Character Design and Animation in RPG-Based Games: A Comprehensive Review of Traditional and AI-Driven Pipelines

Role-playing games (RPGs) rely on character systems as the primary interface between narrative, player agency, and gameplay mechanics. Unlike static visual assets, RPG characters must preserve identity across customization, animation, equipment variation, and long-term progression. This paper presents a comprehensive review of character design and animation pipelines in RPG-based games, integrating perspectives from visual identity construction, motion synthesis, and AI-assisted generation workflows. The review synthesizes foundational studies on shape language, avatar representation, and expressive animation with recent advancements in generative artificial intelligence, including diffusion models, generative adversarial networks (GANs), dialogue-based editing systems, and speech-driven facial animation. The analysis highlights a transition from manual, artist-driven workflows toward hybrid pipelines where AI supports ideation, parameter editing, sprite generation, and animation synthesis. However, significant challenges remain, including weak semantic controllability, lack of identity preservation across transformations, inconsistencies between stylized and realistic character pipelines, and the absence of unified frameworks integrating design, rigging, and animation. This paper identifies these gaps and proposes future directions toward unified, human-in-the-loop character pipelines that ensure scalability, controllability, and consistency in next-generation RPG systems.