Why do characters in RPG's (Console games.) always move their limbs, even if they're just standing there?

Do you stand completely still all the time?
They can’t do that either.

What with invoking Satan with the wave of a finger or curing AID’s after one night at the motel, I don’t think they were going for realism much.

Sometimes this is to indicate that that unit hasn’t had their turn yet. That unit will stop moving once they no longer have any available actions. Obviously, not all games behave this way, but perhaps the convention of having the guys dance in place comes from that?

I think its to indicate that the character is living. As rangerr said people move in real life. It’s perhaps just more exaggerated for the earlier games as it was harder to be more subtle. And I guess the trend just sort of lasted to later games.

Subtlety is very hard to achieve in anything that is not reality. So in artwork, video games, tv shows, etc. often things that are easily noticed in reality must be exaggerated to be understood. A completely still video game character might be confused for statue. With the advancement of graphics though, more subtle indicators can now be used.

Everyone moves if they’re standing around for any length of time, nobody stands stock-still all the time (except for the guards outside Buckingham Palace). If you’re playing World of Warcraft and you leave your character standing around doing nothing, he will eventually start giving bored sighs. The Night Elf girls don’t yawn though – they sort of jump on the spot as though impatient to get moving. It makes their… well, you can see why Night Elf girls are popular with adolescent male players…

@brotherhume I agree. Try playing Fallout 1, every NPC stands still and it is very boring, confuseing, and sometimes you think they are statues!