Logo: to the web site of Uppsala University

Over the past decades games have emerged as a new, interactive, narrative form, offering new ways for players to experience stories. One way of combining authored narrative with player interaction is through interactive dialogue systems. Dialogue systems in games are most often viewed as a way to give the player an opportunity for expression, or as a means of deeper engagement with the narrative, but games are traditionally built around challenges for a player to overcome using the rules provided by the game. This thesis seeks to examine the presence of challenge in an interactive dialogue system, through the use of a case study of Dragon Age: Origins. Through a formal analysis of the dialogue system and the ways it provides feedback, the thesis concludes that the challenge provided by the system is to manage relationships with certain non-player characters and to enact the player’s own goals. The reliance on goals set by the player may be problematic, as the game cannot provide the player with feedback on whether they were successful or not. The game’s use of a group of non-player characters as a means of feedback offers the clearest form of challenge, as it can most easily be viewed as a system with clear rules and conflicts, but could be further emphasized by different balancing. Additionally, it posits that better integrating challenge in the interactive dialogue could be used to emphasize narrative themes.