About the Book
Game AI Uncovered: Volume Four continues the series with another collection of chapters from twenty of the top game AI professionals and researchers, from around the world. Each chapter includes wisdom, ideas, tips and tricks that were used in the development of video games.
The techniques discussed in these pages cover the underlying development of a wide array of published titles, including Undisputed, Dirt, Grid, Wherewolf, Psychonauts 2, Hawken Reborn, and more.
Contained within this volume are insights that cover a host of different areas within game AI, including influence maps, possibilistic logic, utility AI, director AI, natural movement, stable reaction systems, believable villager NPCs, procedural generation of dungeons, crowd movement and flow fields, cooperative planners, combat pacing, the corridor map method, boss AI, and much more.
Beginners to the area of game AI, along with professional developers, will find a wealth of knowledge that will not only help in the development of their own games but will spark ideas for new approaches.
This volume includes chapters written by Dr Nuno Vicente Barreto, Steven Dalton, Matt Eland, David Guzman, Tobias Karlsson, Vincent Breton Kochanowski, Slavomir Krbyla, Dr Nic Melder, Alessia Nigretti, Víctor Portabella, Baptiste Rimetz, Shaun Reeves, Paul Roberts, Mateo Saldivar, Andrea Schiel, Dr Tommy Thompson, Marc Vassallicci, Rebecca Vessal, Braeden Warnick, and Yannick Richeux.
Table of Contents:
1. Blood, Sweat & Tiers: Driving Unique NPC Boxer Behaviour Using Tiered Strategies in Steel City Interactive’s Undisputed, 2. Under the Influence: Using Influence Maps to Drive Referee Positioning in Steel City Interactive’s Undisputed, 3. Procedural Generation of Dungeons, 4. Possibilistic Logic in Games, 5. Teaching AI Agents to Lie at Social Deduction Games, 6. Cooperative Planners in Real-Time Strategy Games, 7. Simplifying Utility AI Through Predefined Utility Curves, 8. Go with the Flow: Flow Fields - Beyond a Single Target, 9. NPCs That Feel Alive: Achieving Variety and Complexity with Limited Resources, 10. An Analysis of Rapid Iteration vs Prototyping for Building AI Systems, 11. The Corridor Map Method – A Different Approach to Pathfinding, 12. AI Director Pitfalls & How to Climb Out of Them, 13. Artificial Idiocy in Racing: The Mistake System of Codemasters’ Dirt and Grid, 14. A Beginner’s Guide to AI Character Design, 15. Systemic vs Scripted, 16. Beyond Basic Pathfinding: Natural NPC Movement, 17. Crafting Epic Boss Fights in Psychonauts 2, 18. The Lurker: A Monster That Can Walk Upside Down, 19. Using Roles to Control Combat Pacing, 20. The Many Perils of Illal: Behind the Combat AI Architecture of Hawken Reborn’s Enemies, 21. Stable Reaction Systems
About the Author :
Paul Roberts is a Senior Lecturer and Course Lead for BSc (Hons) Computer Games Programming at the University of Staffordshire. Prior to this he was Technical Director at his own independent game studio Grinning Cat. He has worked in a variety of Principal/Lead AI Programmer roles for a range of studios in the UK including Sumo Digital, Team17, Traveller’s Tales, Activision, and some smaller indie studios. Paul has a Master’s by Research in Computer Science (with Artificial Intelligence), which focused on pathfinding, the development of the DRS algorithm and ways to test the believability of generated paths. Paul setup the GameAI Discord channel that has brought together hundreds of game AI professionals, where approaches are shared and ideas are discussed. He has recently started the GameAIUncovered YouTube channel, which explains how different game AI concepts work, has written several books, some fiction, others academic, and is the editor for this Game AI Uncovered series.
