> When people want AI in video games they want the AI to be truly smart.
Yes! This statement made me think immediately of Team Fortress 2 and how impressive talented spy-players are. They're so impressive that I can be in awe of a good player whether he's my ally or my opponent. Of course, the latter also comes with some frustration.
For those unfamiliar, the spy in TF2 has the ability to cloak (turn invisible) for a few seconds as well as indefinitely disguise himself as a member of the enemy team. Subtle cues give away a disguised spy--he can't run 'through' team members of the same color like true allies can; he un-disguises if he attacks. His deadliest attack is the backstab--knife someone in the back to instantly kill.
What makes good spy players so impressive is that they've anticipated how other people behave and have thought of effective countermeasures.
A troll-ish, albeit intelligent, example of such intelligence involves a spy spraying a provocative out-of-game image on a wall at a corner. He cloaks when an enemy approaches and waits near the corner. Most new players will pause when running past the image to have a closer look. The spy then uncloaks and backstabs the player.
Pre-programming this sort of behavior makes it quickly predictable, unless the AI has enough variety in its 'bag of tricks' that it would take a long time to learn it all...just like playing against a skilled opponent for a long time. I'd love to see the day when game AI could discover such behaviors on its own, searching for new ones when old techniques become too common.
Yes! This statement made me think immediately of Team Fortress 2 and how impressive talented spy-players are. They're so impressive that I can be in awe of a good player whether he's my ally or my opponent. Of course, the latter also comes with some frustration.
For those unfamiliar, the spy in TF2 has the ability to cloak (turn invisible) for a few seconds as well as indefinitely disguise himself as a member of the enemy team. Subtle cues give away a disguised spy--he can't run 'through' team members of the same color like true allies can; he un-disguises if he attacks. His deadliest attack is the backstab--knife someone in the back to instantly kill.
What makes good spy players so impressive is that they've anticipated how other people behave and have thought of effective countermeasures.
A troll-ish, albeit intelligent, example of such intelligence involves a spy spraying a provocative out-of-game image on a wall at a corner. He cloaks when an enemy approaches and waits near the corner. Most new players will pause when running past the image to have a closer look. The spy then uncloaks and backstabs the player.
Example: http://youtu.be/zOR3snVKW0E?t=18s
Pre-programming this sort of behavior makes it quickly predictable, unless the AI has enough variety in its 'bag of tricks' that it would take a long time to learn it all...just like playing against a skilled opponent for a long time. I'd love to see the day when game AI could discover such behaviors on its own, searching for new ones when old techniques become too common.