What makes a memorable game character?

I've recently got into the nuts and bolts of interactive storytelling and I'm interested in your views on what makes a truly memorable NPC.

Personally I find characters that express themselves well without dialog more appealing than those that just hammer out a load of script. Dog in Half-Life 2, the horse in Shadow of the Colossus, and the sims in Sims 3 are all examples of this. It seems that I don't get as irritated by repeating actions as I do with repetetive dialog, and maybe the lack of exposition makes it easier for me to invest a little of my own imagination in the character and create a bond that way.

Have you any examples of NPCs that are more than your average quest giver or item vendor, and can you define what made them seem more lifelike than the others?

Crazy, that's what makes a memorable game character for me. The Preacher in Half-life 2, Gary in Bully, Mostly everyone you encounter in a GTA game. They are all unhinged to some extent and that makes them all more instantly memorable.

You find the horse memorable? I hated that god damn thing.

Yeah the characters in GTA4 were pretty much all struggling with some personal demons, be they drugs, narcissism, bigotry, adultery and that gives Liberty City a vibe of hopelessness which is very affecting.

I'm not sure about Gary in Bully because I didn't play much of that, but the Preacher in HL2 is certainly affected by something in his past that he's not letting on, and maybe that's what all these characters have in common - what made them the way they are is left up to you to work out?

@PureRok: Sure, but only after completing the game. I hated the fucker all the way through because he'd scare so easily and kept running into walls. I was surprised that I cared so much about events later in the game. I guess you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone.

Memorable can be a lot of things to a lot of different people. They can invoke specific emotions, commonly awe or annoyance. They don't necessarily have to speak, but it helps, as the right voice is what makes some characters memorable. Some characters are memorable simply because they are just really, really annoying. Some characters are memorable because of the part they play in the story of the game, not really because of their characteristics.

I think that creative dialog that is both familiar and unexpected do well to shape a memorable character.  I suggest KOTOR's HK-47 as an example.  This droid's dialog fit being both a robot and an assassin, but the delivery was hilarious just the same.  If HK-47 had been just another human, then he wouldn't have been nearly as entertaining.  It was the combination of his robotness and his violent tendencies that made him stand out.    I think that humor goes a long way to making a character memorable, as well, partly because humor is so hard to achieve in video games.  Another example of this is GLaDOS from Portal.  Like HK-47, her delivery is unexpected but not jarringly so.  At no point during the game does the player think, "well that was out of character." 

A mustache. It worked wonders for Mario and Price

Brucie from GTA4, everyone wanted more of him.

Final Fantasy have a habit of producing some good memorable characters (except for FF12.)

Aigis from Persona 3 always stands out to me. An android that becomes more human as the game progresses, it's really engaging.

" I think that creative dialog that is both familiar and unexpected do well to shape a memorable character.  I suggest KOTOR's HK-47 as an example.  This droid's dialog fit being both a robot and an assassin, but the delivery was hilarious just the same.  If HK-47 had been just another human, then he wouldn't have been nearly as entertaining.  It was the combination of his robotness and his violent tendencies that made him stand out.    I think that humor goes a long way to making a character memorable, as well, partly because humor is so hard to achieve in video games.  Another example of this is GLaDOS from Portal.  Like HK-47, her delivery is unexpected but not jarringly so.  At no point during the game does the player think, "well that was out of character."  "

" A mustache. It worked wonders for Mario and Price "

What makes a memorable game character? The answer is in the question.

" @Insectecutor:

I think that a robot's lack of emotion is actually another form of personality.  If a droid expressed the entire range of human emotion then their unique roboticism would be lost.  From Aigis of Persona 3 to any of the other various robots in fiction seeking to become human or understand humanity, their separation from being human provides a tested basis for character development.  Like a child, they grow and offer the player a chance to use them as a mirror to question larger human issues.  Because they are child-like in these circumstances, we, as players, are more forgiving of their blankness.  However, repeating lines of dialog over and over is not afforded a pass for them any more than it would be for any other character.  That's either a limitation of the game's budget or technical specs.

As far wooden animation applied to the presentation of a robot in games, I think we give that pass to all non-familiar creatures.  If a human's represention on screen seems wrong, it's because we know how a person should move.  The same is true of dogs, cats, horses, and a multitude of other real life animals.  But, on the other hand, how a Snorlax or Jabberwocky moves is not known, so anything somewhat related to a known animal is accepted.  I think it's easier for us to accept Godzilla moving around in a particular manner than King Kong because we know how gorillas (giant or not) move. "

" A mustache. It worked wonders for Mario and Price "