NPC
Noun: 1. Non-Player Character: In video games, role-playing games, and simulations, an NPC is a character that is controlled by the computer or game system, not by a human player. NPCs populate the game world, provide information, offer quests, or act as opponents or allies. 2. National Counterproliferation Center: A U.S. government agency established to coordinate intelligence activities aimed at preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems.
- Non-Player Character:
- The quest giver is an NPC standing near the town square.
- You can talk to NPCs to learn more about the game's lore.
- The city felt alive because it was filled with NPCs going about their daily routines.
- National Counterproliferation Center:
- The report was compiled using data from the NPC and other intelligence agencies.
- The director of the NPC briefed the committee on the latest proliferation threats.
- Metaphorical/Slang Use: In informal, often online, contexts, "NPC" is used as a pejorative term to describe a person who is perceived to lack independent thought, originality, or free will, behaving in a predictable, programmed manner like a video game character.
- He just parrots talking points without any critical thinking; he's such an NPC.
- Player Character (PC): The direct opposite of an NPC; a character in a game controlled by a human player.
- For Non-Player Character: bot, AI character, computer-controlled character.
- For National Counterproliferation Center: The abbreviation is standard; it is a specific proper noun.
The two primary meanings of "NPC" belong to entirely different domains (gaming vs. government/acronym). The context of the sentence makes it immediately clear which meaning is intended. The slang/metaphorical usage derives directly from the video game meaning.
- an agency that serves as the focal point for all Intelligence Community activities related to nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their missile delivery systems