Conversations

A single .ibra file can contain multiple conversations. Conversations are named blocks of dialogue that can be jumped to by name, which is how branching dialogue works.

Naming a Conversation

Use {{ConversationName(...)}} on its own line to mark the start of a conversation:

{{ConversationName(Greeting)}}
[NPC]
Hello, traveller.
[NPC]
What brings you here?

Everything after the {{ConversationName(...)}} line belongs to that conversation, until the next {{ConversationName(...)}} or the end of the file.

Multiple Conversations

{{ConversationName(Greeting)}}
[NPC]
Hello, traveller.

{{ConversationName(Farewell)}}
[NPC]
Safe travels, friend.

This file contains two conversations: "Greeting" and "Farewell".

Default Conversation

If no {{ConversationName(...)}} is specified, the conversation is named "Default". This is fine for simple files that only need one conversation:

[NPC]
Hello World!

Starting a Specific Conversation

By default, StartConversation begins at the first conversation in the file. You can pass a startIndex to start at a different one:

dialogueManager.StartConversation(dialogueAsset, startIndex: 1);

Jumping Between Conversations

You can jump to a conversation by name directly in a dialogue file using the {{Jump(...)}} invocation:

{{ConversationName(Greeting)}}
[NPC]
{{Jump(Farewell)}}
Hello, traveller.

{{ConversationName(Farewell)}}
[NPC]
Safe travels, friend.

After the player advances past "Hello, traveller.", the engine automatically switches to the "Farewell" conversation. See the Jumps page for more.

You can also jump from code at runtime using JumpTo:

dialogueManager.JumpTo("Farewell");

This stops the current conversation and switches to the named one. The dialogue file must already be parsed (i.e., a conversation must be in progress).

Jumping is also how choices work behind the scenes. See the Choices page for more.