Npcs

Four Non-Player Characters (NPCs) find themselves forced to pretend they're adventurers in order to save their town and loved ones.

One of the basic units for player characters' social interactions with the game's setting are NPCs. The acronym NPC stands for Non-Player Character. In short, the objective of this quick guide is the totally random construction of one of these characters, an NPC, which can be fitted or used in any type of scenario, theme or setting of an RPG game.

As a long-time unemployed loser, Yoshio's relationship with his family is strained at best. Worst of all, thanks to failing her during a terrifying incident, his sister has complete contempt for him. But lately, Yoshio's life has rapidly begun to change. It's all thanks to receiving an invite to beta-test a mysterious game known as the Village of Fate--a game so amazingly realistic that its characters almost seem like real people. Playing the role of a "God of Fate" protecting a small group of villagers, the game gives new meaning to Yoshio's dull existence, and soon begins to reveal unexpected new opportunities, some of them even affecting the real world.

Ever since he was selected to beta test the mysteriously realistic game, "The Village of Fate," Yoshio's slowly been putting his life back together. Helping save the villagers was the catalyst he needed to help himself. Yet there's one big scar that Yoshio hasn't addressed: The convicted stalker who tormented his sister and wounded him with a knife. When the stalker reappears, could it mean the end of everything that changed for the better...?

Yoshio was a thirty-year-old unemployed shut-in when a mysterious village-building sim, The Village of Fate, showed up at his door. Through watching and caring for the game's intensely realistic NPCs, Yoshio has started getting his life back on track--getting a job to pay for microtransactions, and using the villagers' care for each other as inspiration to reconnect with his family. But despite overcoming the first challenges thrown at him, more complicated issues, both in and out of the game, are closing in. And are the game's monstrous enemies controlled by real humans, too?

Stroke remains one of the most devastating diseases in industrialized countries. Recanalization of the occluded arterial vessel using thrombolysis is the only causal therapy available. However, thrombolysis is limited due to severe side effects and a limited time window. As such, only a minority of patients receives this kind of therapy, showing a need for new and innovative treatment strategies. Although neuroprotective drugs have been shown to be beneficial in a variety of experimental stroke models, they ultimately failed in clinical trials. Consequently, recent scientific focus has been put on modulation of post-ischemic neuroregeneration, either via stimulation of endogenous neurogenesis or via application of exogenous stem cells or progenitor cells. Neurogenesis persists within the adult brain of both rodents and primates. As such, neural progenitor cells (NPCs) are found within distinct niches like the subventricular zone (SVZ) of the lateral ventricles and the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus. Cerebral ischemia stimulates these astrocyte-like progenitor cells, upon which NPCs proliferate and migrate towards the site of lesion. There, NPCs partly differentiate into mature neurons, without significantly being integrated into the residing neural network. Rather, the majority of new-born cells dies within the first weeks post-stroke, leaving post-ischemic neurogenesis a phenomenon of unknown biological significance. Since NPCs do not replace lost brain tissue, beneficial effects observed in some studies after either stimulated or protected neurogenesis are generally contributed to indirect effects of these new-born cells. The precise identification of appropriated cellular mediators, however, is still elusive. How do these mediators work? Are they soluble factors or maybe even vesicular structures emanating from NPCs? What are the cues that guide NPCs towards the ischemic lesion site? How can post-ischemic neurogenesis be stimulated? How can the poor survival of NPCs be increased? In order to support post-ischemic neurogenesis, a variety of research groups have focused on application of exogenous stem/progenitor cells from various tissue sources. Among these, cultivated NPCs from the SVZ and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from the bone marrow are frequently administered after induction of stroke. Although neuroprotection after delivery of stem/progenitor cells has been shown in various experimental stroke models, transplanted cells are usually not integrated in the neural network. Again, the vast amount of grafted cells dies or does not reach its target despite profound neuroprotection, also suggesting indirect paracrine effects as the cause of neuroprotection. Yet, the factors being responsible for these observations are under debate and still have to be addressed. Is there any “optimal” cell type for transplantation? How can the resistance of grafted cells against a non-favorable extracellular milieu be increased? What are the molecules that are vital for interaction between grafted cells and endogenous NPCs? The present research topic seeks to answer - at least in part - some of the aforementioned questions. Although the research topic predominantly focuses on experimental studies (and reviews alike), a current outlook towards clinical relevance is given as well.

Thanks to being selected as a player of the mysteriously realistic Village of Fate, Yoshio's life has been changing for the better. Everything seems to be going well for him these days, and the village welcomes its newest residents: Kan and Lan, a pair of furry friends. Yet a sudden real-life PVP encounter brings Yoshio head-to-head with another gamer with a strikingly dark goal. The fate of the village hangs in the balance as two gods clash!

The Village of Fate is a mysterious computer game with characters so realistic, they almost seem like real people. Yoshio rationalizes it as best he can, but when the "offerings" the villagers leave him in the game start showing up at his house in real life, it's clear something strange is happening. What's more, ever since he started playing, Yoshio's life has steadily improved. His relationship with his family on the mend, and he's reconnected with Seika, an old friend he hasn't seen for a decade. He even scored a date! Yet Murus soon reappears in the village, and the perils of a game with permanent death become tragically clear...