Wandering NPCs - an IFDB Poll
by Fredrik
RSS FeedI have always been fascinated with games that have several wandering and independent NPCs, especially when you have the ability to try to order them around. This sets the stage for a game where no one session is like any other, and even though the NPCs may not be very smart, it gives a sense of life to the game.
I am looking for your recommendations of good games of this kind. (Or just fascinating ones.)
| Deadline, by Marc Blank 7 votes "My first exposure to IF. Got me hooked on Infocom games." [+]"My first exposure to IF. Got me hooked on Infocom games.: Great NPCs with hidden agendas wandering around (but not aimlessly). The son had a great record collection." ( ) --Puddin Tame... "Characters in the..." [+]"Characters in the game have a schedule, and figuring out what they're doing and why is part of the fun." ( - Full review) --Emily Short... "In my opinion,..." [+]"In my opinion, this was the first IF game to set the standard for wandering and goal-seeking NPCs." --David Welbourn... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Ghalev... (No comment) [+](No comment) --sushabye... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --o0pyromancer0o... "The wandering..." [+]"The wandering NPCs are not merely incidental, they are absolutely core to the puzzles and the plot" --Mikalye...  Vote for this game | |
| Twin Kingdom Valley, by Trevor Hall and P. M. Skinner 3 votes "Lot of territory to explore" [+]"Lot of territory to explore" ( - Full review) --Zoltar... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Fredrik... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Jacob Gunness... Vote for this game | |
| Child's Play, by Stephen Granade 3 votes "The other..." [+]"The other children move around and sometimes interfere with your solutions." ( ) --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --katz... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... Vote for this game | |
| The Hobbit, by Philip Mitchell and Veronika Megler 3 votes "Thorin sits down and starts singing about gold." [+]"Thorin sits down and starts singing about gold." ( ) --Fredrik... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Zoltar... "Possibly the most..." [+]"Possibly the most dynamic cast of NPCs ever... in a text adventure from 1983!" () --Felix Pleșoianu... Vote for this game | |
| Zork I, by Marc Blank and Dave Lebling 2 votes "The thief, of course. " [+]"The thief, of course. " ( - Full review) --AmberShards... "The thief, but in..." [+]"The thief, but in some ways the bat "wanders" as it deposits you in a random coal mine location, and you might make an arguement for the "lurking" grue. " ( - Full review) --tggdan3... Fredrik says: This game only has a single wandering NPC (I doubt if the bat and grue are coded as wanderers), and therefore does not really fit the criteria for this poll. Vote for this game | |
| Mystery House Possessed, by Emily Short 2 votes "Characters wander..." [+]"Characters wander around looking for jewels and committing murder. A murderer is chosen randomly each game." --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --BladeL... Vote for this game | |
| Blue Lacuna, by Aaron A. Reed 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --BladeL... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... Vote for this game | |
| Christminster, by Gareth Rees 2 votes "Has multiple..." [+]"Has multiple characters who move according to their own agendas or at random. You need to give directions to at least two of them." ( ) --o0pyromancer0o... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Felix Pleșoianu... Vote for this game | |
| Six, by Wade Clarke 2 votes "You have to chase..." [+]"You have to chase other kids, so naturally some of them move around a bit. They all go to the picnic area when caught. One will also follow you if you let her. And there is a wandering lady and a dog." ( ) --o0pyromancer0o... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... Vote for this game | |
| Corruption, by Rob Steggles, Hugh Steers 2 votes "Multiple..." [+]"Multiple characters move around according to their own agendas. I'm not sure you can boss them around, but following them and spying on them is certainly part of the game." ( ) --o0pyromancer0o... "The wandering..." [+]"The wandering NPCs are the core of the game." --Mikalye... Vote for this game | |
| Knight Orc, by Pete Austin 2 votes "A MMORPG-like experience" [+]"A MMORPG-like experience: Full of autonomous characters wandering around, fighting each other and looking for treasure. A few NPCs will obey your commands." --baf... (No comment) [+](No comment) --o0pyromancer0o... Vote for this game | |
| Lancelot, by Christina Erskin, Joan Lamb, Neil Scrimgeour, Dicken Peeke, Nusarath Jahan, Mike Austin, Nick Austin, John Jones-Steele, and Mike Bryant 2 votes "Plenty of..." [+]"Plenty of wandering knights and damsels in this one, just like the NPCs in Level 9's other post-Knight Orc games. None of them are very bright, though." --Jacob Gunness... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Denk... Vote for this game | |
| Suspended, by Michael Berlyn 2 votes "The robot NPCs..." [+]"The robot NPCs can be ordered to move around the complex and perform various tasks simultaneously." --David Welbourn... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Wade Clarke... Vote for this game | |
| Four in One, by J. Robinson Wheeler 1 vote "Farcically hard..." [+]"Farcically hard to control characters, all over the place." --Emily Short... Vote for this game | |
| Kiss Chase, by Anonymous 1 vote "A bunch of NPCs,..." [+]"A bunch of NPCs, all trying to find love..." --Emily Short... Vote for this game | |
| Changes, by David Given 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Floating Info... Vote for this game | |
| ADRIFTmas Party, by Dana Crane 1 vote "The wandering..." [+]"The wandering NPCs at the party are several ADRIFT authors who wrote their own descriptions and responses to conversation topics." --David Welbourn... Vote for this game | |
| The High Mountains, by Paul Braithwaite 1 vote "You cannot give..." [+]"You cannot give the NPCs orders, but there are LOTS of them." ( ) --Fredrik... Vote for this game | |
| Gnome Ranger, by Pete Austin 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Denk... Vote for this game | |
| Forbidden Castle, by Mercer Mayer 1 vote "This can be..." [+]"This can be awkward since NPCs can pick up items you need and MIGHT trade them with you (if you're nice to them). And the game punishes you (at the end) if you kill any of them. There is a king, mankin, and faerie who wander, a rideable boat, dragon, pegasus, and bridge you can "ride" (yes the bridge wanders up and down- drawbridge), there is a talking frog, raven, wizard, and griffin who do not wander; a bear, outlaws, scorpions, and bugs who act as barriers, and a wandering ogre who is more of a problem than anything else, but certain game events can render him nice and somewhat orderable." ( - Full review) --tggdan3... Vote for this game | |
| The Baker of Shireton, by Hanon Ondricek 1 vote "Bustling with NPCs." [+]"Bustling with NPCs." --CMG... Vote for this game | |
| AˇLˇIˇEˇN: La aventura - Edición Especial, by Alpha Aventuras (Ricardo Pérez, Manuel Millán, Francisco J. Roldán, Manuel I. Monge, Antonio Matiola, Francisco Picazo) 1 vote "The alien!" [+]"The alien!: She wanders in real time unless you change the settings. If she learns of your existence, she begins to hunt you.One NPC is a subordinate officer, and follows all orders." ( ) --IFforL2... Vote for this game | |
| Runestone, by Alan Davis 1 vote "Lords of Midnight with IF!" [+]"Lords of Midnight with IF!" ( ) --Fredrik... Vote for this game | |
| Kerkerkruip, by Victor Gijsbers 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Dannii... Vote for this game | |
| The Tiny House, by Dan Doyle III 1 vote "The dogs and cat..." [+]"The dogs and cat wander (and can be somewhat ordered around) and later you are followed around by a cow and by your husband (who you can TRY to order, sometimes). There are 2 npcs (Little Red Riding Hood and Little Miss Muffet) who don't wander by default, but when the boy cries wolf (multiple times) they go over to his location to check it out. There is also a bunch of other NPCs who you can talk to but that's about it. " ( - Full review) --tggdan3... Vote for this game | |
| Dead Man's Hill, by Arno von Borries 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) --DAB... Vote for this game | |
| Moist, by Scarlet Herring 1 vote "One of the characters moves about, and not always aimlessly" [+]"One of the characters moves about, and not always aimlessly" --mjhayes... Vote for this game | |
| Six Silver Bullets, by William Dooling 1 vote "Most puzzles in..." [+]"Most puzzles in the game involve predicting where NPCs will be in subsequent playthroughs" --Theodidactus... Vote for this game | |
| Pytho's Mask, by Emily Short 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Sobol... Vote for this game | |
| Jacaranda Jim, by Graham Cluley 1 vote "The postman and the thief" [+]"The postman and the thief" ( ) --Robin Johnson... Vote for this game | |
| Zork III, by Dave Lebling, Marc Blank 1 vote "I've heard rumors..." [+]"I've heard rumors that there is a robot you can discover when time-travelling who closes opened doors (though I've never discovered him). You can also order around the dungeon master once you reach him, and the hooded man wanders around the land of shadow until you find him and fight him. " ( - Full review) --tggdan3... Vote for this game | |
| Enchanter, by Marc Blank, Dave Lebling 1 vote "The adventurer...." [+]"The adventurer. There is a turtle you can order around, but it doesn't wander. The adventurer can somewhat be ordered around. There are also cultists that wander "in and out" of a few rooms that you need to protect yourself from. Also the great terror walks towards the exit and you must still trap him inside the maze, but I don't know if that counts as wandering. " ( - Full review) --tggdan3... Fredrik says: Like Zork I, I have the feeling that there is only the one wandering NPC. Thus, while it is a brilliant game, it does not really belong here. Vote for this game | |
| The Battle of Walcot Keep, by Steve Breslin, Eric Eve, and Lindsey Hair 1 vote "Has a whole..." [+]"Has a whole *army* of active NPCs getting up to their various tasks." --Emily Short... Vote for this game | |
| Vacation Gone Awry, by Johan Berntsson, Fredrik Ramsberg, and Staffan Friberg 1 vote "It certainly has some wandering NPCs." [+]"It certainly has some wandering NPCs.: I remember building the functionality needed for the player to order them around, but I think we ended up disabling it to prevent the player from obstructing the story. You can however work against the NPCs for fun." --Fredrik Ramsberg... Vote for this game | |
| Ingrid's Back, by Pete Austin, Peter McBride, Godfrey Dowson, Graham Jones 1 vote "great game!" [+]"great game!: Multiple NPCs. Some can be given complex orders." ( ) --Denk... Vote for this game | |
| Zork II, by Dave Lebling, Marc Blank 1 vote "The wizard..." [+]"The wizard appears to screw with you. The dragon can be enticed to follow you around. The robot can be ordered around. The princess wanders to a location and you must follow her. " ( - Full review) --tggdan3... Vote for this game | |
| Scapeghost, by Pete Austin 1 vote "multiple NPCs can be given orders." [+]"multiple NPCs can be given orders." ( ) --Denk... Vote for this game | |