Context-Aware Dialogue System

Dynamic conversation engine that eliminates thousands of manual scripting combinations through contextual AI

The Challenge

Static dialogue breaks immersion

NPCs repeat identical lines regardless of time, weather, or relationship history

Exponential scripting complexity

Traditional branching dialogue requires manual scripting for every possible conversation state

Dialogue System Design - Obsidian
Vault
Flow
Rules
Priority
Memory
Dialogue flow sketch

Context evaluation and response selection flow (click to zoom)

The Solution

• Context-aware rule system that tracks player relationships, world state, and environmental factors
• Priority-based selection automatically chooses the most appropriate response
• Memory system allows NPCs to reference past conversations and build relationships

Rule Priority System

Weather + Time + Relationship + Location High
Time + Relationship Medium
Time only Low
Default fallback Lowest

More criteria result in higher priority (simplified for demonstration)

Technical Implementation

Inspired by Elan Ruskin's GDC talk on dynamic dialogue.

weather: rain
time: evening
met_player: no
World State
→
Find best match
Rule Engine
→
"Terrible weather for introductions..."
Dialogue Output

The approach

Instead of writing every possible conversation, you define facts about the world and rules that respond to them. The system figures out the rest.

More specific rules automatically win. A rule checking three conditions beats one checking two. Always finds the best match.

Key components

Fact Dictionaries — Track world state
Entry Selector — Find best rule
Response Processor — Output & update

The Results

Before

Process Manual scripting for every scenario
Complexity Exponential growth with variables
Feel Robotic, repetitive responses

After

Process Contextual rules generate responses
Complexity Linear growth, infinite combinations
Feel Natural, relationship-aware NPCs
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Godot Engine • GDScript • Rule Engine • Context System • State Tracking