Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

In the world of video games, an NPC is a non-player/playable character, a character that is not controlled by a player. NPCs exist as background characters and create the universe of the game. For instance, an NPC could be a traffic cop or a shopkeeper in an online simulation; someone who makes the universe of the game believable. Sometimes they serve as villains or obstacles the player must overcome. Sadie Green notes that male creators often create sexualized female NPCs to attract audiences, such as in a game she plays with Dov where the player character spies “on a female non-player character exercising in her underwear” (43). This episode seeds the idea that NPCs are often misunderstood or manipulated by game-makers and players, and they actually hold the keys to the online and offline world. This idea is expanded upon through Marx Watanabe, whom Samson Masur calls an NPC in a fit of anger. In the trio of Sam, Sadie, and Marx, Marx can ostensibly be seen as an NPC since he doesn’t design the look or heart of a game. Though Sam doesn’t really mean these words and loves Marx deeply, his statement shows the tendency of some creative people to dismiss others as predictable and boring.