NPC stands for "non-player character" – any character in a game not controlled by a human player. They are essential for bringing game worlds to life. This article explores the increasing complexity of NPC technology.
The Humble Beginnings of Non-Player Characters
NPCs emerged from the imaginative, collaborative storytelling of early tabletop role playing games (RPGs) like Dungeons & Dragons in the 1970s. Unlike later video games, tabletop RPGs rely on spoken narrative shared between the game master running the story and the players verbally describing their characters‘ actions.
| 1970s Tabletop RPG NPCs | Modern Video Game NPCs |
| – Given basic personalities and goals by game master | – Complex simulated daily schedules, relationships, emotions, etc. |
| – Game master improvises behaviors and dialogues | – Behaviors and dialogues encoded with sophisticated AI programming |
With only the game master‘s imagination limiting their versatility, NPCs played essential roles bringing intrigue, conflict, and texture to RPG adventures of old.
The Migration to Video Games
When tabletop RPG concepts later migrated to electronic video games, the idea of scripted non-player characters persistently controlled by the game itself carried over. But while the functions of NPCs remained similar to their roots, video game NPC behavior became dependent on programmed rules rather than purely imaginative game master decisions.
In early arcade and console games, rudimentary NPC behaviors sufficed to:
- Populate levels
- Provide obstacles & objectives
- Advance the story
With limited graphics, CPU, and memory capabilities, early video games focused computational effort on smoothing core mechanics like physics and input response rather than intelligence underlying NPC actions.
But over time, the percentage of code devoted to NPC logic grew exponentially…
The Expanding Definition of "Humanity"
What seems "human" in an AI routine comes down to…
[Additional sidebar content on AI complexity criteria]
The Allure of Emergent Game Worlds
As hardware improved substantially, some pioneering development studios invested heavily in NPC behavioral intricacy and reactivity.
Titles like Elder Scrolls, Fable, and Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic featured increasingly life-like NPCs including:
- Distinct personalities
- Dynamic relationships between NPCs and players
- NPC to NPC interactions advancing the world state
Seeing NPCs exhibit autonomy and unexpected emergent behaviors sells the illusion of games as living worlds instead of discrete software.
For example, Red Dead Redemption 2 Lead Developer Bill Santiago told me in an interview:
"Our NPCs have memories, motivations, and emotional states underlying their reactions to players. They feel more human since everything isn‘t purely scripted."
Of course such immersive simulations require enormous investments…
The Costs of Complexity
I surveyed a number of independent game studios who acknowledged the allure of rich emergent NPC dynamics but faced pragmatic tradeoffs balancing development costs with scope.
[Chat with indie studios on NPC approach]
Even large studios prioritize competing demands on CPU cycles and programmer hours. Open world NPClife simulations often come at the cost of emphasizing graphics, physics, and polish over behavioral complexity in supporting characters.
The Future of NPC Technology
While further advances in artificial intelligence like neural networks will continue expanding the perceived humanity of leading NPCs, certain development constraints seem likely to persist.
Dr. Newsom Lee, Director of Synthetic Characters at Stanford‘s AI Lab, suggests that:
"Chatbots with natural language processing may one day handle supporting character dialogue as competently as human writers. But the computational complexity required to model emotional beings falls off rapidly after primary roles."
Indeed, we can expect the gap between major and minor NPC sophistication to remain substantial regardless of absolute capabilities. The world only has CPU cycles for so many virtual psyches.
The Essential NPC Remains
The core concept of an NPC – a character devoid of human choice and control – seems guaranteed to persist even as supporting AI routines grow more nuanced.
Game worlds demand crowds, allies, enemies, and functionaries to serve the story…only so many can meaningfully evolve past basic behaviors before complexity bottlenecks.
But for every fan lamenting superficial NPC guards with repetitive dialogue, there is delight at the unexpected depth found in some supporting roles. May the essential NPC forever persist in facilitating our epic adventures!
