Know of any good dialogue writing software to simplify complex branches?

[hakarlman]

I'm currently writing a story script. There are many different branching dialogue choices. I've found that text folding helps simplify the process a lot, but I'm looking for even more simplification of complex branches.

Need to simplify something like this (this is just meaningless jargon):

[Argue with logic]
___ if fatAssPieceofShit
_____"I'm a fat fuck." askldjflsdjkf
_____ asdklfjalskdfjalsfj
[Argue with passion]
___ if fatAssPieceofShit
_____"ASS PASSION." askldjflsdjkf
_____ asdklfjalskdfjalsfj
_____ tons and tons of lines of text with tons of conditions, annoying to just casually read.
[Argue with dick]
___ if fatAssPieceofShit
_____"BIG DICK" askldjflsdjkf
_____ asdklfjalskdfjalsfj

Text folding can help make the above easier to read. But what else?

I'm not looking for software similar to Scrivener. I'm already using Scrivener to maintain a strong layout, rather I need something to organize a complex page of dialogue text.

Rather something that offers a programmatic or scripting approach to writing a story & dialogue, to keep it all organized so it's not such a clusterfuck of text. Think something like notepad++ or something.

 

[Jofur]

Not sure if it applies here, but I've heard good things about Ink and it's editor Inky.
If you just want editor syntax stuff, It's a lot of work, but most code editors like Notepad++ allow you to customize your own language rules so you could make your own syntax highlighting if that's what you want, or try to copy the syntax of an existing one.

If it's more about organization and you have a lot of branching options you could also try using some sort of flowchart/node based editor, a lot of developers prefer using those, at least for RPGs. But I'm not sure how well it works for VNs and games like that.

 

[hakarlman]

Thanks for the heads up. I tried Inky. It could've been perfect, but it doesn't have advanced text folding features. It's text folding is severely limited. It doesn't have a spell check either that I'm aware of; I tried searching. But, I have to admit, Inky is so close to what I needed, it's a shame.

Chat Mapper seems pretty good for anyone who wants a more visual interface, but I prefer mostly organized, folded script with light scripting functionality.

I'm stuck with a combo of scrivener to outline scenes, and notepad++ for writing dialogue for each scene.

Scrivener doesn't have text folding yet. Every software seems to have severe limitations, it's so annoying.

 

[Niv-Mizzet the Firemind]

You can use notepad++ and associate rpy files with python. That way you get syntax highlighting and folding, which if I've understood correctly is what you care about.

Edit: I just noticed that you didn't specify Renpy. In that case you'll need to find out if the language in which you write is supported.

 

[Deleted member 1121028]

'Articy draft' far I remember.

 

[zenshiny]

Thanks for the heads up. I tried Inky. It could've been perfect, but it doesn't have advanced text folding features. It's text folding is severely limited. It doesn't have a spell check either that I'm aware of; I tried searching. But, I have to admit, Inky is so close to what I needed, it's a shame.

There's an Ink extension for VS Code (and probably other code editors) if code folding is the major issue. The downside is that there isn't a preview panel like the Inky app.

 

[probably_dave]

'Articy draft' far I remember.

Thanks for this!!!
I've been looking for this type of software for a while and this appears to match exactly what I wanted. Time to try the trail