The application of artificial intelligence (AI) in gaming has come a long way in recent years. It's no longer just about creating tougher, smarter enemies; AI has the power to generate entire worlds, create lifelike non-playable characters (NPCs), and influence how narratives unfold.
We live in an exciting era of technology, where the boundaries between human players and AI-controlled elements are continually being blurred, taking the overall gaming experience to an unthinkable new degree of personalization and immersion.
In this article, we’ll take a deep dive into the applications of AI in gaming, highlighting key advancements and challenges, and how it will continue to shape the future of the industry.
Are you ready to level up your understanding of AI in video games? Then let’s get started.
Applications of AI in gaming
NPC behavior
In most modern games, players are required to interact with pre-programmed non-playable characters. Originally, these characters followed simplistic, predictable patterns, and were easy for players to outsmart in combat. Now, that’s all changed.
Today’s AI-powered NPCs are capable of mimicking human-like behavior and learning from other players' actions, adapting their tactics accordingly to create a more realistic gaming experience.
NPCs analyze the simulated environment and respond accordingly based on a player’s decisions, game objectives, and context. They can engage in activities such as exploring and trading, and can even function as cooperative teammates.
In a combat scenario, NPCs can evaluate a player's strengths and weaknesses and react in real time, making the game more challenging than ever.
In role-playing games, NPCs can also engage in complex dialogues based on a player's decisions.
NPCs that are powered by natural language processing (NLP) and voice recognition technologies can understand a wide range of verbal commands, questions, and responses, and generate contextually relevant replies. This increased level of sophistication creates a more personalized and interactive experience for the game narrative.
Many gaming companies use imitation to train NPCs. This massively reduces development time, as the coding of NPC behaviors can usually be an incredibly lengthy process.
Procedural content generation (PCG)
PCG is currently reshaping the way game worlds are designed and experienced by users. PCG refers to the use of algorithms to create game content, such as levels, quests, maps, and characters, rather than relying on manual, pre-designed elements. This has allowed a significant degree of variation and unpredictability and keeps games fresh and exciting for both new and long-time players.
By using AI in PCG, developers can not only craft richer, more diverse worlds, they can also streamline the development process to create large-scale, complex environments at an accelerated rate to meet consumer demand.
Adaptive difficulty
Adaptive difficulty is a system used in gaming that analyzes player behavior and adjusts the difficulty of the game in real time to foster more engaging and personalized gaming experiences.
These systems monitor and analyze factors such as player skill, response time, strategy, and progression speed, and use the data collected to create a customized difficulty level for each player.
For example, if a player is progressing through levels quickly and easily, the AI can increase the difficulty to maintain engagement and ensure the game continues to be challenging enough.
Equally, if a player is struggling with the difficulty of the game, AI can be used to make it easier and prevent frustration and rage quitting.
The dynamic difficulty adjustment (DDA) facilitated by AI helps developers deliver an optimal balance between challenge and accessibility so that games can be tailored to individual capabilities and preferences.
Personalized gaming recommendations
AI algorithms are also capable of providing personalized game recommendations based on players’ preferences. AI systems analyze a variety of factors such as genre preference, gameplay style, in-game decisions, and feedback on previous games to suggest new ones that align with players’ interests.
Additionally, AI can curate content such as missions, challenges, and in-game experiences based on a player's behaviors and decisions. This predictive personalization enhances user engagement by creating an immersive and customized gaming experience that’s relevant and unique to each individual.
Testing and debugging
Automated testing tools can simulate thousands of playthroughs at an accelerated pace to identify bugs, glitches, and balance issues that might not be immediately spotted by the human eye.
These AI-enabled debugging tools can efficiently scan through vast amounts of code to spot potential errors and suggest fixes. These processes are not only faster than manual testing, but they can also cover a wider range of potential issues.
Automating these labor-intensive and time-consuming tasks allows game developers to focus on more creative work, and produce higher-quality games that can be delivered to the market at a quicker rate.
The ethical considerations of AI in gaming
Despite the many benefits of integrating AI in games, developers must also consider the ethical challenges that arise.
AI systems typically rely on user data, which raises concerns about what kind of data is collected, how it’s stored, and who can access it. So, it’s essential that developers be completely transparent about the use of this data, and ensure reliable and robust security measures are put in place to protect information and maintain trust in their consumers.
AI-enhanced video games can also increase the risk of addiction. AI adds to the immersive nature of virtual worlds, which may encourage players to spend excessive amounts of time playing. As such, developers should implement time limits or remind players to take regular breaks.
It’s also important to consider that as AI grows in sophistication, it may be able to produce content that is offensive or harmful. Game characters may express certain prejudices, use offensive language, or demonstrate violent behaviors. This is a major concern, especially for younger players who are typically more impressionable.
Therefore, developers should be careful that the AI-generated content they put out does not promote harmful stereotypes or actions.
The future of AI in gaming
It’s clear that AI has firmly established itself in the modern gaming experience. But what does the future hold for AI and computer vision in games? Let’s take a look at the key trends that are emerging.
Generative AI
Generative AI allows developers to produce infinite, ever-changing content. This means that games will continue to feel fresh and exciting, regardless of when they were released. For example, games like Minecraft and No Man’s Sky are ensuring that players never run out of places to discover in their virtual landscapes.
Generative AI is also capable of creating more intelligent NPCs and adjusting difficulty levels, narratives, and music in response to gameplay, which keeps games unpredictable and replayable.
The use of generative AI will speed up the production of game prototypes, reduce testing time, and require fewer developers. In turn, this might also threaten developers’ jobs. Developers will need generative AI skills to keep up with the industry and secure roles.
Generative AI could also cause major copyright issues by using developers’ content without asking permission. Therefore, it’s important that regulations are put in place to avoid developers being replaced, or their work being stolen.
Cloud-based gaming
Cloud-based gaming allows users to play games without having to download or install them. All cloud gaming requires is an internet connection, and it runs the game on remote servers in data centers.
You don’t need an expensive gaming PC or console; you can play games remotely on a TV, tablet, or smartphone.
With cloud-based gaming, you don’t even need to worry about losing your progress; you can save games halfway through and resume them later on another device.
NFTs
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are ‘unique cryptographic tokens that exist on a blockchain and cannot be replicated.’
In the gaming world, NFTs enable in-game economies that allow players to trade and exchange assets to make games feel more rewarding. So, where does AI come in?
AI can help developers create more targeted content by analyzing player data to identify what types of assets they might be interested in. This also creates a more personalized experience for players.
NFTs can present a potential source of income for those who create skins, maps, and patches for skins. And, as AI continues to enhance the realism and immersion of gaming experiences, it will hopefully open up further opportunities for creators to monetize their digital products.
AR and VR
Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) allow players to explore and interact with virtual worlds in a unique way. With AI, these 3D environments can become even more realistic with the richer details that can be added.
AI algorithms can further enhance the performance of AR and VR hardware by improving the tracking accuracy of motion controllers and the functional capabilities of graphic cards, resulting in a more seamless experience for users.
Voice and audio recognition
Voice recognition allows players to control their characters, navigate menus, and interact with other players through speech. This innovative feature means there’s no need for a controller or keyboard, making games more accessible for disabled people and enabling a deeper level of immersion in gameplay.
Conclusion
The face of the gaming industry has been transformed significantly through the integration of AI, paving the way for even more dynamic and engaging gaming experiences.
AI has proven to be instrumental in accelerating and enhancing game development processes, offering efficiency in testing, debugging, and content creation, which ultimately leads to a faster time-to-market.
The future looks bright for artificial intelligence in gaming, showcased through the emergence of NFTs, cloud-based gaming, augmented and virtual reality, and voice recognition technology. All contribute to enriching gameplay and personalized player interactions.
However, these advancements aren't without their challenges. Issues related to player privacy, data security, addiction, and other ethical considerations are becoming more prominent and require careful navigation.
It's imperative for developers and industry leaders to balance innovation with responsible practice. By doing so, the full potential of AI can be harnessed to craft unique, interactive experiences that cater to the diverse needs of players worldwide.
