Dialogue System Setup on GS_Play Gameplay Framework

Step 1: Create the Database

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Step 1 — Create the Database

Open the Dialogue Editor

From the O3DE Editor menu bar, go to GS Tools > Dialogue Editor. The editor opens with three page tabs at the top: Sequences, Performers, and System.

Create a New Database

Go to File > New
Choose a save location in your project’s assets folder (e.g., Assets/Dialogue/)
Name the file (e.g., town_npcs.dialoguedatabase)
The editor opens with an empty database

Define Performers

Switch to the Performers page by clicking the tab at the top.

Step 2: Author a Conversation

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Step 2 — Author a Conversation

Build a Linear Sequence

With the MerchantGreeting sequence open, you have a Start node on the canvas. Now add dialogue nodes:

From the Node Palette (right dock), drag a Text node onto the canvas
Connect the Start node’s FlowOut slot to the Text node’s FlowIn slot by clicking and dragging between the slots
Select the Text node and set its properties in the Inspector:
- Speaker: "Merchant" (matches your performer name)
- Text: "Welcome to my shop! Looking for something special?"

Add More Lines

Repeat the process to add a second Text node for the player’s response:

Step 3: Wire Up the Runtime

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Step 3 — Wire Up the Runtime

The Dialogue Editor is for authoring. To play dialogue at runtime, you need three components on entities in your level.

The Dialogue Manager

The Dialogue Manager is a GS_Play manager that owns the active dialogue database and provides the top-level API.

Your Game Manager prefab should already spawn a GS_DialogueManager (it is part of the GS_Cinematics manager set)
If not, create a manager entity and add the GS_DialogueManagerComponent
In the component properties, set the Dialogue Database field to your .dialoguedatabase asset

The manager provides the entry point API: StartDialogueSequenceByName("MerchantGreeting").

Step 4: Display Dialogue In-Game

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Step 4 — Display Dialogue In-Game

Dialogue UI Component

The DialogueUIComponent handles displaying dialogue text on screen. It receives text from the UI Bridge and shows it in a UI element.

Create a UI canvas with a text panel for dialogue display (speaker name label + dialogue text area)
On the UI entity, add a DialogueUIComponent
Register the UI entity with the bridge by calling RegisterDialogueUI(panelType, entityId) or by placing it where the bridge can discover it

When a Text node executes, the sequencer sends the speaker name and dialogue text through the bridge to the UI component, which updates the display.

Step 5: Add Player Choices

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Step 5 — Add Player Choices

Add a Selection Node

Go back to the Dialogue Editor and open your MerchantGreeting sequence.

Delete the connection between the merchant’s greeting and the player’s response
Drag a Selection node from the palette and place it between them
Connect the merchant’s Text node FlowOut to the Selection node’s FlowIn

Configure Choices

Select the Selection node. In the Inspector:

Set Question Text to "What would you like to do?" (optional — displayed above the choices)
Add options in the Selection Options list:
- Option 1: "Browse your wares"
- Option 2: "Tell me about the town"
- Option 3: "Goodbye"

Each option creates a dynamic FlowOut slot on the node.

Step 6: Conditions and Effects

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Step 6 — Conditions and Effects

Using Variables

Declare variables in the Variable Panel to track dialogue state:

Open the Variable Panel dock
Click Add and create a boolean variable: "hasVisitedMerchant" (default: false)

Conditions on Nodes

Any dialogue node can have conditions that gate whether it executes. If conditions fail, the evaluator skips that node and tries the next connection.

Select a Text node in the inspector
In the Conditions section, click the type picker dropdown
Add a Boolean_DialogueCondition
Set:
- Variable Name: "hasVisitedMerchant"
- Expected Value: true

Now that Text node only executes if the player has visited before. You can create two branches from a single output — one with hasVisitedMerchant = true and one without conditions as a fallback.