Dialogue

This is a dialogue system that enables players and NPCs to interact dynamically. The system allows users to create engaging conversations, complete with message effects, simple animations, and Unity Events, within a single inspector window.

To set up the system, a minimum of two components are required: Dialogue, which stores character conversations, and DialogueUI, which manages the UI elements that display the dialogue. Dialogue can be attached to an empty gameObject, while DialogueUI should be placed on a UI Canvas. You can also utilize additional effects, such as movement and scaling, with the LetsWiggle component, and typewriting effects with TextMeshProEffects, to enhance the overall experience.

Note

When dialogue is started, player input will be automatically blocked.

Property
DialogueUI	The reference to DialogueUI.
Exit Button	If this button exists, the user will be able to escape any dialogue.
Skip Button	If this button exists, the user will be able to skip to the next message in the conversation at any time.
Block Inventories	If enabled, any inventory trying to open will be blocked from opening.
Messenger Icon Relative	If enabled, the messenger icons will be positioned on the left or right of the message box, depending on the relative position of the messengers.
Is Random	If enabled, this will display random conversations. If this is desired, enable the Is Random flag that also exists in each conversation for any conversation that should be treated as random.
Events	The Unity Events invoked when the player begins and exits a conversation.

Method
BeginConversation()	Call this method to begin the conversation. This will also set this gameObject active true.
EndConversation()	Call this method to end the conversation.

Create any messenger that is relevant to the dialogue.

Property
Messenger Bar	Choose the messenger’s sprite icon and display name. From here, delete this messenger if necessary, and toggle the box open for more fields.
Transform	If Position Icon is enabled, specify the transform of the messenger to compare its position relative to the other messengers.
Background	This is optional. Choose a personal background image for this messenger. If left null, the default background will be used instead.
Create Animation	If applied, the messenger’s icon will be replaced by an animation. Name the animation and create it. Create as many as necessary. Once created, each animation will have an add button for adding each individual sprite in the animation.
FPS	Frames per second. The rate at which the animation plays.
Loop	If this is enabled, the animation will loop. This could be useful for simple talking animations.

It’s also possible to save the state of the conversation. Once an important event occurs, the conversation can be progressed to a difference state so the player and NPC can continue with a new conversation.

Property
Save Key	This key will save the state of the conversation. This key must be unique across the entire game. If you press the Delete button, it will reset the save state to zero.
Conversation List	Click the add button to add a conversation. Each conversation in the list represents a conversation state where the player and NPC will begin the conversation. Once an important event occurs, call SaveConversationState ( ) on this component. This can be called from anywhere. And the next time the Dialogue window opens, it will continue with the next conversation in the list.

A dialogue is a series of conversations. Create as many as required. Each conversation will have a series of messages. Each message can either be of type Message or Choice. If type Choice is enabled, it should be the last message in the conversation because the player will be asked to make a choice, and each option in the choice will branch into another conversation. The dialogue will end once the current conversation reaches the final message that is of type Message.

Property
Conversation Bar	This displays the name of the conversation. From here, delete the conversation if necessary, add a new message, or open the box for more fields.
Name	Conversation name.
Is Random	If enabled, this conversation will be treated as a random conversation.
Message Bar	This displays the messenger’s icon. Choose which messenger is talking and the type of message. From here, delete the message if necessary, or open the box for more fields.
Animation	If enabled, type the name of the animation that needs to play during the conversation.
Message To	If Position Icon is enabled, specify who the message is being delivered to so the system can know how to position the UI icon.
On Message Complete	The Unity Event invoked after the message is finished loading.
Message Type	If enabled, a standard message will be displayed. Type the desired message in the text box.
Choice Type	If enabled, press the red button to create a series of options for the player to choose from. Typically, the option response should be as short as possible, since the options will be mapped to UI button elements.
Branch To	If the player chooses this option, this will become the next conversation.
On Choice	If the player chooses this option, this will be the Unity Event that is invoked.

Note

When dialogue is started, the first conversation in the list will be the entry point.

DialogueUI

The system implements Unity’s UI system to display the dialogue box. The UI elements in the dialogue box can be configured to your personal taste. The important part is to set the UI references so that the system knows when to enable them and set their content.

The demo contains a basic UI dialogue structure, which can be used as a starting point for other designs, but in general, the system will be looking for five basic elements: an icon image, a background image, a next signal image, a TextMeshPro for the message itself and the messenger’s name. If any UI elements are missing, the system will simply ignore them. In reality, only one of these is truly needed, and that is the message element. Thus the dialogue box can be configured as complex or as simple as necessary.

References
Icon	The image of the messenger’s avatar (or animation).
Background	The image background for the entire message. This image can be personalized for each messenger in the Dialogue component. This UI element should be considered the main component of the dialogue box. All other UI elements should be children to it.
Next Signal	The image that will appear once the message has been completely loaded, signaling the user to continue with the conversation. Implement a bouncing effect with LetsWiggle.
Message	The TextMeshPro of the message.
Messenger Name	The TextMeshPro of the messenger’s name.
Choices	The buttons mapped to a choice in the conversation. Create the required amount. These buttons will be clicked or pressed by the user.

The following Unity Events are optional. If they’re not used, the message will load immediately. But if used, they will be able to add special effects to any dialogue. It is, however, very important to connect them properly, or the dialogue system will not work correctly.

The system comes included with two very useful classes that will add effects to the dialogue box. LetsWiggle is a tweening library that can be used in the inspector to setup tweens, like moving and scaling UI. TextMeshProEffects will add special effects, like a typewriting or wobble effect, to a message. It is these classes that can be used for OnTransitionIn, OnTransitionOut, and On Load Message. These classes should be placed on the background UI Element.

Property
On Begin	The Unity Event that is invoked when a dialogue begins.
On End	The Unity Event that is invoked when a dialogue ends.
On Transition In	Invoke this Unity Event when a new message is about to begin. How it’s intended to work: This event should call another class, like a tweening library, to move or scale the background image. In this case, since it’s a transition In, the background image can be scaled from a 0 to 1. Once complete, it is very important for this other class to call TransitionInComplete in DialogueUI. If this event is used, there should always be a return signal to let the system know it can move forward, or else the system will stay stuck.
On Transition Out	Invoke this Unity Event when a message ends. This works exactly as On Transition In, but in reverse. The important part is for the other class to call TransitionOutComplete in DialogueUI once complete.
On Load Message	Once a Transition In is complete, this Unity Event will be invoked. Typically you call a class that will add special effects to the message itself. As with the previous two events, once the other class is complete, it must return a complete signal by calling MessageLoadingComplete in DialogueUI. If it does not, the system will get stuck.

Warning

If using OnTransitionIn, OnTransitionOut, or OnLoadMessage, it is very important to set the Unity Events properly or the system will get stuck.