In a 2021 GDC talk, Justin Keenan of ZA/UM explained how Disco Elysium's branching dialogue pushed narrative design forward. The team prioritised 'aesthetic dialogue' over functional exposition, making every character unique and memorable. They used 'micro-responses' to track tiny player choices (like shaving a beard) and create hundreds of narrative echoes. 'Rhetoric' treated dialogue structures as artistic objects, evoking emotions. 'Minimal mechanical framing' avoided over-explaining choices, letting players feel immersed in conversation. 'Total asymmetry' ensured wildly different experiences for different playstyles, rejecting the symmetrical faction design typical of RPGs. The result: a 1-million-word script that feels infinite, encouraging replay. Keenan also pondered combining complex dialogue with other systems like combat, and called for a formal theory of branching dialogue to advance the art form.