AG1081A Honours Project Planning and Reporting
Alan Hepburn
0701628
Computer Games Technology
Honours Project – Final Proposal
Table of Contents
Introduction.........................................................................................................................1
Motivation...........................................................................................................................1
Research question.............................................................................................................................2
Addressing the Question......................................................................................................2
Plan/Schedule and Resource Requirements..........................................................................3
References and Bibliography................................................................................................4
Introduction
It is very rare in games that character other than the player can influence the consequences of a game's storyline. The goal of this research is to find if not only the player character(PC) but also the non-player character's(NPC) can be able to move a storyline forward. Graphic improvement has been a focus in recent years, AI has been neglected, as a result the now realistic graphics have caused games to need more than just graphics, and many think AI is the answer. Focusing on populating these games with better AI for the companion NPCs that accompany the PC will benefit future games especially role playing games (RPG). Many people believe that a good AI character would use many of the AI techniques currently available today, as each refers to a way in which the human mind tackles a problem in reality, a believable character must use multiple techniques to show its realism. As a result a set of believable characters will be tested against a character created with a standard finite state machine(FSM), used widely in the industry. A simple story will be created and different scenarios will be played out by both the believable character and the standard character and the emergent behavior will be assessed and analyzed to give an answer to whether a believable character can be created that can influence a game's storyline.
Motivation
Games nowadays have impressive graphics built up over decades of research however when you look at your very detailed, realistic companion they stare lifelessly back at you. Even more so in games now the companions you collect to assist you on your quest/journey/adventure have nothing to do with it, they are just collectible or interchangeable.
Many games out at the moment have begun to put your companions into the game but usually their actions are mechanical and game driven rather than from the characters own personality and feelings. For example Dragon Age: Origins places your first companion into the story as a key character, however the things he does or says such as telling you to go somewhere or giving you information still feels mechanical. It feels, rather than being his idea based on his feelings, it's just another way to move the plot along shattering the suspense of disbelief needed in games. Also the "choices" that it appears he has, can always be easily manipulated by the player, such as finding a ruler for the kingdom after the final battle, you can convince him to marry his brother's wife for the good of the kingdom or make him king, both ideas of which he detests right up until you "convince him" and even afterward but he accepts it based solely on you being the main character. Mass Effect 2 built collecting characters into the game but then that's all they were, collectibles, there value in the game are of tools. Something for the player to collect to upgrade their ship or use as a way to finish the game, rather than being a part of it. Also Fallout New Vegas, these characters are interchangeable, so you don't get the feeling that you need them as they can be swapped, they also try and put them into the game, but just into situations that build a relationship, they have no actually effect on the game's main story.
Although games have taken a step forward there still is a long way to go before believable characters are at your side in a game. That is why further research is needed into creating believable characters and finding better ways for them to interact with the game. AI is an ever increasing area of study and is becoming the focus of a lot of attention in the industry today as a result of research like this.
Many games out at the moment have begun to put your companions into the game but usually their actions are mechanical and game driven rather than from the characters own personality and feelings. For example Dragon Age: Origins places your first companion into the story as a key character, however the things he does or says such as telling you to go somewhere or giving you information still feels mechanical. It feels, rather than being his idea based on his feelings, it's just another way to move the plot along shattering the suspense of disbelief needed in games. Also the "choices" that it appears he has, can always be easily manipulated by the player, such as finding a ruler for the kingdom after the final battle, you can convince him to marry his brother's wife for the good of the kingdom or make him king, both ideas of which he detests right up until you "convince him" and even afterward but he accepts it based solely on you being the main character. Mass Effect 2 built collecting characters into the game but then that's all they were, collectibles, there value in the game are of tools. Something for the player to collect to upgrade their ship or use as a way to finish the game, rather than being a part of it. Also Fallout New Vegas, these characters are interchangeable, so you don't get the feeling that you need them as they can be swapped, they also try and put them into the game, but just into situations that build a relationship, they have no actually effect on the game's main story.
Although games have taken a step forward there still is a long way to go before believable characters are at your side in a game. That is why further research is needed into creating believable characters and finding better ways for them to interact with the game. AI is an ever increasing area of study and is becoming the focus of a lot of attention in the industry today as a result of research like this.
Research question
The research question for this project could be:
"Can a believable character, with personality and emotions be created that can actively and realistically effect consequences in a game's story?"
The objectives relating to this are:
· To create characters that in certain situations of a story would react believably based on their personalities and emotions.
· To allow the characters to take control of where the storyline is heading without needing input from the player.
· To create believable personalities for these characters.
· To create believable emotions for these characters.
· To compare one system created using finite state machines and one created using various techniques so as to see if the latter produces a more believable character.
Addressing the Question
Firstly a story must be created this story will have four main point, a beginning, a middle, a climax and an ending. Between these points the story will be driven by the NPC's personality and emotions with each NPC able to make choices about what happens in the story. Before the story is created each NPC will have an individual personality and emotional base created for them, the story will be created around these attributes to make the best use of them.
The first standard experiment will use FSM as the primary AI algorithm so the choices in the story will be based on the FSM and allow for minimal emergent behavior. Switching between the different states of the FSM will be controlled by an appraisal model based on the characters personalities and emotions, which will influence the behavior model and this will be used to determine the actions that the characters take. The actions will then be used to modify a master event list which will then update the appraisal model with the new information about the next instances of the storyline. Obviously this creates a continuous loop which must stop at certain places so that the story can be read by the player and their actions can be decided. This is also a good place for the exchange of information. Using a ability system like the ones used in table top games and such games as Fallout 3, each NPC will have a better understanding of certain things such as the environment or a greater perception of events, so NPCs will have to exchange information. This system will also be used to determine who acts first and will also determine conflict between NPCs. If one NPC's action is against what another character wants to do they can argue or even fight about it. These actions, in some way, will be determined by the FSM.
The second experiment will use the same personality and emotion model as the first but will be created using a hybrid of AI techniques all based on the best algorithm for the specific situation. The hybrid system will experiment with techniques such as goal orientated behavior for self motivation of the NPCs replacing the FSM in this instance. Genetic algorithms for creating the initial appraisal model running though the different scenarios of the story to build an believable initial attribute base, rule based systems for group co-ordination by focusing the groups goals and fuzzy logic and fuzzy state machines as the initial advancement to the FSM.
The two will then be compared and analyzed for any emergent behavior and the differences the story takes. To test as accurately as possible the same scenarios will be used, which will try and fully utilize the different personalities and emotions.
Through experimentation with the different AI algorithms and the different personality and emotion bases there should show that a believable character can be created that can be fully integrated into a story, giving a much more realistic atmosphere to a game and taking the control of the story somewhat out of the hands of the player, to make it more like real life.
Plan/Schedule and Resource Requirements
Above is a detailed breakdown of what is needed to complete the practical portion of this project with the red bar representing the time the task should be completed and the green bar representing the extended time after that can be used to complete the task. One should note that from creating GUI to integrating remaining FSM will all be done together rather than after each other but each section should be completed by the allotted time. Also the testing tasks are done while creating the hybrid system. They signify that in the initial testing it may not work but by the final testing it should be working and almost finished.
As to what resources will be needed, the project will be hand coded for the majority of the project. Only a computer with visual studios should be required. A graphics engine may be used depending on, if there is enough time to create a 3D world, but for the moment a graphical user interface of a text based story with simple images and faces will be used.
Bibliography
Game Programming, 2010. Amit’s Game Programming Information. Available at:<http://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/~amitp/gameprog.html> [Accessed 09 November 2010]
Bringing emotions to video games, 2010. msnbc.com. Available at:<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4038606/>[Accessed 09 November 2010]
Adapting the Tools of Drama, 2001, Gamasutra.com. Available as:<http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3037/adapting_the_tools_of_drama.php>[Accessed 30 September 2010]
Alexander Nareyek, 2007,Game AI is Dead. Long Live Game AI. Intelligent Systems. Available at:<http://www.ai-center.com/publications/nareyek-07-ieee.pdf>[Accessed 12 November 2010]
John Laird's Artificial Intelligence & Computer Games Research, 2009. John Laird's Web page. Available at:<http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/laird/gamesresearch.html>[Accessed 12 November 2010]
John E. Laird and Michael van Lent, 2000. Human-level AI's Killer Application: Interactive Computer Games. University of Michigan. Available at:<http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/laird/papers/AAAI-00.pdf>[Accessed 12 November 2010]
The Dust of Everyday Life: The Art of Building Characters, 2010, Gamasutra.com. Available as:<http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4283/the_dust_of_everyday_life_the_art_.php>[Accessed 12 November 2010]
Peter Molyneux: The Essence of Interaction, 2009, Gamasutra.com. Available as:<http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4011/peter_molyneux_the_essence_of_.php>[Accessed 12 November 2010]
Constructing Artificial Emotions: A Design Experiment, 2007, Gamasutra.com. Available as:<http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/1992/constructing_artificial_emotions_.php>[Accessed 12 November 2010]
Anticipatory AI and Compelling Characters by Bruce Blumberg, 2006, Gamasutra.com. Available as:<http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/2563/anticipatory_ai_and_compelling_.php>[Accessed 12 November 2010]
AI Middleware: Getting Into Character, Part 2: DirectIA, 2003 Gamasutra.com. Available as:<http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/2824/ai_middleware_getting_into_.php>[Accessed 12 November 2010]
Baillie-De Byl,P, 2004.Programming Believable Characters for Computer Games. Hingham, Massachusetts: Charles River Media, INC.
Dickheiser,M ed., 2006. Game Programming Gems 6. Hingham, Massachusetts: Charles River Media, INC.
Jacobs, S ed., 2008. Game Programming Gems 7. Boston, Massachusetts: Course Technology.
Rabin, S ed., 2002. AI Game Programming Wisdom. Hingham, Massachusetts: Charles River Media, INC.
Rabin, S ed., 2004. AI Game Programming Wisdom 2. Hingham, Massachusetts: Charles River Media, INC.
Rabin, S ed., 2006. AI Game Programming Wisdom 3. Hingham, Massachusetts: Charles River Media, INC.
Rabin, S ed., 2008. AI Game Programming Wisdom 4. Boston, Massachusetts:Course Technology.
Bringing emotions to video games, 2010. msnbc.com. Available at:<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4038606/>[Accessed 09 November 2010]
Adapting the Tools of Drama, 2001, Gamasutra.com. Available as:<http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3037/adapting_the_tools_of_drama.php>[Accessed 30 September 2010]
Alexander Nareyek, 2007,Game AI is Dead. Long Live Game AI. Intelligent Systems. Available at:<http://www.ai-center.com/publications/nareyek-07-ieee.pdf>[Accessed 12 November 2010]
John Laird's Artificial Intelligence & Computer Games Research, 2009. John Laird's Web page. Available at:<http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/laird/gamesresearch.html>[Accessed 12 November 2010]
John E. Laird and Michael van Lent, 2000. Human-level AI's Killer Application: Interactive Computer Games. University of Michigan. Available at:<http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/laird/papers/AAAI-00.pdf>[Accessed 12 November 2010]
The Dust of Everyday Life: The Art of Building Characters, 2010, Gamasutra.com. Available as:<http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4283/the_dust_of_everyday_life_the_art_.php>[Accessed 12 November 2010]
Peter Molyneux: The Essence of Interaction, 2009, Gamasutra.com. Available as:<http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4011/peter_molyneux_the_essence_of_.php>[Accessed 12 November 2010]
Constructing Artificial Emotions: A Design Experiment, 2007, Gamasutra.com. Available as:<http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/1992/constructing_artificial_emotions_.php>[Accessed 12 November 2010]
Anticipatory AI and Compelling Characters by Bruce Blumberg, 2006, Gamasutra.com. Available as:<http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/2563/anticipatory_ai_and_compelling_.php>[Accessed 12 November 2010]
AI Middleware: Getting Into Character, Part 2: DirectIA, 2003 Gamasutra.com. Available as:<http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/2824/ai_middleware_getting_into_.php>[Accessed 12 November 2010]
Baillie-De Byl,P, 2004.Programming Believable Characters for Computer Games. Hingham, Massachusetts: Charles River Media, INC.
Dickheiser,M ed., 2006. Game Programming Gems 6. Hingham, Massachusetts: Charles River Media, INC.
Jacobs, S ed., 2008. Game Programming Gems 7. Boston, Massachusetts: Course Technology.
Rabin, S ed., 2002. AI Game Programming Wisdom. Hingham, Massachusetts: Charles River Media, INC.
Rabin, S ed., 2004. AI Game Programming Wisdom 2. Hingham, Massachusetts: Charles River Media, INC.
Rabin, S ed., 2006. AI Game Programming Wisdom 3. Hingham, Massachusetts: Charles River Media, INC.
Rabin, S ed., 2008. AI Game Programming Wisdom 4. Boston, Massachusetts:Course Technology.
