NPCs (2024)

FAQs

Why do people think I'm an NPC? ›

People came up with a word for it: NPC, which stands for Non-Player Character. Originally, it described video game characters that computers control completely. Now, it's also used for real people who act predictably, like video game characters, by giving the same responses and doing things that seem automatic.

The NPC (/ɛn. pi.si/; also known as the NPC Wojak), derived from non-player character, is an Internet meme that represents people who do not think for themselves or do not make their own decisions; those who lack introspection or intrapersonal communication.

Nobody is an NPC because everyone is playing themselves. But we could also argue that everyone else is an NPC because we can never play anyone other than ourselves, anyway. Philosophy aside, it has always felt wrong to lean into the “NPC” terminology because it seems dehumanizing to reduce anybody to such a label.

"NPC" stands for "Non-Player Character" and is used as a metaphor to describe someone who is perceived as lacking independent thought or blindly following trends.

In real life, an NPC is someone who doesn't think objectively. When someone calls a real life person an NPC, they're equating them to a non-playable character in a video game.

Role-playing games

While the player characters (PCs) form the narrative's protagonists, non-player characters can be thought of as 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.

They have a very limited behaviour and very predictable responses to our interaction with them. NPC can't be anything else beyond what has been written in a code. They are not alive, nor conscious, which becomes apparent only once we (real players) interact with them.

For example, visiting shops to stock up on supplies is a common scenario in games. In these cases, the shopkeeper — who doesn't move from their spot or dynamically change their behavior in any way — is an NPC.

NPCs don't really do anything. To call someone an NPC, then, implies a lack of depth, a lack of things that make a person interesting. In a word, boring. In a way, calling someone an NPC feels worse than identifying a negative quality; it's centralizing the lack of qualities and choosing to insult that lack.

A Non-Player Character is not real, they are computer avatars playing against real characters in video games. They are programmed with a set of certain things to say and when you are not there, they don't exist.

Do NPCs have feelings? ›

If the NPC strongly feels companionship towards the player then the player will receive a warm greeting. The way a NPC responds to a query is also dependant on his or her current emotional state. For example if the player asks a character for their secret, the response is based upon their current emotional level.

Neural precursor cell (NPC) dysfunction has been consistently implicated in autism. Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived NPCs from two autism groups (three idiopathic [I-ASD] and two 16p11. 2 deletion [16pDel]) were used to investigate if proliferation is commonly disrupted.

Urban Dictionary states that NPCs are “robotic,” “basic” and “Someone that operates on a default, predictable pattern.” So, teens say, “You've told me that story 10 times before. Don't be an NPC” or “That trend is so over, NPC.”

64. What does NPC mean on TikTok? NPC stands for Non-Playable Character. The term refers to characters in video games that you interact with within in the game, that are not controlled by another player.

Sometimes in life, we sort of feel like we're an NPC. We're not living our lives as player characters. Right? So a player character decides what they're gonna do. They're gonna be pursuing main quests, they're going to be going here and going there, and there's some degree of advancement.

They're basically any character that is not controlled by you. Maybe they're the shopkeeper, or the character in cut scenes. They look and sound like a real character, but they have set responses, or a script if you will, to drive the main characters plot forward.

Don't listen to people who are holding you back, be true to yourself and show them all you've got. Stop playing the supporting role when you know full well you can play the lead. Capitalize on your opportunities when you have them, because you never know when you'll get another.

What Is NPC Energy? One way to look at NPC energy is to consider it as being the energy of an introvert, although in extreme cases you could also consider it as having social anxiety or even being hikikomori.