Best Dialogue Options in Games

[Casual Shinji]

if you think the romances in DA:O were in any way better then the ones in the ME games then I juat have to ask you what are you drinking and were can I get some?

DA:O had basically morigan and Alister who were well written, zev was kinda middle of the road, and the rest were just forgettable or better as friends.

Now you look at ME you've got garrus, liara, tali, Ashley, kaidin and jack who all have great writing if you care to pursue it (personally I thought jacks romance was one of the best done ever) with only mirandas and cortez seeming tacked on.

I'm saying no such thing, I think the romances in all Bioware games are nothing more than shallow busy work that leads to some vanilla pay-off. What I meant was I'd rather have a well written game with no romance options than one with tons yet they're all a bit stupid. I can understand the appeal, because it's fun to be the hero with the love interest, I do it myself whenever I play a Bioware game, but in the end it's just a silly love side quest.

And Tali, eh... That would've been an interesting romance had Bioware not given you the ability to bone her, because for her character that's just stupid.

 

[balladbird]

image snip

Good! I'm not the only one who was going to say it! XD

Playing a malkavian in that game is some of the most fun I've ever had with dialogue options, mostly because the traditional "good/neutral/jackass" choices are never a choice for me anyway. I don't consider being nice to people a chore, and thus don't have any escapist desire to be an asshole in a gaming world, so all I ever pick is nice or neutral.

"YOU HAVE MADE A POWERFUL ENEMY TONIGHT, SIGN!"

 

[murrayb67]

I will never tire of Baldur's Gate 2 dialog thanks to Jan & Minsc

 

[GabeZhul]

From the old-school games it's definitely Planescape Torment. Baldur's Gate 2 had some nice dialogs as well, but nothing comes close to the complexity of PsT's dialog trees, with the added layer of skill-checked lines that became a staple of Obsidian RPGs later on.

Speaking of Obsidian, the other two games I can think of would be Fallout New Vegas and the recent Pillars of Eternity, though in the case of the latter it is more about the sheer number and variety of dialog options than their actual depth.

Also an honorary mention goes to Skyrim with the Khajiit Speach mod. Look it up, it is awesome and hilarious.

 

[ecoho]

if you think the romances in DA:O were in any way better then the ones in the ME games then I juat have to ask you what are you drinking and were can I get some?

DA:O had basically morigan and Alister who were well written, zev was kinda middle of the road, and the rest were just forgettable or better as friends.

Now you look at ME you've got garrus, liara, tali, Ashley, kaidin and jack who all have great writing if you care to pursue it (personally I thought jacks romance was one of the best done ever) with only mirandas and cortez seeming tacked on.

I'm saying no such thing, I think the romances in all Bioware games are nothing more than shallow busy work that leads to some vanilla pay-off. What I meant was I'd rather have a well written game with no romance options than one with tons yet they're all a bit stupid. I can understand the appeal, because it's fun to be the hero with the love interest, I do it myself whenever I play a Bioware game, but in the end it's just a silly love side quest.

And Tali, eh... That would've been an interesting romance had Bioware not given you the ability to bone her, because for her character that's just stupid.

so what would be your definition of a well written game?

 

[Casual Shinji]

so what would be your definition of a well written game?

Answering that would just result in us arguing personal preferences.

 

[sanquin]

The Witcher 2 came really close and was spot on at times. For that matter, I love how a lot of W2's options are in the grey area, not black and white like Mass Effect...scratch that, not black and white like Bioware does.

 

[cthulhuspawn82]

I like playing Arcanum as a low intelligence character (or as an idiot savant). Even your quest journal is written in "stupid speak".

 

[DanielBrown]

I'd say Deus Ex: HR. Not really because of the specific options, but because the text you choose is the actual lines that Jensen says
Never understood why other games didn't do that

Yeah, that bothers me a lot. Replaying The Witcher 2 atm in preparation for The Wild Hunt and in the very first option, when you got your hands cuffed behind your back, Roche greets you by wanting to shake your hand. The options were "I'd shake your hand if I could" and "Very funny". I went with the latter because I figured that would be more entertaining and Geralt proceeds to splurt out an awkward "Fuck you". Had another option later on where none felt right, so I just went with one and he said exactly what I wanted...

OT: Fallout New Vegas has altered dialogue choices when you play with low intelligence. Haven't tried it myself, but after seeing some pictures I really feel like trying it.

Spoiler

 

[EHKOS]

I have to say, it's difficult to play Bloodlines once you roll a Malk. Once you go insane, you never go back.

Fallout NV has to be my vote, simply because they do what they say. Not like Telltale or Mass Effect games where the text is TOTALLY different than what you actually say. I've been snippy with a lot of people on accident. And then there's no button for "I'm sorry I didn't mean to yell."

 

[StatusNil]

In Torment you can decide that's a lie or you telling the truth, so I might say "Give me what I want or I'll kill you." but I wouldn't actually do it. You can also use it for more evil purposes, like you can lie to someone and say you love them to get them to do what you want, in most games you could only say "I love you" if your character actually means it. It's a role playing thing and I really like it.

An excellent point, and something that really should be a feature in more RPGs. Weirdly, I was just thinking about this on a train ride the other day, trying to come up with another game that did it. Maybe some do, but I couldn't recall any with certainty.

So Torment it is.

 

[gLoveofLove]

Well my dear TC, if you are a fan of three-headed monkeys, do I have the series for you.

 

[baddude1337]

OT: Fallout New Vegas has altered dialogue choices when you play with low intelligence. Haven't tried it myself, but after seeing some pictures I really feel like trying it.

In Fallout 1 and 2 you could go all hog and play a barely understandable low intelligence character, which would make some characters attack you on sight for being so stupid and block off so many quests as people couldn't understand you. ALL dialogue was changed to reflect this, not just a few choice encounters like Vegas. There is one person who understands you perfectly though, in a rather hilarious exchange with translation:

 

[Callate]

I did appreciate that Mass Effect 2 started giving dialogue options that weren't actually dialogue options. Though frankly, I'd like to see that idea go further.

(Let's face it... If every villager/civilian thought it was a good idea to give the armed-to-the-gills guy/gal in glowing magical/power armor a grocery list before they'd agree to do something trivial towards a minor goal called "saving the world", there wouldn't be a lot of villagers left un-punched.)

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well there are many good ones, but I'll go for two new improvements in the field.
Divinity: Original Sin, mostly ye olde CRPG system but now you have a co-op partner that weighs in on the decision making and any decision that gets contested is actually worked out in a game of rock/paper/scissors. With higher stats towards a certain action you get a head start in points, but so does the other guy depending on his stats.

Pillars of Eternity is the other one, again predominantly old CRPG but your stats have a greater range of options, not a big improvement and I don't like that the options you don't have still pop in with numeric limits of all things, but it is an improvement. Choices also apply to some scene change actions, breaking down walls with strength, tools, your weapons,... depending on what you choose things will turn out differently.

 

[ecoho]

so what would be your definition of a well written game?

Answering that would just result in us arguing personal preferences.

usually yes but I actually want to know, and not just to argue. feel free to just personal message me your answer as im actually curious.

 

[Casual Shinji]

so what would be your definition of a well written game?

Answering that would just result in us arguing personal preferences.

usually yes but I actually want to know, and not just to argue. feel free to just personal message me your answer as im actually curious.

Well, two more recent examples;

Wolfenstein: The New Order - It's a silly story about robot Nazis on the frikking Moon, but the character dialoge is so terrific that it makes you buy into its ludicrous concept. You can have the most complex and intricate story, but if the characters are flat and dull it really won't matter.

The Last of Us - Yes, I know, the most overrated anything that ever existed. It does however have one of the most subtle character arcs I think I've ever witnessed in a game. And it's nothing to do with the cutscenes, since I know people like to criticize the game's story for only taking place in the cutscenes, but that's far from the truth. The best writing can be found in the in-game dialoge, and it's there that you truly see Joel and his relationship with Ellie change gradually as the game progresses. And it's done almost pitch perfectly.

 

[snekadid]

Id have to agree with the bloodlines people. The regular dialogue is good and the malkavian is brilliant, saying things id wished id had thought of. Possibly the best part though is that several characters will state, in various ways, "o fuck, youre a malkavian arent you?" And malkavians talking to malkavians is beautiful.

 

[Reasonable Atheist]

In one of the kotor games, you can persuade some unsavory characters that the best and fastest way to get down an elivator is to jump.down the empty shaft.

I was so happy.

 

[ecoho]

so what would be your definition of a well written game?

Answering that would just result in us arguing personal preferences.

usually yes but I actually want to know, and not just to argue. feel free to just personal message me your answer as im actually curious.

Well, two more recent examples;

Wolfenstein: The New Order - It's a silly story about robot Nazis on the frikking Moon, but the character dialoge is so terrific that it makes you buy into its ludicrous concept. You can have the most complex and intricate story, but if the characters are flat and dull it really won't matter.

The Last of Us - Yes, I know, the most overrated anything that ever existed. It does however have one of the most subtle character arcs I think I've ever witnessed in a game. And it's nothing to do with the cutscenes, since I know people like to criticize the game's story for only taking place in the cutscenes, but that's far from the truth. The best writing can be found in the in-game dialoge, and it's there that you truly see Joel and his relationship with Ellie change gradually as the game progresses. And it's done almost pitch perfectly.

you kow I can actually agree with you on wolfenstein very well made game with a surprisingly good story. Last of us just wasn't my type of game so didn't really care about anyone in it.