Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence is a concept that appears in 877 games
Artificial Intelligence, or AI, commonly refers to the programmed behaviors of NPCs in a game, whether it's the fact that a soldier takes cover behind a wall in Gears of War, or that townspeople cheer upon your arrival to their village in Fable.
Overview
Artificial intelligence in video games is not the real academic view of A.I. Game A.I. consists of scripted data driven algorithms that have predetermined data entering the system causing scripted responses in a controlled world. Video game A.I. is not about intelligence, it's about creating a realistic and fun experience. That said, game A.I. has matured into one of the pillars of modern game development. The quality of the A.I. can make or break a game.
A Brief History
Goldeneye's AI Baddies
Pac-Man is one of the early games that showcased good A.I. which consisted of four A.I. ghosts, each with different behaviors. Early FPS A.I. in games like Doom and Wolfenstein 3D consisted of NPC s that would either walk toward the player with guns blazing or stay at their post as they shot at the player. Goldeneye 007 for the N64 is a good example of A.I.'s evolution. The NPCs would duck and even dive for cover. They would throw grenades to flush the player out, and blind-fire around corners. The issue was that the NPCs knew the player's location at all times, even if the player was out of the line of sight. The NPCs were programmed to play blind until the character crosses this line.
Game A.I. has improved considerably in this modern era, but A.I. exploits still exist in most games today.
Types of Game A.I.
Scripting - Without question the most used game A.I. used to day. Think of it as an "If... then..." statement. If the player ducks behind a wall, wait four seconds and throw a grenade.
Random Scripting - A type of scripting that adds more variety to gameplay. Think "If... then... or..." If the player ducks behind a wall, wait four seconds and throw a grenade, or rush the wall guns blazing, or find higher ground and cover to shoot over the wall."
Behavioral or Character Based Scripting - Random scripting with character types. If a soldier NPC is deemed defensive its likelihood of doing a particular action could be tweaked as 25% of grenade attacks, 5% of rushing, 70% of taking cover. If the NPC is aggressive, 40 % grenade attachs, 45% of rushing, 20% of taking cover. Character based scripting is often adjusted throughout game balancing.
Situational Awareness - An advanced trait of A.I. scripting that improves a player's sense of immersion. By making scripted actions appear more dynamic and realistic, it adds a dimension of believability. Examples may be subtle effects like brushing a hand along a wall while walking past it, or more complex problem-solving behaviors like an NPC escaping from a trap set by the player using objects in the game environment.
Pathfinding - Getting an NPC from point A to B. 3D terrain and cover are huge A.I. dilemmas in modern A.I. programming. You also have to keep in account where the player is, is he firing, should the NPC fire when he moves, or go as fast as possible. Then at the end, did that look real. Scripting tells the NPC where "B" is Pathfinding gets him there.
Emergent - Where the game actually learns from your actions. Black & White and Nintendogs are good examples (although Nintendogs is pretty scripted).
Rubber Banding - Is a nickname A.I. that's used to boost the competitive feel of the game. In a racing game when the A.I. is slipping behind, the NPC driver receives speed boosts and better handling unavailable to the player to remain competitive. It increases tension. Burnout and Mario Kart both use rubber banding in races to keep them competitive. This is not exclusive to driving games. It's used in many sports games or skill based games.
Artificial Intelligence games
Edit
General Information
Edit
| Concept Name: | Artificial Intelligence |
| Appears in: | 877 games |
| First appearance: | Pong |
| Aliases |
A.I. AI Arty |
Top Rated Lists
Create a list
My Favorite Things In Video Games
a list of 28 items by Psykhophear
Antagonistic Technology
a list of 10 items by slowbird
Things that I love
a list of 150 items by drayco90
Top Editors
-
maimran91
113 points
- JakeB 99 points
- Dib9394 92 points
- gabha 86 points
- Brontes_Muse 79 points
