Implementing Realistic AI Behaviors

The main project task is to improve the existing AI behaviors used in the focus gameplays “JoshariasSurvival” and “MetalRenegades” and implement additional ones where applicable. This includes an assessment of the current state, the design and development of realistic behaviors for the different NPC types, e.g., wild animals and town citizens, as well as quality assurance.

Assessment of the Current State

In a first step, you are required to familiarize yourself with Terasology, the concept and Terasology-specific implementation of behavior trees, the existing NPC behaviors, and the underlying common behavior trees and actions. You will assess how realistically NPCs act in-game, identifying opportunities for improvement, and how flexibly the existing common behavior trees and actions can be used to produce complex behaviors, identifying needed additions.

Design & Implementation

Next, you will design individual, realistic behaviors for the different NPC types, including their desired needs, movements, animations, sounds, etc., targeting an immersive experience for the player when observing and interacting with them. In collaboration with your mentors, future interaction possibilities should be considered in the design. You will implement your designs using the existing common behavior trees and actions and add new trees or actions where necessary.

Quality Assurance

Throughout the implementation, you are required to assure the quality of your behaviors. This includes testing and documenting the designed behaviors as well as considering the performance impact and re-usability of your implementation. In addition, in-game user experience is an integral quality indicator that needs to be assessed in cooperation with the community.