experiment-adventure-ai/acceptance_criteria/dialogue_character_acceptance.md

Acceptance Criteria: Base Character with Dialogue System

Overview

This document defines the acceptance criteria for implementing a base character scene with dialogue functionality in Godot. The implementation should allow characters to have dialogue lines that can be triggered programmatically.

Requirements

1. Base Character Scene

• Feature: Create a base character scene with Polygon2D sprite
• Acceptance Criteria:
  • Scene file scenes/base_character.tscn exists
  • Contains a Polygon2D node as the character sprite
  • Character has appropriate positioning and scaling
  • Scene can be instantiated in other scenes
  • Scene includes necessary child nodes for dialogue system integration

2. Dialogue Entity

• Feature: Implement dialogue entity that can be triggered programmatically
• Acceptance Criteria:
  • Dialogue entity can be attached to any character node
  • Can be triggered via a public method call
  • Accepts text content and duration parameters
  • Supports programmatic triggering without user input

3. Visual Dialogue Box

• Feature: White dialogue box that animates in when triggered
• Acceptance Criteria:
  • Dialogue box appears above character when triggered
  • Animates in with smooth transition (fade/slide)
  • Has white background with appropriate styling
  • Properly positioned relative to character
  • Resizes based on text content

4. Text Reveal Animation

• Feature: Text revealed one character at a time
• Acceptance Criteria:
  • Text appears character-by-character with delay
  • Each character reveal has consistent timing
  • Text is properly formatted and readable
  • Animation can be configured with different speeds

5. Duration Handling

• Feature: Dialogue box closes after specified duration
• Acceptance Criteria:
  • Dialogue automatically closes after duration ends
  • Smooth animation out when closing
  • Duration parameter is configurable
  • Can handle zero or negative durations appropriately

6. API Interface

• Feature: Clean public API for dialogue interaction
• Acceptance Criteria:
  • Public method to trigger dialogue: trigger_dialogue(text, duration)
  • Method returns immediately after triggering
  • No blocking operations during animation
  • Proper error handling for invalid parameters

7. Test Scene

• Feature: Single character automatically triggering a single dialogue line
• Acceptance Criteria:
  • Test scene file scenes/test_dialogue.tscn exists
  • Contains one base character instance
  • Dialogue is automatically triggered on scene load
  • Demonstrates complete functionality (show, reveal, hide)
  • Scene runs without errors

Technical Specifications

File Structure

scenes/
├── base_character.tscn
└── test_dialogue.tscn

scripts/
├── dialogue_system.gd
└── base_character.gd

Dialogue System Components

1. DialogueBox: Visual UI element for displaying dialogue
2. TextRevealer: Handles character-by-character text animation
3. AnimationController: Manages show/hide animations
4. CharacterDialog: Interface for character-to-dialogue communication

API Methods

# In base_character.gd or similar
func trigger_dialogue(text: String, duration: float) -> void:
    # Triggers dialogue with specified text and duration
    
# In dialogue_system.gd  
func show_dialogue(text: String, duration: float) -> void:
    # Internal method to display dialogue UI

Animation Requirements

• Show Animation: 0.3 second fade/slide in
• Text Reveal: 0.05 second per character
• Hide Animation: 0.2 second fade out
• Duration: Default 3 seconds if not specified

Success Metrics

Functional Tests

1. Base character scene loads without errors
2. Dialogue box appears when trigger_dialogue() is called
3. Text reveals character-by-character with correct timing
4. Dialogue box closes automatically after duration
5. Test scene demonstrates complete workflow
6. API methods can be called from other scripts

Performance Tests

1. No frame drops during animation sequences
2. Memory usage remains stable
3. Animation timing is consistent across different hardware

Compatibility Tests

1. Works with existing Godot 4.x projects
2. Compatible with different character positioning
3. Handles various text lengths appropriately
4. Works with different duration values

Non-Functional Requirements

Code Quality

• Well-documented code with comments
• Clean, maintainable code structure
• Follows Godot coding conventions
• Proper error handling and validation

User Experience

• Smooth animations without jank
• Clear visual feedback during dialogue
• Responsive interface
• Accessible text formatting

Dependencies

• Godot 4.x engine
• Standard Godot 2D node types (Node2D, Control, Label)
• AnimationPlayer or Tween for UI animations
• Timer for duration handling

Acceptance Process

1. Review code implementation against these criteria
2. Run test scene to verify functionality
3. Confirm all acceptance tests pass
4. Validate API usability and documentation
5. Ensure no breaking changes to existing systems