 The term Artificial Intelligence (AI)
was coined by John McCarthy in
1956
• As a Noun
 The Intelligence of Machines.
• As a Field
– “The science and engineering of
making intelligent machines.”

• One of the First Video
Games
• Manufactured by Atari
• Released in 1972
• Designed for 1 or 2 players.
• Essentially just table tennis
in 2 dimensions.
• There is Logic to how the
Computer moves the
paddle.
• To simulate Human error
the computer is designed to
skip its adjustment every 8
frames.

• Developed by Nintendo
• Released in 1985
• Classic example of the
Platformer
• Developed by Namco
• Distributed by Midway (in
US)
• Released: 1980
• Single player only
• Simple maze game

• Enemy units in the
game are designed to
follow a scripted
pattern.
• Either move back and
forth in a given
location or attack a
player if nearby
• Became a staple
technique for AI
design.

• Developed by Maxis
• Published by
Electronic Arts
• Released in 1989
• First in a series of
Simulation Games
which are often at the
forefront of AI
technology

• The player is able to
manipulate certain
aspects of the city.
• The population of the
City acts somewhat
autonomously.
• Furthermore the
game will simulate
random disasters.

• Developed by Maxis
• Published by
Electronic Arts
• Released in 2000
• A life simulation game
in which the player
has control over a
semi-autonomous
people.

• The Sims characters
can be manipulated
by the player but will
also carry out day to
day tasks on their
own.
• Characters also have
defined needs and
personality traits that
dictate how they act
in given situations.

• Characters are able to interact with an
arrangement of objects in the environment due to
unique object logic.

• Developed by Lionhead
Studios
• Published by EA games
• Released in 2001
• Simulation game in which
you play God.
• Similar to Sim City
• You had more control
over the environment and
the people in the game
• You could also create
armies and wage war

• You could control and
train large creatures
• You could then punish
or reward the creatures
based on how they
complete tasks.
• Over time the creatures
will learn how you wish
tasks to be done based
on how they are
treated.

• Enemies reacted in
dynamic ways.
• Different enemies
would react
differently in different
situations.
• Enemies would work
together against the
player.

• The game utilizes an AI
director that will
change the game based
on how well the
player(s) are doing.
• This can make the
game more or less
difficult for players with
different skill levels.
• This also changes the
events of the game
between different play
sessions.

• Non Playable characters (NPCs) and
enemies within the game world react
dynamically with the player and each
other.

• There are a number of issues that prevent
Video Games from being the best area for the
evolution of AI
• Despite the how far AI in games has come
over time no game is perfect.
• There are a number of reasons as to why this
is and will always be the case.

• Time
– The game has to be
released at some point and
not everything that needs
to be addressed can be
addressed.
• Money
– Games are expensive to
make so items are
generally prioritized to put
the most effort into what is
considered most
important.

• Games are about
Entertainment
• While the AI in a
game might be very
advanced it might not
necessarily be
entertaining.

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