Muhammed here, and I’ll be writing this week’s blog post. As the program lead, I’ll be focusing more on the technical side of things on the project in my posts. My history as a programmer is more casual. I’m not a Computer Science major, but rather a Computer Engineer, which has a greater focus on the hardware side of things. Nonetheless, I’ve started quite a few small projects on my own. Specifically with the game engine of choice, Unity, I once made a basic shooter (by basic I mean reaaaal basic) and a Slenderman knockoff. As for general coding experience, I’ve made a few websites and an app, so I’ve got quite a diverse history in programming fairly simple systems.

Currently, our project is still early on in the development phase. Ben and I are on the Programming Team, and we have the work, which will be done on the latest build of Unity, split up. Ben is focusing currently on what would be considered the “corner pieces” of the project puzzle– things that are fundamental to the game and that help us (and the user) see the direction we are going. This includes things like the Main Menu, Game Over, and the cut-scenes. As for me, this is the time where I’m trying to develop a dialogue system . The further I look into creating a system, it seems to be more trouble than what it’s worth considering the time frame. For now, I’m trying to see if I can work off of some other open-source free-to-use projects online to build my own system, but the more I try, the greater the possibility that we will end up simply purchasing an asset, thus reducing the time spent on this aspect and more time on others

Breaking down what a dialogue system like this would entail, if I was going to do it on my own, is:

1. A way to add dialogue with ease
2. Add a time feature for each choice
3. A Player tag to identify the user
4. Choice system
5. Custom UI

For the first one, I’m thinking of using a node-based system. It’s visual and easy on the eyes, and would make adding dialogue ridiculously easy. As for the time feature, I’m thinking of going with a variable assigned to each choice, like you would with the weight or cost of an object, that distinguishes one action from the next. A player tag mostly serves as a convenience, just to identify who will be asking the questions and to see who will be answering them in terms of code– almost like a code-name. Lastly, with the UI, or the interface that the user will be interacting with, we want it to be in theme with the rest of the game. Something like a scroll or yellowed paper would be a perfect fit. These are all things I’ll have to test out and see if it’s worth making myself.

Anyways, all team members have their hands full, so be sure to come back soon to follow our progress!

— Muhammed