Matthew Mercer (the dungeon master of Critical Role) gave this useful tip about NPCs during a Q&A after an early episode of the first campaign : the two most important things to know about your NPC is 1/ what they want and 2/ what they fear ; after that, you can improvise.
Of course, in a video game, NPCs won't improvise, but I guess it's a useful advice to tie NPCs in their environment and not just have them being some sort of isolated entities.
That being said, as both a d&d player and a RPG videogames players, what I would really want from NPCs in videogames would be for them to stop being just "switches", which I activate using an action button and who provide always the same text. The videogame which allows discussion with NPCs to be initiated by a question asked by the player will get all my attention :)
Of course, in a video game, NPCs won't improvise, but I guess it's a useful advice to tie NPCs in their environment and not just have them being some sort of isolated entities.
That being said, as both a d&d player and a RPG videogames players, what I would really want from NPCs in videogames would be for them to stop being just "switches", which I activate using an action button and who provide always the same text. The videogame which allows discussion with NPCs to be initiated by a question asked by the player will get all my attention :)