NPC’s You Say?
It recently came to my attention that I refer a lot to Non-Player Characters (or otherwise known as NPCs) within my blog posts. This is simply out of sheer habit. So here you go, an entire post devoted to these second rate characters in virtual worlds.
First, let’s further define a NPC, unlike an Avatar which is human controlled, a Non-Player Character (NPC) has the freedom to wander around in some cases or in other instances may remain as a stationary character. Regardless, of mobility or location, the more ‘intelligent’ a NPC, the greater it’s value in learning, training or entertainment. Intelligently-powered NPC’s have can have many purposes – such as giving a quest to a player, pointing the player in the right direction in the virtual world, etc. Player Characters or PC’s, are the avatar within the virtual world. So now that we have the basic definitions down lets delve a little deeper into what these characters are capable of within a virtual world environment. Questing through intelligent NPC’s brings out a realism that is unseen in virtual worlds sans NPC’s or non-intelligent NPC’s. NPC’s also provide the unique ability to advance the storyline within a virtual world. The Player Character (PC) can thus be guided through certain scenarios without the freedom to get ‘lost’ along the way. The social interaction between the player and non-player characters can be the ultimate key to success especially when training within a virtual world space, ultimately changing the ways that a VW simulation may be played out. The key is engaging the player character in realistic human-like interaction like that found in the real world.
The role of NPCs can range from very simplistic to advanced (carrying a full on conversation with the player). The norm for non-player characters is to wait for the player to involve them in an interaction, normally the NPC will then play through a pre-defined script with the player character. Although this type of interaction does have a predictability about it, it does lead to a higher level of engagement for the player within the virtual world space. These ‘support characters,’ if you will, reinforce the storyline. Although current technologies for NPC’s remain somewhat limited, I see the role of the NPC and capabilities within the virtual world expanding dramatically in the very near future. Bringing a new level of interaction to the virtual world. Of course console and computer- role playing games also have varied forms of NPC’s. Over time the landscape of virtual worlds has changed, from more realistic avatars to better 3-D representations of the real world. It’s only natural and desirable that Non-Player Characters (NPC’s) within virtual worlds will evolve as well.
