To put it this way, without playing against bots, I don't think I would learn how to play against play video games in the first place. I mean, you learn better when you play against other players, because you can easily find different people trying out so many varieties of play styles, it makes playing games more interesting. So where does the A.I. in games fit in? Are they just fodder or something much more?
Well, somewhere really in-between, because they still exist to cater for single-player experiences played by so many people, from both major game releases to indie titles. How they're designed, and keep the players engaging, are key factors for their being in games.
A.I. in today's modern games are kind of a joke, but there are so many games out there, that not every one of them falls into that archetype. So many games that are moving forward with advancing tech, including with machine learning that helps to make the A.I. in games more dynamic, and keeps the games more interesting, having to do with different behaviors and patterns to read, while adapting based on how they change tactics.
To be clear, though, we're still far behind on what makes A.I. games really challenging and invigorating enough to keep people invested in the game loop. There are a lot of reasons to help with these advancements, since people not only play games for recreational reasons, but also to be smarter and create more brain skills while keeping the dopamine feed going.
It's 2022, and we're super deep into A.I. based tech, that some speculate a decade from now, we might get self-driven cars across half of the world, and that it'll become a readily available mode of transportation fully prepared for anything. With so many tech companies investing into this venture, we'll see a lot more of it into video games as well. So I want to take a look into their history and where they could go from now.
Understanding The Main Principles
Halo: Combat Evolved, for example, has its A.I. designed to fit their designated personalities. Grunts are fodders, Jackals use defense, Elites are group leaders and strongest of all, and Brutes just similar to elites but are more aggressive and can pin you down. At the time, their design was inspired by Doom 2, but in a more 3D space.
Halo keeps the game interesting by throwing a different variety of enemies in every level, sometimes you'll encounter Elites of different ranks whom either carry swords or can cloak. Then at times, you'll deal with Hunters whom are mini-bosses, just as aggressive as the brutes but lack mobility. They're supposed to mimic the personalities of each race of the covenants, acting together to eliminate the threat, threat being Master Chief. Not every game does this well, imbuing personality of A.I. based on lore and narrative. Bungie perfected this for years, including in the Destiny series.
But then there are games like F.E.A.R., and Left 4 Dead. Fear had GOAP (Goal Oriented Action Planning) A.I., way it works is that the enemy soldiers, once they realize your presence, they will use every tactic needed to take you down. They function like actual soldiers, they'll scream your location, start flanking you behind, shoot you in different formations and will suppress you down before going for the kill. Not to mention, they function as hyperactive military personnel.
Left 4 Dead controls a huge wave of A.I. zombies, using an unseen director A.I. that decides when to let the undead strike. It's large situational, and finds a way to create tension and excitement for the player by appropriately throwing enemies when it can. Zombies are dumb, but face them in waves and clearing them becomes a hassle. Then there are the special types that lurk around in every bit of the map. Both games have complex written A.I. with unique traits given, working in full effect to make sure someone like me stays focused and ready.
Compared to Halo, these games have A.I. that are complex written code and have depth to them alongside added personalities. You're not paying much attention to this, long as you're having fun, but it's really intriguing when you dive in to understand how all this works.
The last example I'll use is Alien: Isolation. This is a horror game, where you can't engage with the threat infront most of the time. So the A.I. being the alien itself, uses your paranoia and isolation to take you out. These creatures have always had this sense of mystique from the early films, and the game does a great job of emulating it in a game such as this. Every encounter feels unpredictable.
Playing all these games growing up, helped improved our perception and thinking skills in the real world. Even ones that involve lateral thinking. Though it's a shame now, because they've been turned into just normal target practice without adding some real sense of urgency within AAA games. I hope in time that changes, because I could see the future going for things much bigger than what we got here.
What Went Wrong And Can Be Done Right
When you Google the term "machine learning", you'd get all kinds of results. Indicative of how much far the interest for artificial intelligence has gone to. Largely for real life applications. Where the video games come in are more interesting. Blizzard worked with DeepMind to help create a toolbox to test the A.I. in Starcraft 2.
The interest for adaptive A.I. has now gone to mostly indie games. Games that are low on budget, but create the best design possible in order for their games to sell. But with software availability and recent updates, they can test their designs in many other ways before implementing to the final product. Mostly Roguelites, and some simulation games.
Middle Earth: Shadow of War is a great example of taking something like the nemesis system and taking it further by making a siege gameplay system around it. Nemesis is well known for creating a different variety of orc opponents, including leader types. A brilliant design made by Monolith Productions, whom have also worked on the F.E.A.R. series.
Today's FPS like Battlefield and Far Cry has terribly regressed with some of the most anemic, and barely functional A.I. that fails to give the player any sense of challenge or urgency to clear out. They're just there to be shot at, and barely portrays anything even remotely human.
Machine learning A.I. aren't close to being implemented in the majority of games, but given time, with how procedural generation is becoming the norm, it will. I am sure. If other markets can adopt this, then so can the gaming industry, and I believe for a lot more interesting reasons too. Sid Meiers would even agree.
I am hoping soon, there comes a day when you're picking difficulty settings, the A.I. is where it substantially differentiates and not just stats. I yearn for the day that challenging design is what keeps me playing single-player modes, or online modes involving PvE. Maybe even racing games with less rubber banding. Till then, might have to wait for that to come, if the future doesn't turn grim.
Did you enjoy reading this? I want to do more essays on gaming philosophies and designs. Look forward to another week of more content.