NPC

NPC stands for non-player character. Shopkeepers, quest givers, civilians, companions, enemies, and story characters can all be NPCs when the game controls their behavior. They may follow scripts, decision trees, navigation systems, schedules, dialogue logic, or more complex artificial intelligence. “NPC” describes who controls the character, not how smart, important, or friendly it is. In tabletop role-playing, the game master portrays NPCs; in video games, software generally does. A bot is a related term often used for an AI-controlled substitute in roles normally occupied by players.