Here are some writing samples that cover NPC barks in a variety of cases. I’ve selected examples that demonstrate how I have used relatively simple barks to convey character and world personality as well as provide meaningful feedback to the player.

NO CARRIER

NO CARRIER is the hacker antagonist in Vegas Prime Retrograde. She hacks into the player's communication link and taunts her periodically during hacking challenges, based on player progress. Her outward personality is reminiscent of classic anime villains and her bark interactions are inspired by the dog in Duck Hunt. I produced the audio, working with voice actor Beth Cartwright. Here are some highlights:

[Taunt Failure] "You're going to try to take MY bundle? NO CARRIER? On PrimeNet?! Hahaha! It's your funeral."
[Taunt Failure] "Let me let you in on a little secret: You'll never beat me. I'm the best."
[Taunt Failure] "Hahaha! You're going to have to do better than that if you want to beat ME."
[Taunt Epic Failure] "Like taking data from a baby! Can we do another?"
[Taunt Epic Failure] "Oh hey, thanks! I was really worried you were going to get that one! But then you tanked. Hugs and kisses!"
[Taunt Success] "Ok, ok. That was pretty good. Time to step up my game, I guess."
[Taunt Success] "Oh look! You got an easy one! Congratulations."
[Taunt Epic Success] "Oh, you want REAL competition? Incoming, bitch! You're going down!"
[Taunt Epic Success] "Aww how cute! Clara got one! Good luck, sucker. I'm back up."
[Taunt Epic Success] "You think you're working for the good guys, don't you? Ugh. Typical!"

CLARA

CLARA is the player character in Vegas Prime Retrograde. I wrote ambient voice lines to convey personality and environmental information to the player, revealing how connected the character is with the world she is exploring. These barks appear only as ambient audio during game play. I produced the audio, working with voice actor Shereena Sylvester. Here are some key samples:

[Discovers Lounge Area] "A lounge! Swanky stasis bay!"
[Enters Cryo Room] "*shivers* Cold."
[Target Out of Range] "I'm going to need a bigger antenna, if I'm going to hack that from here."
[Target Out of Range Variant] "I need to get closer."
[Action Failure] "Hmmm..."
[Missing Key] "Hmmm... Locked."
[Refuses Action] "Nope."
[Refuses Action Variant] "I can't do that."

Note: I also designed and implemented the ambient audio system that plays Clara’s environmental barks, which you can read about in this blog post.