History Main / ArtificialAtmosphericActions

* The vast majority of background characters in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' are simply copies of a small set of body styles, with mixed and matched colors, hairstyles, and cutie marks (the symbols on their flanks). This is fine until you wind up seeing several of the exact same character in the same crowd scene. Additionally, per the show's mythos, a cutie mark is supposed to be a unique, magically acquired representation of a particular pony's special talent and no two are the same; so when things like an hourglass cutie mark show up on several clearly different ponies over the course of several seasons, the immediate [[WildMassGuessing fan reaction]] is that he must be a [[DrWho time lord.]]

* In the same vein as the above, ''[[StarWars Attack Of The Clones]]'' has a scene in Coruscant where background traffic behind a window repeats five times over.

** Especially amusing for people who can read lips. In an article on soap operas, a deaf friend of the writer said that one extra on ''CoronationStreet'' was telling another about his time on ''{{Eastenders}}''.

** VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}} had loads of it. Made you want to use the ball gag you got from failing an arm wrestling mission on Cassidy the 69,105th time he says that his father named him after a character in a book while walking across a street. The fact that he seemed to speak by materializing text that would interfere with your ability to click on things, or read what other people were saying didn't help...

** In fact, quite a few of the noncombatants in that game did odd things, from the scientists in the Facility level who would go sprinting for the bathroom once you left them alone (where, strangely enough, they would simply dematerialize without explanation) to the civilians in the Street level who would simply run around in little circles... through minefields. Apart from that one in the Facility level who ''stays'' in the bogs and lets you steal his Uberkeycard.
*** That one scientist is actually your contact in the factory, and he doesn't let you ''steal'' the device, he gives it to you.

* In ''{{Thief}}: Deadly Shadows'', characters respond appropriately to bodies or bloodstains, either running away if they're non-combatants, or getting angry and looking for the player if they're fighters. This makes less sense (and can cause the player a lot of trouble) if they were the ones to put the corpse there, or saw some other NPC do it.

[[folder:Literature]]
* The Literature/ThursdayNext series mentions this occasionally as a typical glitch in the Bookworld. A normal town-setting usually only contains five different cars, one of them is bound to be a van from [[ContinuityNod Spongg's]] [[NurseryCrime Footcare]].

[[folder:Film]]
* This isn't always limited to video games. In ''Film/TheTrumanShow'', Truman notices "A lady on a red bicycle, a man carrying flowers, and a car with a dented bumper... [[ParanoiaFuel they've been going in a loop around my house]]."
* In the same vein as the above, ''[[StarWars Attack Of The Clones]]'' has a scene in Coruscant where background traffic behind a window repeats five times over.
* Glitches in Film/TheMatrix can cause that to happen. Notably, in the first film, Neo sees a black cat walking past, turns away, looks back and sees the same black cat walking past, making the same movements. Deja vu in The Matrix usually happens when the Machines change something; therefore, when Neo mentions it, Trinity has an OhCrap moment.
* In lots of movies and television shows background extras just mill about not doing anything in particular, or doing ''only'' one thing in particular. This can get amusing if you pay attention to it.
** Especially amusing for people who can read lips. In an article on soap operas, a deaf friend of the writer said that one extra on ''CoronationStreet'' was telling another about his time on ''{{Eastenders}}''.
** PattonOswalt once stood completely still for several minutes appearing in a party scene on ''KingOfQueens''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Interactive Fiction]]
* The long--ago text-based game of ''Literature/TheHobbit'' already incorporated this sort of action, resulting activities ranging from game-ending (the butler who unlocks the door in the elves' prison is already dead when you're caught, trapping you in jail) to fridge brilliant (orcs and elves capture each other and put each other in their prisons, despite not being intended to).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* In many cartoons, especially cheaper ones, the extras are actually painted onto the background plates, so they're (a) completely motionless, and (b) [[ConspicuouslyLightPatch probably not colored correctly]]. They may also be drawn in a different, often simpler, art style.
* Background characters in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' are always doing something. Sometimes they're conversing with poles, but the point is they're not just standing around like lumps.
** This often leads to a FunnyBackgroundEvent or two.
* Disney used CelShading to create the huge crowds in ''Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame''. They're mostly used for wide shots in which you can't get a good look at the individual people, but sometimes you get a close enough shot to see they have simple, computerized movements.
[[/folder]]

* The scientists and engineers wandering around the Vehicle Assembly Building and Spaceplane Hangar in KerbalSpaceProgram. Among other enhancements, 0.20 update added fuel tankers, [[DrivesLikeCrazy apparently driven by complete lunatics.]] Oh, and the Spaceplane Hangar also stands out for containing a large group of Kerbals wearing high-vis vests, holding lighted batons and doing... well, it's not actually all that clear what they're doing, but it's either some sort of semaphor training or a yoga routine.

* In ''VideoGame/MirrorsEdge'', there's one point where you can knock an enemy off a building. If you look down to where his body is lying in the middle of the street, you'll see cars and pedestrians going right past - or even right over - the corpse. It's eerie.

* The PC action-RPG ''{{Gothic}}'' had not only {{NPC}}s who would engage in such mundane activities as cooking food, eating, sleeping, and urinating, but also an entire ecosystem among the various monsters. For example, if the main character killed a mole rat, left the area, and came back, he might witness a pack of wolves devouring the carcass.

* ''{{Half-Life}}'' is famous for its bizarre, probably batshit insane [=NPCs=] that could seemingly '''only''' say things that were massively inappopriate for the situation. ''Half-Life 2'' mostly averts this by virtue of simply having them not talk most of the time, but will occasionally still provide some real gems. NPC conversations were generated by having one NPC randomly pick from the list of "generic comments" and then another NPC randomly picking from the list of "generic replies", with no relationship between the two. There were a fair amount of both initial comments and replies, and sometimes it seemed like a pretty natural conversation. Other times, you ended up with "Sometimes... I dream of cheese." "Man, if I had a nickel for every time I've heard that..."

* Possibly [[InvertedTrope inverted]] with Adventure Mode in VideoGame/DwarfFortress. Wars and other historical events are simulated during world generation, but the world becomes almost completely static once you join as an adventurer.

** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', ''CHICKENS'' used to report you for committing crimes.

* In ''AnimalCrossing'' for GCN, characters would randomly go up and talk to each other and end up being happy, sad, or angry afterwards (annoyingly, if they ended up sad or angry you couldn't talk to them, delaying your progress in a FetchQuest). Starting with the DS version, you can listen in on the conversations.

* This also occurs in ''MassEffect''--notably, right outside of the human embassy, there is an asari walking back and forth, forth and back.

*** People also randomly grumble to themselves, cough, or sigh like they're annoyed.

*** 99.999% of the citizens of ''Morrowind'' are above the law. Guards will actually get stuck trying to walk through an NPC who is asleep in the streets when if ''you'' do so, they'd arrest you. If someone is attacking you, they'll just act like nothing's wrong when if ''you'' did that; they'd run right over and try to arrest you. And if you're attacked by an Ash Zombie after sleeping when someone's in the room, they'll just stand there and ignore them; as well as the corpse you left in their room.

* In ''AnimalCrossing'' for GCN, characters would randomly go up and talk to each other and end up being happy, sad, or angry afterwards (annoyingly, if they ended up sad or angry you couldn't talk to them, delaying your progress in a FetchQuest). In the DS version, you can listen in on the conversations.

[[folder:Role-Playing Games]]
* In ''TheWitcher'', a NPC using a hammer on a brick wall... complete with woodknocking noise.

** Not to mention the annoyingly loud enemies in Conviction. As soon as you let even one of them get even a whiff of you, they start going on and on as though they're at some kind of Pep Rally. [[TooDumbtoLive They seem to think it's a good idea to piss off the trained killer hiding in the room with them, potentially right behind them about to painfully murder them at any time.]] Alternately, they may be trying to psyche themselves up because they're ''scared silly''. There are more professional enemies who don't have the chatter the mercs do.