NPCs in Video Games

jarby wanted me to let you know he forgives you :) and wants to sell you a really crappy sword for 2,000 gold?!? also what are some of YOUR favorite NPCs?? genuinely curious cause its such a broad topic and I can only cover so many examples before I pass out!!!
 xoxo, Jacob 

 Twitter ► twitter.com/nakeyjakey Instagram ► www.instagram.com/nakeyjakey

Pro tip: Be sure to ask Jarborious where the blacksmith is BEFORE divorcing him, you’ll lose the dialogue option afterwards.

clicked for jakey and left a divorcee with jaborious

That hour long "Bethesda's Game Design is Outdated" video essay is going to bang, isn't it

My favorite NPC you don’t really interact with. It’s a street performer in Cyberpunk. He doesn’t do anything special, only sits there and plays guitar. Being a guitar player myself for 20 some years I stopped to listen. After about a minute I realized that some genius programmer actually went through the trouble of making this NPC’s hands and fingers move EXACTLY like it would in real life for every note, pick, strum, and fret placement. I don’t know if it was mocap or just very well done animation, but it just really impressed me that someone took the time out of their day to add just that tiny bit of realism to a tiny little corner of the world.

it's all fun and games until you see yourself as an NPC in a STALKER game

You nailed the cadence of an Oblivion NPC so well it was almost scary

I'll never forget playing MGS5 the first time and realizing the npc soldiers at outposts would start to get smarter and smarter with the equipment they used depending on how you approached them for takedowns.

No one else has talked about the non-matched walk speed in Starfield and I'm so glad someone finally brought it up.

no feeling is warmer than coming back home from a long trip to be welcomed by NakeyJakey and his large ball

Was honestly shocked at just how genuine Jakey’s acting during the opening was. Bravo, I say, Bravo

Extremely pumped that the Nancy Drew NPCs got a split second shoutout because truly all of them are memorable as hell

The Austin shout-out was something that touched my heart. I've watched him for years and he most certainly does have a unique voice and personality 🫶

the npcs in fear were sick. playin that game on hard and tryin to hide while you hear "FLANK HIM! HE'S BEHIND A DESK!" is truly a gamer experience better than sex.

The fact oblivion had secret sleeper agents of the mythic dawn who had lives but would attack you after a certain mission was a great touch, tgey didn't just spawn in, they had a routine.

the sword in Transistor is my absolute favorite npc! the voice acting is really well done and it's like having a buddy while you're fighting increasingly apocalyptic enemies. since the character you play as, Red, is mute, you don't really get to hear her thoughts on the situation, everything is interpreted and translated back to you by the sword. really moving game

Just lost my dream job in the games industry due to lay offs...due to missmanagement...thanks for this new video, Jakey! Made my day, cracks me up every time. Keep doing awesome videos like this please!

My biggest NPC memory was playing Bully (Canis Candem Edit), i was playing as usual, and I specifically remember Algernon, one of the nerds, walk up to a bully in the hallways and just said "I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS" and started beating the everloving shit out of the bully. More students jumped in and it was a absolutely giant punch up where I was helping the nerds out. That has never happened again in any of my playthroughs but i think about his bravery atleast 3 times a week. Rock on Algernon.

Why does it always feel like a NakeyJakey video is only like 5 minutes long? it's entertaining to the point you dont notice you've been watching for 13 minutes

Oh my gosh the AnyAustin shoutout is not the thoughtful gesture I saw coming but that is so kind of you and absolutely deserved, it's a really cool niche of content he covers that I've enjoyed for quite a while Also your stance on AI is great, I really hope there's a good way out there for an NPC to use AI to influence their behaviors rather than their design and script so they might act more closely to changing scenarios while still respecting the artists that bring these characters to life through word choice, character design, voice direction, etc