The NPCs in This Sim Game Must Be Real! Light Novel Series by Hirukuma

What IS Real?Yoshio is thirty years old, and his life is a mess. A shut-in living with his parents, he has no job, no relationship, and no prospects. When he receives a new sim computer game that boasts characters created with a new kind of A.I., he doesn't think much of it--until he gets drawn into a fantasy world so vibrant and lifelike that its residents can't just be game characters... moreWhat IS Real?Yoshio is thirty years old, and his life is a mess. A shut-in living with his parents, he has no job, no relationship, and no prospects. When he receives a new sim computer game that boasts characters created with a new kind of A.I., he doesn't think much of it--until he gets drawn into a fantasy world so vibrant and lifelike that its residents can't just be game characters. Suddenly finding himself the benevolent god of a scrappy fantasy village is a lot for Yoshio to handle, but it might be the key to the change he is desperate for. less

Invited to play a secretive, strangely realistic video game, one man develops a deep connection with its characters, who seem almost human. (And don't miss the original light novels, also from Seven Seas!) Yoshio is 30 years old, with no job and a shut-in lifestyle. His mundane days and nights are suddenly interrupted when he receives a copy of "The Village of Fate," an experimental game with graphics like nothing he's ever seen before... moreInvited to play a secretive, strangely realistic video game, one man develops a deep connection with its characters, who seem almost human. (And don't miss the original light novels, also from Seven Seas!) Yoshio is 30 years old, with no job and a shut-in lifestyle. His mundane days and nights are suddenly interrupted when he receives a copy of "The Village of Fate," an experimental game with graphics like nothing he's ever seen before. In the game, he takes on the role of a guardian deity who watches over the people of a new village...but he finds that the game characters are so intelligent, reactive, and human that he starts wondering if they could be real people somehow. Through his connection to their strangely vivid lives, Yoshio begins to discover the brightness that had been missing from his own existence. less

The game is over for Yoshio. His villagers are gone, all dead as far as he can tell. But just as he is overcome with despair, one final gift arrives from the Village of Fate—a package containing the NPC Carol, and she's clearly a real, live girl. With Carol in tow, Yoshio leaves the safety of his home to travel to Hokkaido, where the developers are located. He will uncover the truth of this mysterious game once and for all!