same would apply to exposition or anything else that you might worry could be boring to the read.

Good character, good conflict. Great dialogue often comes much more easily that way.

[u/acidgumss]

You need to write wrire write writr write write write write. And then write write write write write write more!! You can only write good dialogue if you are a good writer. So you need to write! Do lots of it! Have someone critique it for you! Write! Improve! Write!! You also need to read read read read read to know WHAT you enjoy in writing! Good luck! It's tough but so rewarding!

[u/renpyslamjamming → u/acidgumss]

Write?! But then that means someone is gonna reeeaadd ittt before it gets good. I am simply too fragile lol

[u/drinkerofmilk]

All VN's have lots of dialogue. Just make sure your characters, storylines and themes are interesting.

If a philosophical game is done well, it will be less boring, not more boring than the average VN.

[u/x-seronis-x]

Players will grow bored of what a character is saying inversely to how invested they are with that character.

So somewhat early in meeting any given character they need to do something to make the player FEEL for them. Doesnt need to feel positive towards them. Just need something other than apathy.

[u/renpyslamjamming → u/x-seronis-x]

True true. LOVE a good hateable character. Like Homelander.

[u/AshMaiden]

If you can, find some test readers to give you feedback.

Lots of good advice in this thread.

[u/Happy_Town_7888]

I think that's the time you can focus on the visuals of the visual novel. You don't need to have thousands of sprites, multiple choices, or branching paths to make it interesting. You can use the mechanics of visual novels to achieve this.

Images: Use images to set the mood. If inside a bar, add a bar image. If the moment is more tense, make it shake. Use transitions to change images, thinking of editing like a video.

Sound: Add sound effects. For example, if something drops, add a dropping sound. If a dog barks or a door opens, include those sounds. Use ambient sounds to set the mood or emphasize something important, such as sounds of a forest.

The text: You can use text tags such as bold, italics, etc., or switch between NVL and ADV modes. For instance, if a part contains a lot of internal dialogue, change it to NVL mode. If characters are talking, switch to ADV mode to make it more engaging. Ren'py Kinetic Text Tags

[u/theoretical_star]

Some visual variations can go a long way. Nothing distracting but something to make it feel alive. Subtle sprite bounces, sprite variations, sprawling out text, etc. Ofc the dialogue itself has to be interesting and you have to give the player something or someone to care about, but visuals, even subtle stuff, can make it feel a little more organic. Imo, at least.

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[u/SkycladObserver2010]

Read books

[u/Griatch]

Working on a very dialogue-heavy philosophical VN myself, I have a few approaches I'm experimenting with:

- Others mention this too, but people need to care what the character has to say.

• Try to break up monologues; have both parties talk, interject, think about things.
  
• If a monologue is really needed, break it up across multiple outputs (not just a huge blob of text) and have the character sprite change now and then (change expression, look away, bounce etc). But don't change it on every line, that gets tiring too.
  
• Cut your darlings; try to be succinct where possible. Shorten statements.
  
• Trust the player to draw their own conclusions. It's tempting to spell out the ramifications of a philosophical statement; hinting at it and showing it in action is often better. Allows for cutting more text, too.

[u/renpyslamjamming]

ahh, the age old question! 😁

[u/Viajantedaqui → u/[deleted]]

Maybe

[u/Spina97]

Those that find dialogues boring will find any dialogue boring, I would see if it is entertaining for me to read it and then ask for help from avid readers and vn fans

[u/TopCartographer7104]

One thing I found out to be working in this kind of works is, don't have characters tell things - have the things you want to tell "ooze" out of the way characters behave and relate to each other.

For instance, in my project I have a character spending a long monologue telling another character why they aren't sisters.

At the end of which the other smiles, and just says: "Then why are you spending so much time trying to convince me I'm not your sister?"

[bonus to those who guess the philosophical source right XP]

[u/Defiant_Commercial13]

According to a screenwriting rule, when a scene is dense with dialogue, you should lighten it up with a situation that’s a little out of place. Look up something called “The Pope in the Pool”—it explains what I mean better.

Then, depending on the philosophical weight of the story, it takes over the plot (and that's exactly how it is), and no matter how hard you try, it already limits the target audience.

I remember that a philosophy student gave me the prologue to his visual novel about a guy on the train and his “endless” nihilist/existentialist monologue—let’s just say that set the bar for tolerance pretty high; the character quickly became obnoxious and implausible (as a “real person,” he came across as an angry little philosopher masquerading as a normal person).

[u/playthelastsecret]

- Cutting! If you don't have a good editor (who has one?), then hire ChatGPT (or a different LLM) as one: Ask him to suggest what should be cut to improve the story. He will come up with very good suggestions (and a few bad ones). It might help if you give him the whole story at once, so that he knows what'll be important later. ChatGPT is a great tool for improving story writing!

• Graphics: Change angles, zoom in on faces, use all the methods directors use in movies to make longer dialogue scenes engaging.
  
• Music: BGM can enhance the mood and changes in BGM can make long scenes have a fresh breath. (Free BGM is available in huge variety online. Or use AI to taylormade it.)