Technical articles on AI, game development, and narrative systems.
Why Your LLM NPCs Sound the Same (And How to Fix It)
“Let me tell you, my good friend…” If you’ve built LLM-powered NPCs, you’ve heard this. Your character starts strong, maybe even impressive. But by turn 20, something’s wrong. They’re repeating themselves. The same phrases. The same gestures. The same rhythm. I ran 150 turns of dialogue with an LLM-powered character last week. Here’s what I found: Pattern Frequency “takes a long swig from his glass” 59% of responses “my good friend/man/fellow” 30% of responses “eyes unfocused” 15% of responses “let me tell you” 13% of responses My character, Francis—a boozy ex-politician—couldn’t stop drinking. Not because it was dramatically appropriate. Because the LLM fell into a rut. ...