ChatMapper is an easy to use tool for writing and testing nonlinear dialogue and events for fields where complex problems are the normal, such as entertainment, e-learning, emergency response, diagnoses health care, sales and customer service, and strategic planning.
Our goal is to help entertainment companies, government agencies, and educators world-wide not only see the bigger picture, but be able to create it, traverse it, and change it as they go.
This sample makes use of Responsive Designed HTML export, Multi-Language Dialogue Nodes, Recorded Audio for English, Spanish and French Text-to-Speech, Actor Expression States, Scripting and Variables. The sample project is bundled in the ChatMapper download.
Hint: Tap to proceed conversations. Use language flags at any time for spoken dialogue.
Using the latest development tools available, Chat Mapper is designed to be as user-friendly and stylish as possible. Typically there are several different ways to accomplish tasks through on-screen buttons, menu options, shortcut keys, or right-click context menus. The layout is fully configurable with tabs and hidden interface elements so you can concentrate on the content.
After researching many methods for displaying complex non-linear dialogue, we found that the easiest to grasp intuitively is the tree graph. With a “root” node defining the entrance point of the conversation, dialogue options stem from this to form what looks like a tree. Links can be defined between any two nodes, but only one is shown as a “primary” link for simplicity with the others as “connector” links. Chat Mapper also supports sub-trees via group nodes, links to other conversation, and links to other project files for easy organization.
While designing a complex conversation, how do you know it will work as intended in the final product? That is where the conversation simulator excels. The simulator will present your dialogue tree as a game complete with audio, graphics, and dialogue menus. You can also use the simulator to debug your logic by tracking variables and finding Lua script errors. With a license, you can save simulator states and return back to any point in the simulation with just a button click.
In almost every non-linear dialogue tree, there are choices presented to the player during the course of the interaction. With Chat Mapper, it is easy to define conditions using Lua to control which tree branches are available based on previous choices. For example, you may only want a certain dialogue to be offered when the player has a specific inventory item. You may also define Lua scripts to be executed when the dialogue is displayed to set custom variable values, useful for assigning scores to correct choices.
After completing your project, you may want to create a screenplay document to pass along to voice talent or editors. The screenplay can also be automatically filtered to show or highlight only a specific character’s lines. The script generated follows the internationally accepted formatting for screenplays and can be exported to other editors like Microsoft Word.
