What Makes Good AI?

Want more detail on video game AI? Then check out this video on Shadow of Mordor's Nemesis System: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lm_AzK27mZY - And this one on the autonomy system from The Sims - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gf2MT-IOsg

* Two guards in Skyrim sitting by a bonfire * Me: Kills one with an arrow The second guard: "Must have been the wind"

13:46 "You thought it was a jar of chemicals, but it was I, GORDON!!!"

I had never really considered that "good AI" and "smart AI" would be different. I guess it depends on the game/situation whether they are the same thing or not.

"In a game, a patroling guards goal isnt to find the player. Its to provide interesting gameplay." Truest of words.

The amount of source material on your description deserves a shout-out, holy shit. Thanks for the good work

You're approaching a great balance between 'serious, informative' and 'lighthearted, funny' with the small gags and jokes here and there, I'm loving it. It keeps my mind from wanting to zone out after a long stretch of straight info.

It's like in a movie where, when you analyze how the battle was won from a third, uninvolved perspective, you realize that the reason the hero won was just that the enemies didn't attack to their full extent.

Subnautica, the AI is amazing because of its ability to instill terror instead of fear by acting like a true predator. Stalking, watching, fleeing when the loss out weighs the gain, being territorial and being less like an enemy, and more like an obstacle.

FEAR always amazes me about how the AI reacts. Especially for a decade + old game. Especially when compared to modern shooters like BF or CoD 1. They notice flashlights 2. They scan the room, when their head turns to you you’re spotted 3. They use ordinary objects as cover (they flip tables and chairs for cover!) 4. They toss grenades when you’re in a tight area or cornered 5. They FAKE DEATH! 6. They change position as soon as you look away to reload 7. They swarm you from different angles/sight lines 8. Did I mention they feign death? Never have a played a shooter where I really felt hunted but not powerless

FEAR really really impressed me. I had mentally counted the number of enemies I killed and one was missing so I began searching for him. Turns out that he had went the long way around and was pursuing me from behind, and then he shot me in the back. Another game that impressed me was Killzone 2. If you shoot enemies they take cover, and if you keep shooting they don't pop up and shoot. Instead they lift their guns above the cover and fire blindly in the direction they think you are in. If you stop firing they quickly check by popping out their heads. So what I did was that I sprinted around a bunch of junk and came up beside the guy. He still turned around and checked behind himself to see if I was still there. Then he turned his head towards me and stated "SHIT." A third example is in Crysis, the most tense and immersive fight I ever had in an FPS. There is this small cemetry in the forest where you are supposed to extract. Yet in this area there are four enemies with nanosuits, sniper rifles and SMGs. In case you are unaware of what this means, they are invisible and once you shoot them they switch to armour. Taking a whole magazine of bullets without dropping. But since I was already aware of them being in the area I cloaked and snuck towards the place. Lying beneath a bush and trying to spot the camoflaged enemies through the damp mist. Occasionally I could see someone in the distance, sitting as their nanosuit regained its energy. More often I heard their footsteps but couldn't see them. If you make any noise they begin to quitely track you down. And if you are revealed you can expect fire from all direction and die. It probably took over an hour as I tried to sneak closer and closer to an individual enemy, then broke stealth and emptied a magazine of incendiary ammo into one. Then stealthed as I snuck away to hide under another bush. One by one, bush and tree, step by step until I had found every single one. This enemy was intelligent and had the proper tools to fight you on equal terms. It was terrifying and enjoyable.

Half-Life: just some soldier guys: “Target MUST BE ELIMINATED. Find, pursue, and destroy at all cost.” Doom: vicious, abominable monsters from the depths of space hell: “We’re all a bit shy, actually.”

Aaaand... there's NPCs who walk slower than player's running but faster than walking in escort missions. Developers designed this WILL go to gaming hell.

You made this episode just so you could talk about Chicken Boning, calling it.

"predictability" Ye, civ5 does not have it. Japan: "hi wanna be my friend." Me: "sure thing." 5 turns later. Japan: "THIS IS WAR!" Me: "ok?" Japan doesn't send any armies the whole duration of the war, so I just keep my borders safe just in case. War ends. Japan: "Imma tell everyone you cannot be trusted." Me: "..." 5 turns later. Japan: "hey wanna be my friend?"

"Enemy - looks at player" "Enemy - move forward" Developer - Is this the Artificial Intelligence?

my life just changed when i realized you can rob people in skyrim like that

In Bioshock infinite it makes total sense that Elizabeth is "invincible". The enemy has a motive to keep her alive.

Thief: The Dark Project doesn't get nearly enough credit for its contributions to AI advancement. It basically invented the AI for stealth games as we've come to know it (reacting to light & sound, barks, etc.)

I know you mentioned Rain World, but that game really does have great AI. It doesn't feel so much like you're just trying to make your way through the game, it feels like you're struggling to survive in a living, breathing ecosystem