Developer Rebellion is perhaps best known for theSniper Elitefranchise, but its newest game, the upcoming survival-action gameAtomfall, is quite different. Set in an alternate version of 1960s Great Britain shortly after the Windscale nuclear disaster, the game combines exploration, combat, and mystery into one intriguing package for players to unravel. Choice and dialogue play a key role inAtomfall, allowing for a high degree of player freedom.
Game Rant caught up with Rebellion head of design Ben Fisher who explained some of the reasoning behindAtomfall’s dialogue options. He talked about the effect these options can have on the story and character interactions, as well as how tone can shape conversations with the game’s NPCs.
Atomfall’s Dialogue Options Are Driven by Tone
For fans ofnarrative-driven RPGs, having the ability to shape a branching conversation with an NPC is perhaps one of the most crucial components of a successful RPG. Multiple dialogue options leading to different responses and outcomes help the player craft an experience that is unique to them. For many RPGs, though, a potential issue with this element is that there’s a danger that the player reads these responses differently from how they were written, leading to a surprising outcome that they didn’t want. To combat this pitfall,Atomfallis heavily leaning into tone. Fisher explained,
‘‘The tones are inspired by the fact that, in typical conversation systems, it’s possible to choose an option that triggers an unexpected reaction, because the way you read the line doesn’t match the way the writer intended. Given that our conversations are high stakes, we wanted to help players make predictable choices. The tones available vary wildly from conversation to conversation – we have always tried to make sure there’s a range of available tones to adopt, but they are always relevant as responses to what the other person has said.’’
Conversations in Atomfall Could Be Beneficial For Both Parties
Having the desired tone, such as confused or angry, explicitly written alongside the dialogue choice is a clever way to ensure the conversation moves in the direction the player intends and removes the need for the player to correctly interpret the sometimes vague writing. Fisher explained that this isn’t just important for the player, but for the NPCs as well, who each have their motivations withinthe world ofAtomfall. He said,
‘‘One way to look at it is that the other person is trying to get something out of the conversation too, and the tones cover all the ways you’d expect to reply. There is no hard and fast rule we set ourselves, no “friendly meter” that ticks up to change a general friendliness score or anything like that. You have to use your intuition.’’
