Any coding tips, ideas, or etc. will be fine.
Just help!
((Psst… BTW it's a Homestuck Dating Sim, which is weired… but I'll try))

(Too lazy to log into main so logged in on collab acc d: )
You could make a character sprite by making it send messages to a text box, and the text box sends messages back once it reaches certain parts in the dialogue where the character switches emotions, and then the sprite switches costumes…
As far as the text box goes, I don't think there's any way to avoid making just a whole bunch of costumes in one or more sprites. There should be two sprites involved however- the box where the text is displayed, and a small oval-like bubble that's normally in the top left of the sprite that shows the name of whoever's speaking.
You could go Ace Attorney and make talking and startup animations for the sprites, or go Love Live and just make one costume for each different ‘emotion’, which saves a lot of time, but if you have enough time and motivation to make the sprites talk, go for it! It'll make your game seem a lot more professional- even if it's not really conforming to the traditional rpg/sim still sprites.
That's all the advice I have to offer at the moment, but I'll definitely let you know if I think of anything else- script or idea-wise!

What's the game about? You should probably explain to us what your game will be like so we have a good idea of what you need to know from us.

if you make a dating simulator, the scratch team will ban it

HITHEREPROGRAMMING wrote:

if you make a dating simulator, the scratch team will ban it

You seem surprisingly confident in your statement.
EDIT: Also, please refrain from necroposting. This thread is from four months ago.