In this 2017 GDC session, Unity's William Armstrong and Campo Santo's Patrick Ewing discuss the logic, tools, and workflow behind the dialog system used on Firewatch.

From its beginnings as an interrupt0heavy bark system, to the long, restarting, conversations they shipped, they went over what worked and what didn't as they built the system and the game around each other.

The pair also dug into what a data-driven system needs to be able to handle as it grows in complexity and scale, and how to keep your tools running well without a team dedicated to them.

It was an insightful hour-long talk, and now you can watch it for free on the official GDC YouTube channel!

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its accompanying YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC or XRDC already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.