[MUD-Dev] TECH: Complex NPCs

[Acius]

tryguy74 at hotmail.com wrote:

> The current state of NPCs in IF is very disappointing. They are
> geared to help (or hinder) the player in predetermined ways as the
> story dictates. NPC-player interaction is usually simplistic, and
> on the majority entirely scripted. There are exceptions, such as
> people designing chatterbot-like NPCs, but on the whole even these
> are not satisfactory. They have no "life", just more detailed
> stimuli-responces and topic-tracking code.
 
> I want to develop better NPCs. I know the technology now exists to
> have worthwhile NPCs, but I don't know where to start to develop
> them for my stories.

I've tried some stuff myself, but it's not too far yet. Let me start
by saying this is a HARD problem. Saying "the technology is out
there" is a bit naive. There is no well-understood, robust method
for creating convincing artifical life (repeat three times). The
problem is far more in the domain of psychology than computer
science, and as such cannot be solved with ones and zeros
alone. There's a lot more to rant about on this topic, but I won't
:-).

You seem to like the Sims -- you might want to read up on some of
their ideas. There are some articles on Gamasutra you might like

  http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20010323/byrd_01.htm

-- A talk about how the Sims was designed, and the reasons for its success

  http://www.gamasutra.com/features/designers_notebook/20001222/adams_01.htm

-- Virtual gorillas, needs-based AI, and some other similar things.

... you might have to get a Gamasutra account to read these, but
that's pretty easy to do. These guys are a great place to read about
research and new topics in game design. Try using their search
engine -- it'll find you a lot more than Google will.

-- Acius
acius at simud.org

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