It was all about mastering levels and beating the high scores, being predictable, and having pre-established difficulty levels.
Nowadays, with the rise of artificial intelligence, video games have become a whole world, where you enter and become a character – sometimes literally. In fact, if you’re a Gen Z, there is a chance that your first interaction with artificial intelligence was through a video game – even if you didn’t realize it. There is no question about it - AI has revolutionized the gaming industry, even more so in the last decade!
Think about Minecraft, FIFA, and The Last of Us. In all of them, artificial intelligence is needed to create a realistic virtual world and create non-playable characters (NPCs) to act and interact realistically with our players. I, for one, was taken aback to see how advanced the NPCs were in Rockstar Games’ 2018 masterpiece, Red Dead Redemption 2.
In this day and age, games can’t go far without artificial intelligence, and that’s a fact. It’s a technology that is present in all stages of game production – from creating the story and the timelines to the gameplay mechanics, to the level design. And it has reached levels that were unimaginable 20 years ago. I don’t even want to think about what NPCs will be like in GTA VI or Elder Scrolls VI. Maybe we will feel like talking and interacting with a real human being. We’ll just have to wait and see. But one thing’s certain - artificial intelligence is catching a lot of streams in the gaming industry (no pun intended).
NPCs play a critical role in making the game feel more alive and immersive.
Think of NPCs as the supporting cast in a film or television series. We are taking care of our players, while there are also other characters, these NPCs that are interacting with us, making it seem as if there is another human being at the end of the line, but in reality, they are just powered by AI. These technologies make it possible for us to immerse ourselves in those dynamic environments.
Most of the time, NPCs employ artificial intelligence in a villain form to pose a great threat to the player. Think about Dark Souls. The game is widely known for its bosses. Why? If you have never played the game - they have complex fighting patterns and strategic intelligence. They will even evade, counter and even work together to kill you! Good luck with that.
But let’s go back to the example of Red Dead Redemption 2 as it uses AI not only for NPCs, but also for decision-making. In the game, NPCs go on about their everyday lives, whether it’s cutting wood, fishing, or caring for their farms. If you see a family building a house and visit the same spot in the following weeks, you’ll observe that they are making progress. It’s like their own little separate world and they are building it, regardless of what we do. And they also have distinct personalities, wants, and drives!
But NPCs also respond to your behavior that is manipulated by your decisions. If they observe you have done a crime, they will denounce you to the sheriff. This means that AI in gaming can easily create new content and change the storyline based on your decisions, develop environmental conditions, and even produce sounds or music automatically. In fact, if you’re still not amazed by the abilities that AI can integrate, Dan Houser, the creator of Red Dead Redemption 2 stated:
“Even the non-playable characters have 80-page scripts – each.”
Apparently, the game has around 500.000 lines of dialogue, with each NPC having 80-page scripts. But that’s what makes this game feel so real. And it’s all because of artificial intelligence!
These are just single-player examples. It is quite another thing to integrate artificial intelligence into multiplayer games.
Look at Overwatch, for example. The popular team-based shooter employs AI to provide players with an immersive and challenging experience. Each playable hero has distinct powers and personality - which are brought to life through the game’s sophisticated artificial intelligence.
You can even play a game mode against AI-powered enemies. Just like in any other shooter, by the way. The technology is not yet developed to pose a threat to every difficulty. If you go by the easy difficulty against “bots” in Counter Strike Global Offensive, they all follow the same agenda and gameplay. The AI is predictable and easy to defeat.
Going more in-depth, AI can be used in multiplayer games to assist players during difficult battles. In “Destiny”, players can summon an AI companion to fight alongside them. It’s a great feature - as it allows players to complete challenging missions. And as in single-player games - adding artificial intelligence into the mix will make every game more realistic and immersive. Look at “Sea of Thieves” for instance. AI-controlled ships are everywhere in the world, ready to pose a threat to the players. The AI in the game also controls the weather and sea creatures’ behavior.
What can we understand from this? It’s simple. Employing artificial intelligence in multiplayer games is way more difficult than in single-player.
So, the next time you sit down to play your favorite game, take a moment to appreciate the artificial intelligence that makes it all possible. It’s an incredible moment to be a gamer, and artificial intelligence is just one of the many fascinating innovations that are making gaming more interesting and pleasurable than ever before.
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