I think gross movement patterns and sound effects should be enough to convey an NPC's attitude without the need for glowing (though by all means include that too if it adds something). A fearful creature will flee the player or whimper if cornered, a curious one will turn to face him and perhaps make some neutral noises, and an aggressive one will growl or perhaps pounce on the player.

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Original post by Robin S I think gross movement patterns and sound effects should be enough to convey an NPC's attitude without the need for glowing (though by all means include that too if it adds something). A fearful creature will flee the player or whimper if cornered, a curious one will turn to face him and perhaps make some neutral noises, and an aggressive one will growl or perhaps pounce on the player.

It's a good idea but movement could be hard to see in very dark places. For example, you are near some monster, but not near enough for him to see you. Probably you will not even notice that there is a monster. I think that creature should make some sounds, even when it didn't see you, just to warn the player that something is lurking in the darkness.

Don't missunderstood me, sound will be in and it will support all this.That's not the matter, but sound will be only in a support role. On the other hand I want to include a visual way of communicating the state/mood of a creature.

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It will be much easier for the player to interpret if dangerous creatures glow red, for instance, as we tend to associate red with danger. Similarly, a creature that glows blue/green/white would immediately convey to me that a creature is alert, but not aggressive.

My attempt was to use a color with high contrast compared to the environment. I will try to use special colors to indicate certain moods/states.