Chitchat

	The card's front face	The card's back face

Synopsis

Dialogue that is not central to the course of action.

Relationships

Contexts:
Character Soundprint , Emotional Script , Unaware NPC .
Possibly with:
Grunts .
Makes use of:
Dialogue , Acoustic Ecology .

Description

Chitchat encompasses the forms of NPC Dialogue which are relevant to participate in the game's Acoustic Ecology but which do not carry information relevant for the gameplay. Chitchat can also integrate solutions to represent Unaware NPC and to denounce NPC location (a form of Beacon Locator), but those are different cases of Awareness that we don't intend to reach in this particular card.

Examples

Assassin's Creed 2: Dense background conversations including Chitchat are very consistent in this game.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion: Some Chitchat sentences, like the variants referring mud crabs are part of the game's Signature. Also, sometimes Chitchat is directed to the PC.

Far Cry 2: Inside ceasefire zones, and contrary to what happens in all the rest of the territory, occupants Chitchat while they are tolerant to the PC's presence (i.e., even if they are aware of the PC)

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Infamous: In Infamous part of the NPC's Dialogue is Chitchat that not only integrates the Acoustic Ecology but, more interestingly, shapes it, according to an Emotional Script that evolves during the game in function of the player's actions.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune: A piece of Dialogue between the PC and a NPC which contributes to contextualize their motivations but which is not particularly related to the ongoing actions. Actually, the frivolous character of the conversation ends up being recognized by the characters themselves.

External Resources

On the technique called walla walla: http://www.ruyasonic.com/sfx_walla.htm