So, I am running through my choices, and right now at least for the initial greeting options I’m trying to get to genuine, 1/2 bold, I have to figure out it was her of the bold option, too shy, and to sarcastic. Unfortunately I am not that good at sarcasm, so would anybody be able to give me some ideas? Also, what does everyone think of the format genuine bold shy sarcastic, more or less anyway for choices, not all choices, but dialogue choices.
Apologies if it’s not that clear, I am writing this on my phone and the speech to text is a bit wonky sometimes. Anyway, any input would be appreciated, and I hope all who read this have a good rest of the week.
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I like sarcasm and use it almost exclusively, what’s the context of the situation and what’s the general idea you want the choice to be?
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The really tricky thing in choices is to make clear, even for a foreign reader, that it is sarcasm. Since the sarcastic part are more transferred through tone and behaviour.
I have more than once Chosen a answer that was sarcastic without realizing, and that is really frustrating.
So having a sarcastic answer is mostly about how it is Said and less what is said.
Like the character rolls the eyes, sounds bored or rude or the answer is totally over the top with faked excitement.
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Sarcasm is a form of humour that relies heavily upon the reader’s knowledge and understanding of the context. It can be used to make someone look foolish, or it may just be an expression of contempt for another person. In either case, it should always be done with care and consideration. If you use sarcasm too often or without thinking about how your readers will interpret what you write, they might find themselves laughing at something completely different than intended. Here are five tips to help you get started:
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Use as few words as possible when sarcastic; this makes the message easier to read.
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Make sure there is some kind of joke hidden within any sentence containing sarcasm – otherwise, it won’t work!
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Keep the tone lighthearted – if you want people to laugh, don’t take yourself seriously.
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Be careful not to overuse sarcasm – it loses its effectiveness after repeated usage.
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When choosing who you are sarcastic towards, remember that the target audience has to have a sense of humour, so choose a character whose reactions would fit well into the overall theme of your piece.
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Even someone who’s naturally sarcastic might struggle to give a sarcastic option for every possible dialogue tree – especially if you wanted the sarcastic MC to be appealing rather than just an utter jerk. If you’re not naturally sarcastic, I wonder if it might be better to rethink whether it really strengthens your game to have that option…
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It is also a good idea to think about when people in real life use sarcasm. Normal people not the just jerk ones.
For example after being wronged with the Intention to retaliate or give a piece of mind, when in sorrow as a coping mechanism or within friends as Humor.
So not every conversation needs a sarcastic option unless you want players to behave like a jerk
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In this particular situation, your meeting three people, and I’m trying to find at least what the MC thinks, is a sarcastic complement. In general, basically just the ability to be sarcastic, especially since I have genuine already set up, probably sarcastically expressive, and then sarcastically reserved.
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I’ve edited games that frequently use this sort of format for dialogue in choices:
You say to her…
#“Oh I love your dress, where on earth did you get it?” But I’m clearly dripping with sarcasm. I want her to know I think her dress is hideous.
#“Oh I love your dress, where did you get it?” But I’m lying. I don’t like her dress, but I don’t want to sound rude.
#“Oh I love your dress, where did you get it?” And I truly mean it. I think her dress is amazing.
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If find sarcasm can be relatively easily misunderstood in choices if you’re not careful, and sometimes even then. (My sense of humour often runs into sarcasm as well.) If you can’t make it really obvious it’s sarcasm, you almost need to state it. (Like “you say sarcastically” or “you say rolling your eyes” etc.) Or the other thing I sometimes use is itallics to emphasize a particular word to try and make it clearer that the statement isn’t supposed to be taken literally (like “Oh, sure. Let’s just tell the police officer a shape shifting alien is strolling down main street. What could go wrong?”)
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Honestly this solution is great, that way you don’t need to have to put some doubt into the player if they’re going to accidentally choose a sarcastic option. Of course, this has the same dialogue in one scene but it really doesn’t matter since you can still put that with different options.
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I agree, I thought it was a rather clean and straightforward way of injecting player choice into PC personality. But of course it wasn’t all the same dialogue in the game (though I think that would be funny as a joke).
It was more like:
#“Oh, amazing dress, I think I saw one just like it when I visited my great grandmother in the old folks home.” I say, dripping with sarcasm.
#“That’s such a striking color on you!” I say, because I can’t find anything else to compliment about it.
#“Wow, can I take your picture? I need to find a dress like this for myself.” I say, clearly in awe of her fashion sense.
#“Hello! So pleased to meet you.” I say, trying to keep my eyes away from her dress. I don’t want her to feel self-conscious.
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