Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
over the character. The player will be able to control the movement and actions of
the character in detail. Adventure games are similar in that the player will be able
to control the character's actions to navigate through the world. Other games, such
as real-time strategy games, give the player control over position and assigning
jobs. The RTS character then intelligently acts upon the environment and game
events.
Multiplayer games have several player-controlled characters in a single game.
Some of these games are made up entirely of player-controlled characters. A mul-
tiplayer game might have hundreds of player-controlled characters. Many multi-
player games allow players to customize their characters; some even go so far as to
include a character editor with the game. Character editors are challenging for the
game artist because the artist has to create characters with multiple variations in
costume, hair, body size, and accessories.
Technically, any non-player-controlled character is a non-player character; however,
it is useful to think of enemies as a separate group. Enemies are distinct in that
players have to react very differently to them than they do to other characters in
the game. I'll talk about enemies later.
NPCs are usually not overtly hostile to the player. They might be indifferent or
have very limited reactions to the player, but they are not generally hostile.
Some games are filled with NPCs. Team sports games, for example, have NPCs
that play the role of teammates, cheerleaders, spectators, announcers, and so on.
Although they might not necessarily try to kill the player character, the opposing
team is better classified as an enemy because their goal is to defeat the player.
Adventure games provide probably the best examples of NPCs in a game. In an
adventure game the player interacts with several NPCs on many different levels.
Some of the characters in the game might be helpful to the player by providing
information or items. Others might be indifferent but helpful in their own way,
such as store clerks or other types of merchants. Some characters might be noth-
ing but decorative, giving no useful information and acting only as distractions.
In some games the NPCs change roles depending on the actions of the player. For
example, an indifferent merchant might change to an ally if the player completes
a quest or helps solve a problem. The merchant might also become an enemy if the
player tries to steal something from his or her shop.
