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56-414: A non-player character ( NPC ), also called a non-playable character , is a character in a game that is not controlled by a player . The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster or referee rather than by another player. In video games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer (instead of a player) that has

112-601: A DNPC, or "dependent non-player character". This is a character controlled by the GM, but for which the player character is responsible in some way, and who may be put in harm's way by the PC's choices. The term "non-player character" is also used in video games to describe entities not under the direct control of a player. The term carries a connotation that the character is not hostile towards players; hostile characters are referred to as enemies, mobs , or creeps. NPC behavior in computer games

168-401: A brief description ("You see a man in a corner of the tavern"), while others may have complete game statistics and backstories . There is some debate about how much work a gamemaster should put into an important NPC's statistics; some players prefer to have every NPC completely defined with stats, skills, and gear, while others define only what is immediately necessary and fill in the rest as

224-685: A character on a real person can use a person they know, a historical figure, a current figure whom they have not met, or themselves, with the latter being either an author-surrogate or an example of self-insertion . The use of a famous person easily identifiable with certain character traits as the base for a principal character is a feature of allegorical works, such as Animal Farm by George Orwell, which portrays Soviet revolutionaries as pigs. Other authors, especially for historical fiction , make use of real people and create fictional stories revolving around their lives, as with The Paris Wife which revolves around Ernest Hemingway . An author can create

280-438: A character using the basic character archetypes which are common to many cultural traditions: the father figure , mother figure, hero , and so on. Some writers make use of archetypes as presented by Carl Jung as the basis for character traits. Generally, when an archetype from some system (such as Jung's) is used, elements of the story also follow the system's expectations in terms of storyline . An author can also create

336-524: A continuing storyline (as in Myst Online: Uru Live ). In earlier RPGs, NPCs only had monologue. This is typically represented by a dialogue box, floating text, cutscene , or other means of displaying the NPCs' speech or reaction to the player. NPC speeches of this kind are often designed to give an instant impression of the character of the speaker, providing character vignettes, but they may also advance

392-455: A distinction between the individuals represented in tragedy and in comedy arose: tragedy, along with epic poetry , is "a representation of serious people" (1449b9—10), while comedy is "a representation of people who are rather inferior" (1449a32—33). In the Tractatus coislinianus (which may or may not be by Aristotle), Ancient Greek comedy is defined as involving three types of characters:

448-429: A fictional character using generic stock characters , which are generally flat. They tend to be used for supporting or minor characters. However, some authors have used stock characters as the starting point for building richly detailed characters, such as William Shakespeare 's use of the boastful soldier character as the basis for John Falstaff . Some authors create charactonyms for their characters. A charactonym

504-479: A new avenue to earn money online. Character (arts) A character who stands as a representative of a particular class or group of people is known as a type. Types include both stock characters and those that are more fully individualized . The characters in Henrik Ibsen 's Hedda Gabler (1891) and August Strindberg 's Miss Julie (1888), for example, are representative of specific positions in

560-613: A non-player character. These games often feature a day-night cycle with a time scheduling system that provides context and relevance to character interactions, allowing players to choose when and if to interact with certain characters, which in turn influences their responses during later conversations. In 2023, Replica Studios unveiled its AI -developed NPCs for the Unreal Engine 5 , in cooperation with OpenAI , which enable players to have an interactive conversation with unplayable characters. "NPC streaming"— livestreaming while mimicking

616-466: A number of successful video games that make excessive use of cutscenes for storytelling purposes, referring to cutscenes as a highly effective way to communicate a storyteller's vision. Rune Klevjer states: "A cutscene does not cut off gameplay. It is an integral part of the configurative experience", saying that they will always affect the rhythm of a game, but if they are well implemented, cutscenes can be an excellent tool for building suspense or providing

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672-399: A predetermined set of behaviors that potentially will impact gameplay, but will not necessarily be the product of true artificial intelligence . In traditional tabletop role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons , an NPC is a character portrayed by the gamemaster (GM). While the player characters (PCs) form the narrative's protagonists, non-player characters can be thought of as

728-924: A reference point to the player of their character's relationship with the game world. Ultima is an example of a game series that has advanced from non-branching ( Ultima III: Exodus and earlier) to branching dialogue (from Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar and on). Other role-playing games with branching dialogues include Cosmic Soldier , Megami Tensei , Fire Emblem , Metal Max , Langrisser , SaGa , Ogre Battle , Chrono , Star Ocean , Sakura Wars , Mass Effect , Dragon Age , Radiant Historia , and several Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy games. Certain video game genres revolve almost entirely around interactions with non-player characters, including visual novels such as Ace Attorney and dating sims such as Tokimeki Memorial , usually featuring complex branching dialogues and often presenting

784-483: A story between the game's shooting stages, which became the standard approach to game storytelling years later. The games Bugaboo (The Flea) in 1983 and Karateka (1984) helped introduce the cutscene concept to home computers . In the point-and-click adventure genre, Ron Gilbert introduced the cutscene concept with non-interactive plot sequences in Maniac Mansion (1987). Tecmo 's Ninja Gaiden for

840-458: Is a "walk-on", a term used by Seymour Chatman for characters that are not fully delineated and individualized; rather they are part of the background or the setting of the narrative. Dynamic characters are those that change over the course of the story, while static characters remain the same throughout. An example of a popular dynamic character in literature is Ebenezer Scrooge , the protagonist of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. At

896-587: Is a name that implies the psychological makeup of the person, makes an allegorical allusion, or makes reference to their appearance. For example, Shakespeare has an emotional young male character named Mercutio , John Steinbeck has a kind, sweet character named Candy in Of Mice and Men , and Mervyn Peake has a Machiavellian, manipulative, and murderous villain in Gormenghast named Steerpike . The charactonym can also indicate appearance. For example, François Rabelais gave

952-451: Is not attested in OED until mC18: 'Whatever characters any... have for the jestsake personated... are now thrown off' (1749, Fielding, Tom Jones ). Cutscene A cutscene or event scene (sometimes in-game cinematic or in-game movie ) is a sequence in a video game that is not interactive, interrupting the gameplay . Such scenes are used to show conversations between characters, set

1008-491: Is possible, therefore, to have stories that do not contain "characters" in Aristotle's sense of the word, since character necessarily involves making the ethical dispositions of those performing the action clear. If, in speeches, the speaker "decides or avoids nothing at all", then those speeches "do not have character" (1450b9—11). Aristotle argues for the primacy of plot ( mythos ) over character ( ethos ). He writes: But

1064-429: Is usually scripted and automatic, triggered by certain actions or dialogue with the player characters. In certain multi-player games ( Neverwinter Nights and Vampire: The Masquerade series, for example) a player that acts as the GM can "possess" both player and non-player characters, controlling their actions in order to further the storyline. More complex games, such as the aforementioned Neverwinter Nights , allow

1120-488: The Famicom in 1988 and NES the following year featured over 20 minutes of anime -like "cinema scenes" that helped tell an elaborate story. In addition to an introduction and ending, the cutscenes were intertwined between stages and gradually revealed the plot to the player. The use of animation or full-screen graphics was limited , consisting mostly of still illustrations with sound effects and dialogue written underneath; however

1176-463: The buffoon ( bômolochus ), the ironist ( eirōn ), and the imposter or boaster ( alazṓn ). All three are central to Aristophanes ' Old Comedy . By the time the Roman comic playwright Plautus wrote his plays two centuries later, the use of characters to define dramatic genres was well established. His Amphitryon begins with a prologue in which Mercury claims that since

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1232-452: The social relations of class and gender , such that the conflicts between the characters reveal ideological conflicts. The study of a character requires an analysis of its relations with all of the other characters in the work. The individual status of a character is defined through the network of oppositions (proairetic, pragmatic , linguistic , proxemic ) that it forms with the other characters. The relation between characters and

1288-449: The "supporting cast" or "extras" of a roleplaying narrative. Non-player characters populate the fictional world of the game, and can fill any role not occupied by a player character. Non-player characters might be allies, bystanders or competitors to the PCs. NPCs can also be traders that trade currency for things such as equipment or gear. NPCs thus vary in their level of detail. Some may be only

1344-533: The DreamWorks Interactive (now known as Danger Close Games) 1996 point and click title, The Neverhood Chronicles, full motion video cutscenes were made using the animation technique of stop motion and puppets sculpted out of plasticine, much like the game’s actual worlds and characters. The game’s creator, Douglas TenNapel was in charge of filming the cutscenes, as stated in the game’s behind the scenes video. Pre-rendered cutscenes are animated and rendered by

1400-452: The action of the story shifts historically, often miming shifts in society and its ideas about human individuality, self-determination , and the social order . In fiction writing , authors create dynamic characters using various methods. Sometimes characters are conjured up from imagination; in other instances, they are created by amplifying the character trait of a real person into a new fictional creation. An author or creator basing

1456-515: The behaviors of an NPC—became popular on TikTok in 2023 and was largely popularized by livestreamer Pinkydoll . On the Internet, the term NPC is often used as an insult to suggest that some people are unable to form thoughts or opinions of their own. Such people are often characterized as being similar to NPC Wojak , who is a grey-faced, expressionless Internet meme . NPC streaming is a type of livestream that allows users to participate in and shape

1512-453: The characters, but they include the characters for the sake of their actions" (1450a15-23). Aristotle suggests that works were distinguished in the first instance according to the nature of the person who created them: "the grander people represented fine actions, i.e. those of fine persons" by producing "hymns and praise-poems", while "ordinary people represented those of inferior ones" by "composing invectives" (1448b20—1449a5). On this basis,

1568-493: The content they are viewing in real time. It has become widely popular as influencers and users of social media platforms such as TikTok utilize livestreams to act as non-player characters. "Viewers in NPC live streams take on the role of puppeteers, influencing the creator's next move." This phenomenon has been on a rise as viewers are actively involved in what they are watching, by purchasing digital "gifts" and sending them directly to

1624-581: The developer feels is appropriate for each scene. During the 1990s in particular, it was common for the techniques of live action, pre-rendering, and real time rendering to be combined in a single cutscene. For example, popular games such as Myst , Wing Commander III , and Phantasmagoria use film of live actors superimposed upon pre-rendered animated backgrounds for their cutscenes. Though Final Fantasy VII primarily uses real-time cutscenes, it has several scenes in which real-time graphics are combined with pre-rendered full motion video. Though rarer than

1680-579: The earliest surviving work of dramatic theory , Poetics ( c.  335 BCE ), the Classical Greek philosopher Aristotle states that character ( ethos ) is one of six qualitative parts of Athenian tragedy and one of the three objects that it represents (1450a12). He understands character not to denote a fictional person, but the quality of the person acting in the story and reacting to its situations (1450a5). He defines character as "that which reveals decision , of whatever sort" (1450b8). It

1736-619: The game employed rather sophisticated shots such as low camera angles and close-ups , as well as widescreen letterboxing , to create a movie-like experience. Other early video games known to use cutscenes extensively include The Portopia Serial Murder Case in 1983; Valis in 1986; Phantasy Star and La Abadía del Crimen in 1987; Ys II: Ancient Ys Vanished – The Final Chapter , and Prince of Persia and Zero Wing in 1989. Since then, cutscenes have been part of many video games, especially in action-adventure and role-playing video games . Cutscenes became much more common with

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1792-432: The game proceeds. There is also some debate regarding the importance of fully defined NPCs in any given role-playing game (RPG), but it is general consensus that the more "real" the NPCs feel, the more fun players will have interacting with them in character. In some games and in some circumstances, a player who is without a player character can temporarily take control of an NPC. Reasons for this vary, but often arise from

1848-504: The game's developers, and take advantage of the full array of techniques of CGI , cel animation or graphic novel -style panel art. Like live-action shoots, pre-rendered cutscenes are often presented in full motion video . Real time cutscenes are rendered on-the-fly using the same game engine as the graphics during gameplay. This technique is also known as Machinima . Real time cutscenes are generally of much lower detail and visual quality than pre-rendered cutscenes, but can adapt to

1904-507: The gameplay itself) are referred to as " full motion videos " or "FMVs". Cutscenes can also appear in other forms, such as a series of images or as plain text and audio. The Sumerian Game (1966), an early mainframe game designed by Mabel Addis , introduced its Sumerian setting with a slideshow synchronized to an audio recording; it was essentially an unskippable introductory cutscene, but not an in-game cutscene. Taito 's arcade video game Space Invaders Part II (1979) introduced

1960-399: The games produced by Black Isle Studios and White Wolf, Inc. ; every one of their games is multiple-choice roleplaying. When talking to an NPC, the player is presented with a list of dialogue options, and may choose between them. Each choice may result in a different response from the NPC. These choices may affect the course of the game, as well as the conversation. At the least, they provide

2016-453: The mood, reward the player, introduce newer models and gameplay elements, show the effects of a player's actions, create emotional connections, improve pacing or foreshadow future events. Cutscenes often feature "on the fly" rendering, using the gameplay graphics to create scripted events. Cutscenes can also be pre-rendered computer graphics streamed from a video file. Pre-made videos used in video games (either during cutscenes or during

2072-406: The most important of these is the structure of the incidents. For (i) tragedy is a representation not of human beings but of action and life. Happiness and unhappiness lie in action, and the end [of life] is a sort of action, not a quality; people are of a certain sort according to their characters, but happy or the opposite according to their actions. So [the actors] do not act in order to represent

2128-633: The name Gargantua to a giant and the huge whale in Pinocchio (1940) is named Monstro . In his book Aspects of the Novel , E. M. Forster defined two basic types of characters, their qualities, functions, and importance for the development of the novel: flat characters and round characters. Flat characters are two-dimensional, in that they are relatively uncomplicated. By contrast, round characters are complex figures with many different characteristics, that undergo development, sometimes sufficiently to surprise

2184-406: The narrative structure, unlike core characters, for which any significant conflict must be traced during a considerable time, which is often seen as an unjustified waste of resources. There may also be a continuing or recurring guest character. Sometimes a guest or minor character may gain unanticipated popularity and turn into a regular or main one; this is known as a breakout character . In

2240-707: The other two possible combinations, the pairing of live action video with real time graphics is seen in games such as Killing Time . Interactive cutscenes involve the computer taking control of the player character while prompts (such as a sequence of button presses) appear onscreen, requiring the player to follow them in order to continue or succeed at the action. This gameplay mechanic, commonly called quick time events , has its origins in interactive movie laserdisc video games such as Dragon's Lair , Road Blaster , and Space Ace . Director Steven Spielberg , director Guillermo del Toro , and game designer Ken Levine , all of whom are avid video gamers, criticized

2296-526: The part that has "the largest possibility for emotional engagement, for art dare we say", while also being the bit that can be cut with no impact on the actual gameplay. Koster claims that because of this, many of the memorable peak emotional moments in video games are actually not given by the game itself at all. It is a common criticism that cutscenes simply belong to a different medium. Others think of cutscenes as another tool designers can use to make engrossing video games. An article on GameFront calls upon

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2352-454: The play contains kings and gods, it cannot be a comedy and must be a tragicomedy . [...] is first used in English to denote 'a personality in a novel or a play' in 1749 ( The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary , s.v.). Its use as 'the sum of the qualities which constitute an individual' is a mC17 development. The modern literary and theatrical sense of 'an individual created in a fictitious work'

2408-421: The player not maintaining a PC within the group and playing the NPC for a session or from the player's PC being unable to act for some time (for example, because the PC is injured or in another location). Although these characters are still designed and normally controlled by the gamemaster, when players are given the opportunity to temporarily control these non-player characters, it gives them another perspective on

2464-576: The player to customize the NPCs' behavior by modifying their default scripts or creating entirely new ones. In some online games, such as massively multiplayer online role-playing games , NPCs may be entirely unscripted, and are essentially regular character avatars controlled by employees of the game company. These "non-players" are often distinguished from player characters by avatar appearance or other visual designation, and often serve as in-game support for new players. In other cases, these "live" NPCs are virtual actors, playing regular characters that drive

2520-401: The player's possible responses word-for-word as the player character would say them. Games revolving around relationship-building, including visual novels, dating sims such as Tokimeki Memorial , and some role-playing games such as Persona , often give choices that have a different number of associated "mood points" that influence a player character's relationship and future conversations with

2576-520: The plot of the game. Some systems, such as Nobilis , encourage this in their rules. Many game systems have rules for characters sustaining positive allies in the form of NPC followers; hired hands, or other dependant stature to the PC. Characters may sometimes help in the design, recruitment, or development of NPCs. In the Champions game (and related games using the Hero System ), a character may have

2632-563: The portrayal of characters. Some movie tie-in games, such as Electronic Arts ' The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars games, have also extensively used film footage and other assets from the film production in their cutscenes. Another movie tie-in, Enter the Matrix , used film footage shot concurrently with The Matrix Reloaded that was also directed by the film's directors, the Wachowskis . In

2688-476: The reader. In psychological terms, round or complex characters may be considered to have five personality dimensions under the Big Five model of personality. The five factors are: Stock characters are usually one-dimensional and thin. Mary Sues are characters that usually appear in fan fiction which are virtually devoid of flaws, and are therefore considered flat characters. Another type of flat character

2744-479: The rise of CD-ROM as the primary storage medium for video games, as its much greater storage space allowed developers to use more cinematically impressive media such as FMV and high-quality voice tracks. Live-action cutscenes have many similarities to films. For example, the cutscenes in Wing Commander IV used both fully constructed sets, and well known actors such as Mark Hamill and Malcolm McDowell for

2800-400: The series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in more than one episode, sometimes being the main focus. A guest or minor character is one who acts only in a few episodes or scenes. Unlike regular characters, the guest ones do not need to be carefully incorporated into the storyline with all its ramifications: they create a piece of drama and then disappear without consequences to

2856-450: The start of the story, he is a bitter miser, but by the end of the tale, he transforms into a kindhearted, generous man. In television, a regular, main or ongoing character is a character who appears in all or a majority of episodes, or in a significant chain of episodes of the series. Regular characters may be both core and secondary ones. A recurring character or supporting character often and frequently appears from time to time during

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2912-736: The state of the game. For example, some games allow the player character to wear several different outfits, and appear in cutscenes wearing the outfit the player has chosen, as seen in Super Mario Odyssey , The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas . It is also possible to give the player control over camera movement during real time cutscenes, as seen in Dungeon Siege , Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty , Halo: Reach , and Kane & Lynch: Dead Men . Many games use both pre-rendered and real time cutscenes as

2968-478: The story or illuminate the world around the PC. Similar to this is the most common form of storytelling, non-branching dialogue, in which the means of displaying NPC speech are the same as above, but the player character or avatar responds to or initiates speech with NPCs. In addition to the purposes listed above, this enables development of the player character. More advanced RPGs feature interactive dialogue, or branching dialogue ( dialogue trees ). An example are

3024-401: The streamer. In return, the streamer will briefly mimic character or act. This phenomenon has become a trend starting from July 2023, as influencers make profits from this new internet character. Pinkydoll , a TikTok influencer gained 400,000 followers the same month that she started NPC Streaming, while her livestreams began to earn her as much as $ 7,000 in a day. NPC streaming gives creators

3080-558: The use of brief comical intermission scenes between levels, where the last invader who gets shot limps off screen. Namco 's Pac-Man (1980) similarly featured cutscenes in the form of brief comical interludes, about Pac-Man and Blinky chasing each other. Shigeru Miyamoto 's Donkey Kong (1981) took the cutscene concept a step further by using cutscenes to visually advance a complete story. Data East 's laserdisc video game Bega's Battle (1983) introduced animated full-motion video (FMV) cutscenes with voice acting to develop

3136-399: The use of cutscenes in games, calling them intrusive. Spielberg states that making the story flow naturally into the gameplay is a challenge for future game developers. Hollywood writer Danny Bilson called cinematics the "last resort of game storytelling", as a person doesn't want to watch a movie when they are playing a video game. Game designer Raph Koster criticized cutscenes as being

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