A dialogue box is three parts: a portrait that identifies who's speaking, typewriter text that reveals letter by letter, and a blinking "continue" cue — usually a small triangle or chevron — once the line finishes. Each answers a different question: who, what, and when can I move on.
The typewriter effect isn't just decoration; it's the game controlling how fast the player reads. Too fast feels rushed, too slow feels tedious — 20–40ms per character is a comfortable range. Letting any input instantly reveal the full line and advance is close to mandatory — nobody wants to watch text they've already read crawl out again.
Swapping the portrait per emotional beat communicates tone before the words do. Without a continue cue, players can't tell whether the conversation ended or is still loading, and end up waiting on nothing — it's not a signal that's safe to skip.
When to use
NPC lines, cutscene captions, tutorial prompts — any text meant to be read in sequence.