Summary
Part of the appeal of video games is that they let you be part of a living world. Unlike books or movies, which can only go one way, video games allow you to explore the setting. Open-world games have seen huge popularity due to the freedom and immersion on offer.
But suspension of disbelief can only go so far if you’re constantly reminded that the game you’re playing is just a cohesion of objects and code. NPCs who stand in place, repeat themselves and only exist to further your quest are an oft-parodied aspect of video games. Here are ten games that avoid that issue by having NPCs who feel real, believable and, at times, alive.
2005’s Fear is often praised for its then cutting-edge AI. Enemies strategize, relay your position, yell orders at one another, and even react with frustration and fear in response to your actions.
Part of what makes Fear’s enemies feel realistic is the game’s excellent level design. The game is rife with hiding spots and maze-like routes, allowing the excellent AI to shine.The NPCs also have self-preservation instincts. Until Fear’s debut, enemies in FPS games behaved like shooting gallery targets that had somehow come to life.
It’s pretty magical to have such heavily scripted NPCs in an N64 game at all, but that’s not the only reason for this game’s inclusion. What makes NPCs so realistic in The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask is the diversity in their behaviour.
Just as it would in real life, the news that the moon is crashing into the Earth causes people to react differently. Some are fearful, others are skeptical.
Characters express their personal regrets, and react with surprise when your actions hint at your ability to go back in time. Majora’s Mask is a marvellous culmination of the developer’s sincere efforts to make a game’s world feel real.
Despite its reputation as a buggy and at times barely-functional game, Deadly Premonition’sniche fanbase swears by it. This is down to the game’s charm, originality, and astonishing attention to detail for such a low-budget title.
Director Hidetaka Swery visited small towns in rural America to measure the width of the roads and ensure a faithful recreation for the game’s setting.
The result is a highly immersive experience on a fraction of the usual open-world game’s budget. NPCs in Deadly Premonition have their fixed routines that disregard York’s shenanigans, and they’ll only be available at certain times of day. you may complete the game while barely interacting with any of them, but why would you? They’re such a colourful bunch.
More than two decades after its release, Gothic continues to be touted as an early champion of immersive game design. NPCs have their own routines during the day-night cycles, and your actions provoke realistic reactions.
If you draw your weapon, the other characters take it as a threat. If you sneak around in plain sight, they comment on your odd behaviour. Gothic’s NPCs were among the first to notice our penchant for buffoonery while playing games.
Even your progress is rooted in immersion. NPCs will give you directions based on visual cues, instead of marking your map. You learn skills by having someone teach you, not by levelling up. And just like in real life, some characters are just plain mean
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is a technical marvel. There are moments where it feels sentient, with The End dying of old age if you take a week-long break from the game during his boss battle. Other characters have realistic reactions as well, and learn from your behaviour.
If you use the fake death pill, NPCs will be fooled the first time, but wise up after that. If an NPC is hungry, you can leave poisoned food for them to eat and it’ll debilitate them. If you wear a mask that resembles Raikov, Volgin’s lover, during his boss fight, you can confuse him for a moment. And just for a laugh, you can capture a live snake and throw it at soldiers to watch them panic.
Bethesda’s first game to use Radiant AI technology, The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion was groundbreaking in that it featured NPCs who made their own decisions. Even the developers lacked full control over how exactly these side characters would achieve their goals.
Over time, Oblivion NPCs havemade a name for themselves as walking memes, due to the occasionally bizarre choices they make. But one thing can’t be denied: their mannerisms are organic. When Skyrim improved on the AI technology to make NPCs behave, it took away some of their agency, and with that, their spontaneity.
Orcs are often portrayed as bumbling savages… unless they’re the orcs in Middle-earth: Shadow of War. The game procedurally generates orcs for you to interact with. You can fight them, recruit them, or just avoid them.
And these orcs harbour grudges. If you kill an orc’s blood brother and recruit him, he might join out of meekness. That doesn’t mean he forgot your cruelty: he’s much more likely to betray you later on when he’s stronger. Higher-ranking orcs also adapt to your strategies, forcing you to come up with new ways to defeat them.
Don’t be fooled by the simplistic graphics. Dwarf Fortress is one of the most detailed simulations ever created. Every being has their mannerisms, and every action has consequences. Characters are procedurally generated, and they are fascinating creatures with their own personalities and ambitions.
This game has been in development since 2002, and its level of detail is near lifelike. It leads to all sorts of ridiculous, but believable, scenarios. Even after in-game years, characters can be impacted by things that happened to them long ago.
A game that’s become legendary due to its fear factor, Alien: Isolation featuresone of the most terrifying NPCswe’ve ever encountered. The engine was built around making the Xenomorph as believable as possible.
This alien learns from your behaviour. If you use objects to distract it, it eventually starts ignoring them. It might even head directly for the place you threw them from. The first time you use a flamethrower on it, it’s fearless - the next time it’s more cautious. The alien gets habituated to your playstyle, forcing you to switch tactics. Terrifyingly, on the console versions it could even hear you in real life through the microphone, so hush!
There’s no other way to say it: these NPCs are alive. Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of the most detailed games ever made, and it shows not just in interacting with NPCs, but just by observing them.
NPCs aren’t just repeating their animations while they work, they’re making progress. If someone is building a house, or slicing meat, or hammering in nails, they’re actuallydoingit, and will do something else once they complete their task. The in-game wildlife plays out much as it does in nature, too. Red Dead Redemption 2 is fun to play, and fun to watch as well.
