The question is, do we even really need NPCs in these games? They add very little in the way of flavor, and can actually detract from most gaming environments. How exciting is it to track down a reclusive NPC and get a quest, only to discover that this same guy has been handing out the same quest to characters for the past few years. Kinda takes the wind out of the heroes' sails.

And as far as the 'support functions' of the game world go, it's becoming more apparent that players would happily fill those roles if they were given the opportunity. There is a growing number of players that want to take on the responsibilities of being a banker or a blacksmith or a scientist. While very few games provide this type of support at present, I'm willing to bet that supporting characters are soon going to be at least partially replaced by player characters.

The obvious problem with this is one of persistence. What if the player that controls the local banks isn't online when you need to get your cash? The wise designer would build in a feature that allows easy access to your safe deposit boxes at any time, but then it brings up the question of whether or not you even need a PC banker in the first place. There are a variety of answers to this question, but the ultimate answer will be that each designer is going to have to decide which support roles are really necessary to his game world, and how those roles can be filled by player characters.

Taking an example from Horizon Station, equipment is going to be a very real need for virtually all characters. Stuff will wear out and break, and it will need to be repaired or replaced. This is a task that could be handled by NPCs - heck, it'd be easy to set up stores where characters can run in and buy a new TurboLaser6000 or get their HeadLikeARock armor patched up. Easy, but also pretty boring.

Instead, I plan on letting other players handle the maintenance and creation of equipment. You won't be able to just pick up a Amazing Wrench of Fixidity off the shelf, you'll need to talk to your local scientist or mechanic.

The other type of NPC is the Enemy, the automated bad guys that the heroes track down and stomp into goo. The problem with these types of bad guys is that they are pretty unsatisfying as foes go. No matter how good the AI is (and in online games, it tends to be pretty cruddy due to processing constraints), human players are always going to be able to outsmart their computer opponents in relatively short order, turning every battle into a matter of numbers: if Character A is a higher level than Monster B, he will generally kick the crud out of it.

It would seem that these types of NPC could be replaced pretty easily by allowing players to attack one another. The problem, of course, is that this has been tried before and it creates a lot of problems, potentially more than it solves. While there are a number of viable ways to protect those who do not wish to be preyed upon by other players, the risk of ending up with no one able to be Bad Guy is pretty large. And what fun is a world without bad guys?

The only solution that I can see is one that ties into the use of players taking on the roles of support staff. If you don't want to fight, don't take on the role of a warrior, but fit yourself in as a behind-the-lines sort of character. Characters that take combat-oriented roles will be the ones that find themselves in open conflict with others players, and rightly so. There are likely other solutions, as well, but at their core all solutions should offer some way for players to balance the risks and rewards their characters will take.

There are certainly a host of issues that will need to be handled in order to remove NPCs from a game, but in the end they appear manageable and will certainly make for a more exciting game. Click the link below and voice your own opinion on the subject.