Non-player characters, commonly referred to as NPCs, are simply game characters that are not controlled by a human player. These characters are controlled through scripts, and their behaviors are usually responsive to in-game conditions.

Our game's non-player characters are the Cucumber Beetles. These beetles, as depicted in the following screenshot, have six legs that they can walk on; under special circumstances, they can also walk on their hind legs:

Cucumber Beetles are real insects, and are a threat to cucumbers. They cannot really walk on their hind legs, but they can in our game. 

In the next section, you will import a Cucumber Beetle asset package prepared specifically for this game. There will only be one beetle in that asset package. We will, through scripting, make multiple copies of the beetle. 

Before you move on to the next section, you should open your Unity game project. Alternatively, you can download the Starting-Chapter-08 Unity project available from the publisher's companion site.