Essential Linkage: How AI in games works.
Designing a good Artificial Intelligence (AI) for a game is a tricky job, and more often than not you'll be noticed more for the AI you do poorly than the one you do exceptionally well.
As games become increasingly lifelike-looking, gamers are demanding an AI that is both challenging and realistic - we don't want a soldier who knows where we are in the map no matter what, nor do we want an RTS opponent to sit there in their base immobile and wait for their impending doom.
Really we're a picky bunch, but the good news is that games developers know that - and they've a vested interest in making a great engine as well as a fun AI.
We noticed that Bit-Tech had done a story on just this AI problem, eight whole pages covering Dawn of War II, Empire: Total War and F.E.A.R 2, and thanks to our love for you readers we figured we'd give you a heads-up.
Really very interesting, and it shows how the AI will see the world - it's nothing like the world in the game that you get to see.
Head over thar and give it a read and who knows? Maybe one day we'll get a truly sentient opponent in a computer game...
Issue: 107 | December, 2009