  This survey explores the burgeoning field of role-playing with language
models, focusing on their development from early persona-based models to
advanced character-driven simulations facilitated by Large Language Models
(LLMs). Initially confined to simple persona consistency due to limited model
capabilities, role-playing tasks have now expanded to embrace complex character
portrayals involving character consistency, behavioral alignment, and overall
attractiveness. We provide a comprehensive taxonomy of the critical components
in designing these systems, including data, models and alignment, agent
architecture and evaluation. This survey not only outlines the current
methodologies and challenges, such as managing dynamic personal profiles and
achieving high-level persona consistency but also suggests avenues for future
research in improving the depth and realism of role-playing applications. The
goal is to guide future research by offering a structured overview of current
methodologies and identifying potential areas for improvement. Related
resources and papers are available at
https://github.com/nuochenpku/Awesome-Role-Play-Papers.
