NPC’s with personalities and backstories can make the player get emotionally invested in the game. Good games use a few methods to give their NPC's a sense of a personality. Some games have their NPC’s react differently to situations than other NPC’s in that game. In other games, NPC’s will partner with the player and help defend them, instead of standing and being helpless. Many games have NPC's with unique dialog options to help them stand out in the game. A cast of recurring NPC’s will give the player some familiar faces, instead of overloading the game with faceless and nameless NPC's. If written well NPC’s can be used in a death scene or a tension filled scene to increase the emotion. For Example, Undertale is successful because of its NPC's. Each major enemy and ally have their own dialog and their own method of defeating them in battle. It makes each one memorable. Toby Fox took the time to give each character a personality.
Examples[]
The Walking Dead[]
In the first season of The Walking Dead game, you spend your time playing as one character, Lee. However, what makes this game so impactful and so well loved is the cast of characters that you are able to interact with throughout your time fighting to survive the apocalypse. Each has their own developed backstory and personality that make your choices throughout the narrative feel more meaningful and pressing. Whether you love or hate your team, you can't help but hesitate at making decisions during action and dialogue sequences.
Prince of Persia: Prodigy[]
In Prince of Persia: Prodigy, a 3D-based action game, you play as a unknown prince who adventured in the desert and met a princess named Elika. You two, one controlled by you and the other controlled by a sophisticated AI, together began an adventure of exploring and saving. You two together fight against dark enemies, you help and support each other, and explore each other's inner thoughts, personalities and stories. Although you basically play single with a computer AI, but this relationship, this bond is so tight and real and player just can not help investing more and more time with this virtual but real princess until the epic game ending.
World of Warcraft[]
In World of Warcraft, while running around in any major city, there are many NPC's that walk around and talk. Some of these NPC's have interactions with other NPC's, which tell a backstory. Some of these backstories tell rich tales about lore from the Warcraft universe, which you don't get in any other place within the world. These NPC's bring a richness and depth to the game that really shape the world for the player.
Civilization V[]
In Civilization V, leaders of different civilizations have different personalities. Some of them like to cooperate with others, some like to start wars and some prefer to pretend peace and attack you out of your expectation. So players should choose different strategy when they communicate with different leaders. Players can also choose random personality for the leaders at the beginning of game. So there is no denying that NPCs with different personalities will provide players greater sense of substitution and more various strategies to play.
Fallout 4[]
Fallout 4 offers countless NPC interactions that contribute to quests and gameplay progression, thus making NPC interaction personality imperative for the immersiveness of the world and storylines. The game designers succeed in engaging NPC personalities in a variety of ways including unique dialogue, voice acting, character art design, and gameplay with characters that follow the player during objectives. Over the course of the player's gameplay progression, they will encounter NPCs that have lasting impact based on quest objectives and the fortress building mechanic that gives the player the option to have NPCs stay in specific locations and be utilized as part of resource management.