2008 Woodie Awards
Artificial Intelligence: Necessity or Waste of Space?
Brent Wallace
Issue date: 6/11/08 Section: Opinion
The video game industry used to be much simpler than it is today.
In the past, people who wanted to play video games simply had to stop by the arcades, but the days of the arcades are mostly gone and now the majority of gamers have to buy a console or computer in order to play.
As technology for these platforms advanced, such as the development of the Internet for online play and more advanced game engines for powering their games, video games have also been advancing along with technology.
Believe it or not however, even in today's high-tech world, not everyone has a speedy internet connection. And not every gamer has hundreds of hours to kill either. And most of gaming's genres, such as strategy games and shooters, require some kind of non-player controlled resistance. This is where artificial intelligence (AI) comes in.
AI has had a role in video games for a long time. AI-controlled characters first started appearing in the 1970s and '80s in arcade games such as Space Invaders and Pac-Man.
When new genres such as real-time-strategy started appearing in the 1990s, AI development became more complex, as video games started featuring more in-game tasks for AI to handle. And the AI of video games quickly rose up to the new challenges.
These days, AI is regarded as a very important aspect of most single-player games, and even some multiplayer games.
The use and necessity of AI in video games varies heavily depending upon what genre is being focused on, and whether or not the game is focused on single player or multiplayer.
Multiplayer focused games have commonly excluded AI support, since it is viewed as an unnecessary addition since you can play against other human players. Recently, however, an increasing number of multiplayer-focused games such as the Unreal Tournament series and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars have started to go the extra length and provide AI to play against.
Some multiplayer games have gained critical acclaim because of their AI. The Unreal Tournament series is a perfect example of this, as it has been reported that many people who play Unreal Tournament are content playing against the game's high-quality AI instead of going online.
In the past, people who wanted to play video games simply had to stop by the arcades, but the days of the arcades are mostly gone and now the majority of gamers have to buy a console or computer in order to play.
As technology for these platforms advanced, such as the development of the Internet for online play and more advanced game engines for powering their games, video games have also been advancing along with technology.
Believe it or not however, even in today's high-tech world, not everyone has a speedy internet connection. And not every gamer has hundreds of hours to kill either. And most of gaming's genres, such as strategy games and shooters, require some kind of non-player controlled resistance. This is where artificial intelligence (AI) comes in.
AI has had a role in video games for a long time. AI-controlled characters first started appearing in the 1970s and '80s in arcade games such as Space Invaders and Pac-Man.
When new genres such as real-time-strategy started appearing in the 1990s, AI development became more complex, as video games started featuring more in-game tasks for AI to handle. And the AI of video games quickly rose up to the new challenges.
These days, AI is regarded as a very important aspect of most single-player games, and even some multiplayer games.
The use and necessity of AI in video games varies heavily depending upon what genre is being focused on, and whether or not the game is focused on single player or multiplayer.
Multiplayer focused games have commonly excluded AI support, since it is viewed as an unnecessary addition since you can play against other human players. Recently, however, an increasing number of multiplayer-focused games such as the Unreal Tournament series and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars have started to go the extra length and provide AI to play against.
Some multiplayer games have gained critical acclaim because of their AI. The Unreal Tournament series is a perfect example of this, as it has been reported that many people who play Unreal Tournament are content playing against the game's high-quality AI instead of going online.
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