Think about it. Words are powerful... and this is proved in ZQuest by the fact that NO QUEST AT ALL can function properly without strings. Currently Molka Elite has almost 700 strings, and counting. Hero of Dreams supposedly had well over 1k, from what I heard.
Strings though aren't what have the real meaning... Strings are just a tool used in ZC. It's what the strings LEAD to that count... Dialouge. That's essentially what this thread is about. Here's my take...
There are obvious "rules" to follow when writing dialouge, such as proper grammar and all that jazzamafrazz... But the dialouge you use in your Quest can be a diverse, beautiful thing. You can be funny, you can be serious, you can be alarming... Dialouge, strings, whatever you wanna call them, allow you to directly affect the player in ways beyond anything that mere clever level design can do. Emotions. It's like putting a gold crown on an already handsome young man. I think a lot of (but not all) gamers play games to escape from reality, so a game that can trigger sharp emotions in a player is a winner in my eyes.
But writing dialouge in a ZC Quest is not quite like writing, say, a novel or short story. That's because dialouge is only PART of the game-- the other part is, of course, going through the Overworld and Dungeons and whatever, fighting enemies and bosses, getting the Triforce, all that razzamatazz. Also, you have to make a distinction between story-based dialouge and filler dialouge. Story-based would be anything mandatory to beat the game, while filler would be, say, some lady selling bombs in a shop, or a boy talking about "that noise he heard from the mountain yesterday" when you go into the house. Both are equally important in their own way, and in my opinion I think people would generally have more trouble making interesting filler dialouge than mandatory dialouge. I do, at least. The trick is to make it either interesting or funny... Filler doesn't do as well when it's only serious toned, I've noticed. When I write filler I like to give a backstory to some of the bosses Link fights, for example, that has nothing to do with the game and is just interesting to hear. Or, if a guy is giving you some bombs, he'll say something about how his wife gave him too many bombs for his birthday and now they're not on speaking terms anymore. XD Seriously, even something small like that could get people to smile. It doesn't have to be hilarious, but it really works when it's witty.
There is another use for strings though. Action text. You know, the kind you put in between to asterixes? Like, *The skeletons instantly surround Link and beat the tar out of him* in a Door Repair room. (Personally I love that idea. I think I'll use it. XD) People don't use this one as often, but it can be VERY useful. For example, you can give Link a "pseudo item", by having the Text say that Link picks up the item off the floor or whatever, Text Adventure style, and activating a Boss Flag in that room at the same time. Then in another room, if the Boss Flag is activated (or, essentially, if Link "got" that item), it interacts with him differently. In 2.10, where you don't have custom items except for Misc 1 and Misc 2 (and you're better off giving Misc 1 a Rupee graphic for "pay to enter" rooms, so that just leaves Misc 2), this technique allows Link to collect event items that normally shouldn't exist. Another use: For when Link is fighting a custom boss that can't talk, and *notices* something unusual about the boss, such as its weak point, and you want to explain that in text to give the player a hint. That, too, is something I've used.
So you see, if you think about it, there's a lot more to strings than giving Link directions through maze paths.
Oh right! Maze paths! I need to let you guys know, don't be afraid to get out-of-the-box with your maze paths too! Instead of the guy just telling you the four directions to go, have him give you a riddle instead. For example, some crazy old man could say "It was 12 o'clock for two hours, then the clock started skipping ahead 3 hours at a time!" which would translate into Up, Up, Right, Down. One thing I did in one of my dungeons was have a trident-shaped dungeon path, and in the middle "prong" was a maze path... while the left and right prongs each had a talking Armos in them. The one on the right said "Walk towards this room first, then escape to the north." The one on the left said "Walk towards this room second, then escape to the north." The path was Right, Up, Left, Up. One misleading puzzle I'm putting in a maze path in the desert has a bunch of graves forming an arrow to the left, but the path is Left, Down, Down, Down. In some secret dungeon a talking Cuccoo tells you to go to the desert, follow the arrow once and escape south. People who haven't visited the Cuccoo will assume the arrow is the way to go, but it's not entirely. You can use tricks like that too, and it's all thanks to strings.
Anyone have anything else they'd like to add? I basically just wrote this thing 'cause I was in a writing mood. ^_^
