Plus I don't want every single character using the same words all the time in every dialogue.
Exactly! Just like when you are writing Fiction, you want each character to have their own voice (using certain words/sayings, have certain levels of intelligence, etc. etc.), and not merge into one unforgettable blob.
You want them to be unique, such as:
- Yuffie is the only character who says "gawd" (7 times) + from a quick look, she seems to be the only one who drags some words: "c'moooon" + "boooooring".
- Barret/Cid are the only main characters who say "whaddya" + they like cuttin' their "ing"s.
- Cait Sith wi' his Sco'ish accent.
Earlier this morning I split each main character's dialogue so I could get individualized Word Lists. This is how I spotted some of those inconsistencies. I will probably do a few more broad passes like this before drilling down into the real nitty gritty.
I find it also helps you spot errors when you rip apart the text and visualize it in multiple different forms.
< I deliberately left "taking" intact here because it's a very serious dialogue and I thought him using a full word had more impact. I did actually think about that as I used the full word
I was thinkin' the same thing before I posted, and I could see the reasoning. I had the same exact thoughts runnin' through my head when looking at the places where Cid said "them" <-> "'em".
I will have to gather more stats/evidence in the more nitty gritty phases... I believe you will learn to see my ways!
"{PURPLE}♥{WHITE}" occurred 63 times total. 61 of those were placed DIRECTLY after the punctuation. Only these 2 had an extra space before. I have no idea if this extra space changes the actual display in game.
[onna_52.txt]
#xy 172 64
“Okay,okay.***{PURPLE} ♥{WHITE}***”
(You moody thing…){NEW}
“Come on,everyone’s waiting.”
{CHOICE}Everyone?
{CHOICE}What the hell am I doing?
[onna_52.txt]
#xy 188 72
“So,shall we begin?*** {PURPLE}♥{WHITE}***”{NEW}
“Sir,{PURPLE}♥{WHITE}
did you choose this room
because…”{NEW}
“…you’re feeling lonely?”
{CHOICE}I’m used to it
{CHOICE}I don’t want to talk