Artificial Intelligence And

Video Games

By Harshal Patil

Agenda

Introduction Importance Design Different game genres AI in typical FPS Future Scope Conclusion

WHAT THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS ALL ABOUT ?

Artificial Intelligence is about making computers able to perform thinking task that humans and animals are capable of.

This “Stuff” is not about making rules as it was in classical games(E.g. Board games) it’s all about obeying them strategically in order to defeat opponent.

INCREASING IMPORTANCE OF AI IN GAMES

Smartness and complexity of the game entirely depends on it’s underlying AI.

Modern users not only demanding extreme graphics, but also moderate level of opponent intelligence.

Hence Design and Development Of AI is becoming more and more significant.

SIMULATION OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR IMPOSSIBLE??

Simulation of actual human behavior would be extremely difficult if not possible.Quit often games give a perception of realityie: Games appear to have character who are much more “intelligent” than they actually are..

SO HOW DO THEY DO IT THEN??

STATE MACHINESSometimes non-player characters make decisions using state machines.

Each non-player character would have a certain number of states which it will go to when certain criteria are met.

As the intelligence of the characters increases the decision trees associated with their actions become more complex.

The core behavior of the NPCs are defined only by a few states. The remaining states are for rare circumstances.

State machines are inherently predictable to a certain degreeThere is a limit up to which the number of states can be increasedDefining the transitions between the states is a difficult task

DISADVANTAGES OF STATE MACHINES

Allows various characters on-screen to act uniquely.

A planning system makes a gaming character work out what it has to do in order to fulfill an objective.

In order to achieve a goal, the computer looks at the situation in which it wants to be, and then work backwards from it to calculate the best way of achieving the desired result.

THE PLANNING SYSTEM

Different game genres

Driving First Person Shooter(FPS) Real-Time Strategy(RTS) Sports

Adaptive avatar for driving

Separate game mode

Basis of all in-game AI

Basis of “dynamic” racing line

Drivatar

Two Phase Process:1. Pre-generate possible racing lines prior to the

race from a (compressed) racing table.2. Switch the lines during the race to add

variability. Compression reduces the memory needs per

racing line segment Switching makes smoother racing lines.

Drivatars: Main Idea

Segments a1 a2 a3 a4

Racing Table

Design

Execution Management

Strategy

MovementDecision Making

AI MODEL

PhysicsAnimation

Content Creation

Scripting

AI gets given processor time

Character AI

Group AIW

orld

Inte

rface

AI gets its information

The Racing Line Model

Minimal Curvature Line

FIRST PERSON SHOOTING GAMES(FPS)

FPS-type games implement layered structure of the AI system.

Navigating through the entirety of the space available to the NPCs makes the gaming experience more realisticTo address this issue something called “segments” are used.Segments are a series of points and links, which may or may not be on or attached to the navmesh.The AI is free to create paths using these segments just as it would on a normal navmesh.The planning system is used to combine different segments, thus creating paths in space where the characters can move in.The probable destinations of the moving characters are calculated in order to avoid collisionsHighly complicated programming involved

NAVIGATING THROUGH VOLUME

The NPCs keep checking their environments every 0.5 to 1 sec and respond to the changes using the planning systemChanges can be identified by using Navmeshesi.e.: Whenever rigid bodies are removed from the environment , their corresponding outlines are identified in the navmesh and the characters are made to respond accordingly.

HOW IT WORKS ??

The general mindset of gamers are changing...AI acceleration is being welcomed more than everAdvancements ?......After the state machines and the planning system , the next step is Online learning i.e.: Online chatbots such as Jabberwacky learn as a result of constant online input.(strategies , playing styles etc)

AI IN GAMES- WHERE NEXT?

Simulating actual human behaviour is very difficult and so games use various forms of trickery to give an impression of intelligent behaviour.The ultimate aim of AI is to improve the gaming experience and give a realistic feel to the game.Various methods including state machines, planning systems ,online learning etc are used to run and improve the AI.

CONCLUSION

THANK YOU…….