[MUD-Dev] believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation)

[Michael Sellers]

Malcom Tester wrote:
>> On Behalf Of Michael Sellers

>> Believable characters OTOH -- with or without NLG -- will make
>> gameplay much more immersive and consequential.  Imagine asking a
>> tavern keeper NPC for info on where to buy good weapons.
>> Consider how his responses might differ based on whether he's
>> seen you before, whether you tipped well last time, whether and
>> how he's heard other NPCs (and PCs) talk about you, and, say,
>> whether he heard you were flirting heavily with the blacksmith's
>> daughter (whom he happens to be in love with), or were the one to
>> save her from ruffians.  This goes way beyond script- or
>> knowledge-based responses, but provides much more interesting
>> player-related context for even the simplest menu-driven
>> interactions.

> This whole approach is, in my mind, quite doable.

Well, maybe. :) There are enormous architectural and scoping issues
of various types.  To get a robust yet tractable solution isn't all
that easy.  Or maybe we're just doing it the hard way!

Mike Sellers
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