Artificial Intelligence in Computer Games

Artificial Intelligence in Computer Games Işık Barış Fidaner

Purpose of Game AI Games involve interaction (with whom?)  We need 

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Challenging enemies like Deep Blue who won against Kasparov

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Believable characters like in a movie scripted on the run

AI roles and game genres Tactical enemies appear mainly in action games  Units and strategic opponents are main roles of a strategy game  Partner characters are important in role playing games (RPG)  Support characters are used in adventure games and RPGs 

Action games First were 2D games like platform games, shoot’em up  Then came 3D first person or third person shooter games 

First enemies were simple “monsters”  Then “bots” were created as a simulation of human players 

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Not all action games are “shooters”, e.g.

Thief is a “first person sneaker” game

Pacman (1980)

Silkworm (1989)

Wolfenstein 3D (1992)

Inside a monster’s mind

Thief (1998)

Counter-Strike Source (2004)

How do bots evaluate the map

Strategy Games First were turn based, like board games  Then, real time strategy games appeared  Two main roles 

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Strategic opponents Units

Civilization (1991)

How units find their path: A*

Age of Empires II (1999)

Formations of marching units

Strategic reasoning of your opponent

Reasoning under uncertainty

Artificial life Games that involve simulated living beings  In these games, creatures 

have simulated desires, feelings  try to meet their needs  sometimes learn from experience, or maybe they only seem to be 

SimCity (1989)

Creatures (1996)

The Sims (2000)

Dungeon Keeper (1997)

Black & White (2001)

B&W: The creature’s mind

Adventure and role playing games Support characters lead the player the way through the game’s story  An intelligent “support character” must 

be strictly consistent with the story  at the same time be flexible enough to give alternative responses to player’s different choices 

Fate of Atlantis (1992)

Grim Fandango (1998)