Preview of Emergence in Games (Book)

A new book on artificial intelligence and game design is due to come out in the next few weeks. Using examples and case studies, the book shows how to apply emergent principles in game design — in particular using modern AI techniques. It’s written by Penny Sweetser, who worked as a designer on Medieval II: Total War. She also researched emergent techniques in games for her Ph.D. thesis at the University of Queensland.

The reason for mentioning it now is that Amazon.com has a 35% discount. So if you order now, you can get the book at only $32.99, plus another 5% pre-order bonus. For those in the UK, Amazon.co.uk has the book at 10% discount for £21.63. The price typically reverts back to normal once the book is out, so you’d pay the full $49.99 in a few weeks. (The book is scheduled for late November.)

Thanks to Dave Mark for the tip. Feel free to send in anything relating to game AI by the way!

About the Author

Penny Sweetser is one of the few Australia-based game developers who specializes in artificial intelligence. She has an academic background, doing research into artificial life and computational intelligence, which are common themes in her publications. Penny has contributed to the AI Game Programming Wisdom series of books, with articles on environmental awareness, neural networks and genetic algorithms notably. Currently, Penny works as a designer at the Creative Assembly, the studio behind the amazing Total War franchise.

Here’s her official biography on the book:

“Penny Sweetser completed her Ph.D. in computer science on the topic ‘An Emergent Approach to Game Design - Development and Play.’ She has contributed to various books, journals and international conference on games. She has been working for the game developer, The Creative Assembly, as a game designer for the last two years, recently releasing the AAA title, Medieval 2: Total War. She previously lectured and researched at the University of Queensland, in the areas of game design, artificial intelligence and user-centered design.”

Find out more, including some publications, at EmergenceInGames.com.

Book Description

The book’s material is based on Penny’s Ph.D. thesis, which covers emergence in games as its primary topic. Here’s the official description:

“The future direction of game development is towards more flexible, realistic, and interactive game worlds. However, current methods of game design do not allow for anything other than pre-scripted player exchanges and static objects and environments. An emergent approach to game development involves the creation of a globally designed game system that provides rules and boundaries for player interactions, rather than prescribed paths.

Emergence in Games provides a detailed foundation for applying the theory and practice of emergence in games to game design. Emergent narrative, characters and agents, and game worlds are covered and a hands-on tutorial and case study allow the reader to the put the skills and ideas presented into practice.”

Other books in this series are not overly technical, so this one should be accessible to practically minded designers with some knowledge of AI.

Table of Contents

Here’s the outline of the book itself:

• Chapter 1 — Introduction to Emergence

• Chapter 2 — Playing Games

• Chapter 3 — Emergence in Games

• Chapter 4 — Techniques for Emergence

• Chapter 5 — Emergent Narrative

• Chapter 6 — Game Worlds

• Chapter 7 — Characters and Agents

• Chapter 8 — Social Emergence

• Chapter 9 — Designing for Emergence

• Chapter 10 — Conclusion

If this sounds interesting to you, pre-order from Amazon.com it now to save 39% in total. In the UK, save 10% from Amazon.co.uk. Otherwise, stay tuned for the full review when the book comes out!