Dali Cinematic Story System

Dali Cinematic Story System

Dali Story Studio is a Unity editor tool for creating branching dialogue, interactive conversations and cinematic story sequences.

Write dialogue, connect choices, define conditions and events, customize the presentation, and manage translations from one workspace. When your sequence is ready, use Build Scene to generate the presentation setup and test it in Play Mode.

Visual story authoring

The Story Graph lets you connect dialogue, choices, conditions and events. Variables can unlock responses, change narrative paths and trigger consequences in your game. Built-in validation helps identify structural problems before playback.

Cinematic direction

Select a camera shot for individual dialogue passages, including Gameplay, Wide, Speaker, Listener and over-the-shoulder views. Dali can frame the speaker and listener automatically, blend between shots and restore the gameplay camera when the conversation ends or is skipped.

Custom camera positions are also available when a scene requires precise artistic framing.

NPC conversations and gameplay integration

Use the included NPC interaction component as a starting point for proximity-based conversations, or launch sequences from your own interaction, quest or gameplay systems.

Events, signals and the C# API can connect dialogue decisions to actions in the scene, such as opening a door, changing an objective or updating the world state.

Backgrounds and presentation

Use images, solid colors or video backgrounds. Add background motion and visual layers, configure fades, and adjust dialogue panel position, size, colors, typography and transitions.

The Direction workspace provides a composition preview while you work. Video, audio, input and final typography should be verified in Game view.

Customizable choices

Use your own button sprites and icons, configure visual states and apply individual styles to different choices. Button dimensions, spacing and placement can be adjusted to suit your interface.

Choice numbers can be displayed or hidden.

Audio controls

Configure sequence voice-over, dialogue voice clips, music and sound effects. Independent volume controls and optional music ducking help balance dialogue and background audio.

Localization

Translation tables support dialogue, choices and optional localized voice clips. Import and export CSV files, preview another language in Story Studio and select the language used during playback.

The runtime language API can connect Dali to your game’s language settings. Translation content is supplied by the developer.

Playback controls

Configure typewriter text, automatic progression, timing, continue input and hold-to-skip behavior for each dialogue.

An optional toolbar provides pause, dialogue history, story checkpoint saving and loading, and playback-speed controls.

Story checkpoints preserve narrative progress and do not replace a complete game save system.

Included examples

The package includes several example sequences and an interactive 3D demonstration named **The Last Watch**.

In The Last Watch, the player can explore a guard post and speak with two NPCs. Information learned from one character unlocks a conditional response with another character, allowing the player to open the gate. The sample demonstrates:

• Player movement and NPC proximity interaction  

• Branching conversations and conditional choices  

• Variables, signals and visible gameplay consequences  

• Automatic dialogue camera framing  

• Camera restoration after completion, stopping or skipping  

• Procedural character movement  

• Runtime material adaptation for Built-in, URP and HDRP  

The demonstration uses Unity primitives and native cameras, without requiring Cinemachine or Timeline.

Getting started

1. Create a sequence or open an included example.

2. Write dialogue and connect its choices.

3. Add conditions, variables or gameplay events.

4. Configure presentation, audio and camera shots.

5. Add translations if needed.

6. Run validation.

7. Build the scene setup and test it in Play Mode.

Illustrated documentation and AI Skills are included. Users of compatible coding agents can point their agent to the package’s AI/Skills folder for guided setup, story authoring, presentation, localization and runtime integration.

Requirements

Requires Unity Input System, Unity UI and TextMesh Pro Essential Resources.

See the compatibility section for the exact Unity editor and render-pipeline versions tested.