Dialogue Systems

What it does

When your agent uses it

• The user mentions dialogue system
• Branching dialogue
• Conversation tree
• Yarn Spinner (.yarn)

Example prompts

• “/dialogue-systems”

Requirements

• Python 3
• Compatibility (from SKILL.md): Engine-agnostic. Ink (inkle) and Yarn Spinner 2.x syntax; runner snippets in GDScript-like / Python pseudocode.

Workflow steps

4 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

1. 1Engine-neutral dialogue graph (data, not code)
2. 2Runner step (a state machine over the graph)
3. 3Ink — branching with knots, choices, and variables (inkle)
4. 4Yarn Spinner — nodes, options, and commands (Yarn 2.x)

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit eac84e0. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

• Tool permissions

  Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

  From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

• Runs code

  No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md (its code samples are json, gdscript, ink and yarn).

  From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

• Network

  No URLs in SKILL.md.

  From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

• Credentials

  Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

  From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

• Compatibility

  Engine-agnostic. Ink (inkle) and Yarn Spinner 2.x syntax; runner snippets in GDScript-like / Python pseudocode.

  From compatibility in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

Context cost

Dialogue Systems loads about 1.8k tokens when it runs, and up to ~4.3k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 94 tokens; SKILL.md has 645 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it

~94

When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches

~1.8k

With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them

~4.3k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from ukanwat/overtime at commit eac84e0, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© ukanwat). 645 words, ~1,836 tokens.

name

dialogue-systems

description

Build branching dialogue and narrative — a node/choice graph with conditions, variables, and localization hooks — and choose between authoring tools Ink and Yarn Spinner or a custom data-driven runner. Engine-neutral. Use when the user mentions dialogue system, branching dialogue, conversation tree, choices, Ink (.ink), Yarn Spinner (.yarn), or NPC dialogue.

compatibility

Engine-agnostic. Ink (inkle) and Yarn Spinner 2.x syntax; runner snippets in GDScript-like / Python pseudocode.

license

Apache-2.0

metadata.engine

none

metadata.category

disciplines

metadata.difficulty

intermediate

{
  "start": "guard_intro",
  "nodes": {
    "guard_intro": {
      "speaker": "Guard", "line": "DLG_GUARD_001",
      "choices": [
        { "text": "DLG_OPT_BRIBE", "to": "bribe", "if": "gold >= 50" },
        { "text": "DLG_OPT_LEAVE", "to": "end" }
      ]
    },
    "bribe": {
      "speaker": "Guard", "line": "DLG_GUARD_BRIBED",
      "set": { "gate_open": true, "gold": "gold - 50" },
      "next": "end"
    },
    "end": { "end": true }
  }
}

# The runner holds the current node and a variable store; the UI calls advance().
func present(node):
    if node.has("line"):
        ui.show_line(node.speaker, localize(node.line))
    if node.has("choices"):
        var shown = node.choices.filter(func(c): return eval_cond(c.get("if", "")))
        ui.show_choices(shown)            # only choices whose condition passes

func choose(choice):                       # called when the player clicks a choice
    apply_set(choice.get("set", {}))       # write variables
    goto(choice.to)

func goto(id):
    current = graph.nodes[id]
    apply_set(current.get("set", {}))
    if current.get("end", false): ui.close(); return
    present(current)
    if current.has("next") and not current.has("choices"):
        goto(current.next)                 # auto-advance linear nodes

// Ink: '*' = once-only choice, '+' = sticky. [bracketed] text shows only in the
// choice, not the printed result. '->' diverts; '-> END' stops the flow.
VAR gold = 60

=== guard_intro ===
The guard blocks the gate.
* {gold >= 50} [Offer 50 gold]   "Here, take it."
    ~ gold = gold - 50
    The guard pockets it and steps aside. -> END
* [Leave]   You turn back. -> END

title: GuardIntro
---
<<declare $gold = 60>>
Guard: You can't pass.
-> Offer 50 gold <<if $gold >= 50>>
    <<set $gold = $gold - 50>>
    Guard: ...fine. Go on through.
    <<set $gate_open to true>>
-> Leave
    Guard: Good choice.
===

© ukanwat, Apache-2.0. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 2 other files (references) in .claude/skills/dialogue-systems of ukanwat/overtime.

• SKILL.md
• references/ink-and-yarn.md
• references/runner.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit eac84e0

Used in 1 other repository

We found 1 copy of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 1 other GitHub owner. This page covers the copy in ukanwat/overtime, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.

• gamedev-skills/awesome-gamedev-agent-skillsskills/disciplines/dialogue-systems