Game Design

A few weeks ago, a promotional trailer was released for Brothers in Arms 2. It’s interesting from more than a marketing perspective because it reveals many challenges that should be familiar to developers working on first-person shooters. A big thanks goes to Remco Straatman for pointing out some of these issues and the […]

This week’s developer discussion on AiGameDev.com focuses on a favorite topic of Dave Mark — the AI guru at Intrinsic Algorithm. Let him know what you think about the ideas in his article by posting a comment below!

Back when I was young, when games were played with paper and pencil, a “die roll” actually […]

Weekends at AiGameDev.com are dedicated to rounding up smart links from the web. This week there are a bunch of great blog posts, Flash demos and videos of Google Talk lectures.
This post is brought to you by Novack and Alex Champandard. If you have any news or tips for next week, be sure to […]

If you’ve come here for a humorous collection of pseudo-quotes from a variety game development projects, then you’re probably in the right place! Also expect to find a list of excuses you can reuse and apply straight into your studio — whether you need to buy yourself some time, offload the workload to someone […]

This week’s developer discussion is based on a topic introduced by Dave Mark, the behavioral mathematics wizard behind Intrinsic Algorithm. Let him know if you find smart mistakes in his post by commenting below!

Since I began writing this column for AiGameDev.com a month ago, Alex and I have occasionally spent an amusingly large amount […]

This easter weekend at AiGameDev.com, we’ve rounded up many Smart Links from around the web, including reviews and their analysis, useful white papers, and news tidbits to keep you informed about anything relating to artificial intelligence in games.
This roundup is brought to you by Novack and Alex Champandard. If you have any news or tips […]

To build AI logic, game developers use a variety of different techniques depending on their preferences and the problem at hand. It’s interesting to note, however, that the overall architecture and methodology they use is often similar. Indeed, good techniques are often reinvented and great ideas spread fast in the games industry.
This week’s […]

This week’s developer discussion at AiGameDev.com is based on an article originally titled “Not Now… I’m Thinking! Using Human Reaction Times to Build Better AI Responses” written by Dave Mark from Intrinsic Algorithm. Be sure to let him know you can take fast action by posting a comment below!

As AI algorithms get more complicated […]

This article was written by Dave Mark, CEO and designer at Intrinsic Algorithm. Let him know what you think and post a comment below!

With this week’s discussion, I am tapping back into the outflow of the 2008 Game Developers Conference. One of the lectures, “Playing to Lose: AI and Civilization,” was given by Soren Johnson, […]

Three weeks ago, AiGameDev.com hosted a discussion sponsored by 2K Boston, developers of BioShock and currently hiring Senior AI Programmers. Read on to find out who won signed copies of their latest game!
John Abercrombie, who was the Lead AI Programmer on BioShock, has picked the two most interesting comments of the previous discussion on […]

This week’s developer discussion on AiGameDev.com is sponsored by 2K Boston, formerly Irrational Games, who developed BioShock and S.W.A.T. 4 — among others. The studio is looking for Senior AI Programmers (and people for other positions too), so if you feel you’re qualified be sure to contact them!
John Abercrombie, who was the Lead AI […]

Planners are certainly getting more popular in game studios these days, but there’s still a very long way to go before developers reach the same level of understanding as for traditional scripted systems. One area in particular that causes problems is dealing with dynamic situations.
Tobe Mayr, a former colleague and designer at Rockstar, wrote […]

This article looks into the publicly available SDK for Half-Life 1, analyzing the various aspects of the AI such as the task scheduling system, its state-machine like implementation, and the sensory system. Even ten years later, looking into the codebase of this critically acclaimed game is a great way to learn about designing simple but effective AI systems.

Saturdays at AiGameDev.com are dedicated to rounding up Smart Links from around the web. This week isn’t as busy as last week, but there were some great annoucements! Be sure to contact me if you have any news or tips for next week.
Remember there’s a mini-blog over at news.AiGameDev.com (RSS) with game […]

AiGameDev.com is looking for sponsors to provide prizes (e.g. books, T-Shirts, software, games) for the best contributions to its weekly developer discussions. If you’re interested in trying this out for a month, don’t hesitate to contact me.

For most game developers, whether working in AAA studios or on independent games, finding a balance between design […]

2008 is really getting into the swing now; there’s a torrent of Smart Links for you this week, as well as a few jobs. Be sure to contact me if you have any news or tips for next week!
Remember there’s a mini-blog over at news.AiGameDev.com (RSS) with game AI news from the web […]

On this first Saturday of the new year, there are some really good Smart Links for you, including some multi-media entertainment. Be sure to contact me if you have any news or tips for next week!
Remember there’s a mini-blog over at news.AiGameDev.com (RSS) with game AI news from the web as it happens.

This blog, Game AI for Developers (RSS), is only 7 months old so this isn’t quite a normal yearly review. However, there have been lots of great articles nevertheless — almost enough to fill a book! It was difficult picking the posts to feature, but here’s a selection based on raw traffic, number […]

Wednesdays on AiGameDev.com is dedicated to tutorials. This article continues the long-running series which focuses on building simple dog behaviors for a simulation game.
At this stage, the decision making process is in place, but it’s based on random decisions instead of taking into account any information from the world. This, in effect, is […]

jjacobsson asks about behavior trees: “What is the root conceptually? How does it deal with events? Is the tree evaluated from the root down to a leaf often / all the time?”
The first thing to note is that behavior trees are rather flexible, so they can be applied in a variety of different ways. […]

This developer discussion is about reusable AI, including the underlying engine and the logic itself. Does using middleware, or even sharing AI scripts and data across different games mean that they become mass-produced simulations without a soul?

This Saturday, there are ten interesting Smart Links for you about game development and artificial intelligence! Feel free to contact me if you have any news or tips for next week.
Remember there’s a mini-blog (RSS) which gets updated with game AI news from the web as it happens!

I’ll be in France on the 3rd and 4th of December at the Lyon GDC, giving a talk on using behavior trees for AI logic. There’s a surprisingly large number of game AI sessions generally, so it should be especially interesting for regular AiGameDev.com readers. Coverage will follow over the next couple of […]

If you’re interested in the idea of profiling and modeling player behaviors for better gameplay, then you may want to help out with Ben Cowley’s current Ph.D. research. He’s looking for volunteers to download and play a few games of Pacman. The data will be used to find correlations between playing styles and […]

This Saturday, there are five interesting Smart Links for you about game development and artificial intelligence! Feel free to contact me if you have any news or tips for next week.
Remember there’s a mini-blog over at news.AiGameDev.com (RSS) with game AI news from the web as it happens!

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 […]

Everyone makes mistakes. From the seasoned veterans on big budget titles to the independent developers working on their first game, some slipups are more costly than others. In most cases though, there’s something to learn from!
Here’s your chance to share your wisdom to help others avoid the same pitfalls, or write down […]

Halo is not only one of the best-selling game franchise of all time, but it has become a landmark in the first-person shooter genre. Thanks to Bungie’s openness, developers on the projects have been able to share their insights in the creation of the game and technology, which has influenced the whole industry significantly over the years.

This Saturday, there are lots of interesting Smart Links for you about game development and artificial intelligence! Also, a few job opportunities have opened up for those who are interested. Feel free to contact me if you have any news or tips for next week!
Remember there’s a mini-blog over at news.AiGameDev.com (RSS) […]

In the 1970s, the roboticist Masahiro Mori speculated about a threshold of realism up to which humans empathize with robots. However, when the robot’s appearance and movement improve beyond that, humans are repulsed instead. This problem is known as the Uncanny Valley. But as the realism increases further, reactions slowly match human […]

F.E.A.R. advances the state-of-the-art of first-person shooters (FPS); not only is it highly entertaining, but it has been praised for its innovations in artificial intelligence. This article looks at the planning technology in detail, the design behind it, and how the behaviors are pieced together at runtime.

Picture a rockstar waving a guitar right in front of the amplifier. That’s how most people cringe internally when anyone mentions they have feedback. It’s no surprise frankly; most developers suck at giving feedback. If you’ve heard the words “constructive criticism” or “playing devil’s advocate” then chances are your team could use […]

What percentage of meetings do you come out of thinking “that was extremely useful”? Whether they’re about design or technology, meetings are often a waste of time! If only it was easier to allow everyone to participate while keeping the discussion down to a minimum… That’s where the decider protocol comes in.

SimGolf is a simulation game where you play the role of a golf course designer and part-time professional golfer. The experience is not only fun, but it also answers some interesting questions about the role artificial intelligence plays in the process of designing levels…

The best games are made of great ideas, many of which can be scary at first. Yet many developers hold back their ideas, while others aren’t very receptive to suggestions. By improving the flow of scary ideas, you have a better chance of finding great ideas among them.
This article introduces the ScaryIdea protocol […]

At the base of any game AI system, you’ll find actions and conditions. They’re not only the interface to the virtual world, but also the foundations of the whole logic.
Looking at an AI system from this perspective makes things a lot simpler when designing the system, because it helps you focus on the […]

At the top, you have a vision of the design. At the bottom, there are resources you can use to create behaviors: animations, sounds, voice audio, etc. Naturally, making a great AI involves finding the best balance between the two, but how do you approach it?
Bottom-Up
The bottom up approach is very pragmatic. […]

Games require behaviors that adapt to the player — otherwise they’d just be simulations. Typically, at the mention of the word “adaptation,” most developers think of machine learning (ML). However, even the more advanced AI designs can be implemented without runtime learning.

Finite state machines (FSM) work well for linear control, as only one state is active at the same time. That’s what they’re intended for, so pretty quickly, your design starts to take advantage of this. Since only one state runs at any moment, the FSM becomes a resource allocation strategy — deciding […]

Creating artificial intelligence for computer games is a multi-disciplinary enterprise: design to create a vision for the behaviors that fits into the overall gameplay, to establish an architecture for actor AI and create the content incrementally; programming to create a framework for decision making, implement engine interfaces and basic abilities like path-finding.

What Are You […]

Most useful programming languages implement conditionals; they look like if or switch statements — and sometimes lookup tables. In the context of AI behaviors, a selector does the same thing by picking one of its child behaviors to run.

A selector based on probabilities, with three child behaviors.

In the previous article, you learnt how […]

Sequences of behaviors may be nothing new, but they are very powerful. For decades, programmers have been assembling statements together as instructions that run one after the other. For game AI, it makes even more sense:

It’s such a simple idea that everyone understands it very quickly: from designers to testers, including producers!
Sequences […]

During his keynote speech at Apply AI Innovations 2007 conference this week, Peter Molyneux delivered an interactive demo of Fable 2’s dog to an audience of game developers and AI enthusiasts. The dog was introduced at GDC in March this year, but more exclusive details about the dog itself emerged in London — including how the dog’s artificial intelligence works.

In game design, behaviors are concurrent if they are active within the world at the same logical time. Typically, this implies that your actors can do multiple things at once.
Note: Traditionally, in computer science, two tasks are concurrent if they are running simultaneously on the hardware. Now, you can still implement concurrent […]

Cast your thoughts back a few years… Picture the Yahoo! Directory, with many categories but all submissions get pigeonholed, clumsy browsing and no search, let alone a way to subscribe. This structure didn’t work so well in the end did it? Still, that’s what most game developers use every day to organize […]