🎮 Dialogue Maker – Unity Integration

This Unity project is the runtime companion for the Dialogue Maker (WPF App).

It loads and manages dialogue data created by writers, displaying it inside Unity scenes while allowing programmers to trigger in-game events through actions.

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🧩 Overview

The system reads dialogue data generated by the WPF tool (.json format) and connects it to characters, emotions, and actions inside Unity.

Each dialogue line can:

• Display text with styles (color, speed, size, etc.)
• Change emotions dynamically
• Trigger an Action Prefab
• Branch to new dialogue paths

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📁 Folder Structure

All dialogue-related assets are stored under the Resources folder for runtime loading:

Assets/ └── Resources/ └── Dialogues/ ├── JSONS/ ← Dialogue data (.json files from WPF app) └── Characters/ ← Character folders and animations

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💾 File & Folder Conventions

🗃️ Dialogue Files

WPF app exports dialogue in .json format.
Place all exported files here:

Assets/Resources/Dialogues/JSONS/

Example:

Assets/Resources/Dialogues/JSONS/intro_scene.json

🧍 Speaker Folders

Each character has its own folder containing sprites, portraits, or animation references.

Path:

Assets/Resources/Dialogues/Characters/

Each folder name follows this convention:

talking-[speaker_name]-[emotion]

Example:

talking-clay-nothing talking-floy-happy talking-rez-confuse

This naming format lets the system automatically load the correct portrait or animation based on the current line’s speaker and emotion.

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⚙️ Action System (Prefab-Based)

Actions allow dialogue lines to trigger gameplay events (e.g., unlock a door, play a sound, start a cutscene).

🔹 How It Works

1. Each action defined in the .json file (from WPF tool) matches a Prefab in Unity.
2. These prefabs must be placed in your Resources folder for runtime loading.
3. Each Action Prefab contains a MonoBehaviour script that includes a public function to be called when triggered.

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🧱 Example Structure

Assets/Resources/Dialogues/Actions/ ├── UnlockDoor.prefab ├── ShowNote.prefab └── PlaySound.prefab

Each prefab should have a script with a callable method, e.g.:

using UnityEngine;

public class UnlockDoorAction : MonoBehaviour
{
    public void StartAction()
    {
        // Your custom logic here
        Debug.Log("Door unlocked!");
        // Example: DoorController.Instance.Unlock();
    }
}

When the dialogue reaches a line containing:

[Action: UnlockDoor]

→ the system will load the prefab named UnlockDoor from Resources/Dialogues/Actions/
→ and automatically call its StartAction() method.
🧠 Integration Flow

    Writer: uses WPF Dialogue Maker to create .json file.

    Programmer: places that .json into Assets/Resources/Dialogues/JSONS/.

    System: automatically loads dialogues, links character portraits, and triggers action prefabs.

🔄 Example Runtime Flow

    The dialogue system loads intro_scene.json.

    The speaker is "clay", emotion "happy".
    → System loads the portrait from
    Assets/Resources/Dialogues/Characters/talking-clay-happy.

    The text line finishes and includes [Action: PlaySound].
    → System loads prefab PlaySound.prefab and calls its StartAction().

⚡ Notes & Tips

    Keep prefab names case-sensitive to match the action names exactly.

    Use consistent folder naming — the system depends on it.

    Always test your dialogue after importing a new .json file.

    Avoid renaming or moving JSON files after export unless you update references.

🧰 Dependencies

    Unity 2021.3+ (recommended)

    TextMeshPro (for dialogue rendering)

    JSON Utility or Newtonsoft.Json (for parsing dialogue data)

👤 Author

Reza – System Designer & Programmer
Focused on creating a unified workflow between writers and developers for faster, more flexible narrative systems in Unity.