I recently got married and for our honeymoon, my newly anointed husband convinced me that it would be more than well spent playing Baldur's Gate 3. For a whole week, we sequestered ourselves in the study, turned off our phones, rigged out our monitors and couch co-oped our way through 50+ hours of the game. We’re not even a two thirds of the way through Act 1.
Although some of that time was spent teaching my husband how character sheets, classes, spells, feats, weapon traits, companions, camping and the difference between advantage vs disadvantage throws were (as he had never played Baldur’s Gate let alone a DnD campaign), a lot of our time was given over to the sheer density that is that game. Every step we took, led us into a direction that was often not the one we expected and/or intended. We were consistently caught off guard by the NPCs. Sometimes it was because it was an enemy pretending to be an NPC. But mostly it was because every character in that world was part of that world. They lived it every day as opposed to us who were merely passing by.
This got me thinking about the nature of NPCs. So often they are just fodder to make the world feel full. They are of little consequence to us as players. But this happens in writing and webcomics too. Filler and background characters are more or less set dressing rather than their own fleshed out characters. This is by necessity. If a creator was to devote all their time to making every character meaningful then they would be as hopelessly waylaid as we became in our game.
A story on the page (or digital page in this instance) requires focus in order to maintain its coherence as well as the reader’s often divided attention. However, that does not mean characters of little import are not worthy of detail. This game reminded me how much I enjoyed interacting with different characters.
Learning their story, becoming intrigued by them even if our time with them was short, meant that we went out of our way to interact. Through them our experience of the world expanded. These NPCs were just that. Non-Playable Characters. They were characters we couldn’t play yet they were all characters. They added to the world. Enhanced it. Made it rich.
When your cast of characters interacts with other minor characters along their journey, infuse the minor characters with a bit of a story. It doesn’t have to be much. But have them add something to the world. A prayer, a lament, a dance or a portent of what is to come.
Every character lends to the world through their story no matter how small.
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More than just an NPC
Emma_Clare at 12:00AM, July 13, 2024
4 likes!
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PaulEberhardt at 12:01PM, July 14, 2024
Minor characters are the backbone! They make it all come alive and besides my main characters need foils that often have a satirical purpose as well. I usually differentiate them further into supporting cast (i.e. appears regularly but isn't important enough to be a recurring character, who I think of as second-class main characters), speaking parts, non-speaking parts who are however active in some way, and scenery. It's a practical rule of thumb to think of how much they'd get paid in relation to each other if the comic were a movie production, as it gives you an idea of how much effort you should put into fleshing them out. Some, right down to the scenery type, are recurring extras, as if I was always hiring the same starving comic-acting students again and again, because I either like drawing them or feel they belong to the location. If I like drawing one a lot or a commenter likes them, they rise through the ranks until I feel they're in a position that befits them again.
PaulEberhardt at 11:20AM, July 14, 2024
Congratulations on the wedding!
Hapoppo at 1:13PM, July 13, 2024
Grats on the wedding! Sounds like a fun, relaxing way to spend the honeymoon :D
marcorossi at 6:57AM, July 13, 2024
Congratulations!
bravo1102 at 5:05AM, July 13, 2024
But I am one to talk because minor characters from previous comics became protagonists in later comics. My current protagonist was in three comics as a secondary or minor character before her starring role in this comic. One minor character already has a major role planned for her in a follow on comic. And the protagonists of the original comic may never be heard from again because all these minor characters keep moving into the foreground. Don't loose sight of your story and the main characters unless you are creating an immersive video game franchise and can afford to be sidetracked.
bravo1102 at 4:56AM, July 13, 2024
I read this and my first thought is that I need to streamline my story line and kill off a few NPCs. Lots of fascinating NPCs is great for a computer game to hook a player for lots of play time. Conversely it can kill the narrative flow of a story. Unless you're being paid by the word and have an exclusive contract from a publisher to put put the finished story no matter the final length. That's one reason all those 19th century novels had such rich minor characters. It was serialized and the writer was paid for padding it out. That's one reason have to be careful with how detailed you minor characters.
usedbooks at 3:35AM, July 13, 2024
I love my minor characters and henchmen. I love them so much, it isn't uncommon for me to elevate them to recurring characters. Sometimes, they become main characters. (Be careful making them too interesting. You won't be able to get rid of them. 😆)
plymayer at 2:19AM, July 13, 2024
Congratulations to you and your husband :)
kawaiidaigakusei at 12:11AM, July 13, 2024
Congratulations on your nuptials!