Want to Know More about NPC Irony?

We've all noticed that sometimes NPCs can say some weird things--things a real person wouldn't say. And I don't mean fancy or witty things. Hamlet and Jack Sparrow say things we would never say, but it still seems plausible that those characters might say those things. But sometimes NPCs are just weird. Sometimes they say things that would make no sense if you heard them on the train or in a restaurant. But a lot of that is because NPCs have a job to do. They have to tell you where to go, whom to talk to, and even what to wear!

Much of the time, this is done in a totally in-universe way. When someone at the Millenial Fair talks about the origins of the festival, that makes sense. It's totally on-topic! When the peasants of the kingdom complaign about the cruelty of the king's new advisor, that also makes sense. We sympathize with their dislike of a callous politician. But then there are some really weird things that NPCs say. Why do all these farmers and wine merchants mention that the Fighters Guild is hiring? They clearly have no interest in that life.

It all comes down to NPC irony.

What is NPC irony? In speech, irony is someone saying one thing, but meaning something else. NPC irony is simply a way that game designers use the NPCs in games to communicate important things to the player. Maybe the designer wants to tell an attentive player to equip poison-resistant gear. But at the same time, they don’t want to puncture the player’s suspension of disbelief by highlighting the fact that they’re playing a game. So they tell the player ironically. “Boy,” the NPC says. “A lot of people have been coming home from the woods with poisonous bites.”

This All Came From a Series of Books

You can learn a lot more about NPC irony from the book Reverse Design: Final Fantasy 6, in which I analyze all of that game’s NPCs to see what roles they play in the society of the game. The books on Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 7 also have sections which use the same type of analysis.

If you’re interested in research like this, consider contributing to our new four-book Kickstarter, as well. We can’t do these big deep-dives without you!