A Borg-like Artificial Intelligence For Lionhead's New Game

cybaea writes: "The creator of Black & White is experimenting with new work on group minds - but unlike the Borg, the characters in the new game are already descending into bar brawls, reports ZDNet UK, quoting Richard Evans (famous for the AI engine in Black & White). My favourite quote: '[AI] Characters [in the game] even have the ability to dynamically create their own language, constructing simple sentences on a word by word basis.'"

Comments

Codename

[orkysoft]

Lionhead's new game, code-named Dmitry,

Looks like they won't be including the manual in pdf format :-P

Consequences?

[handsomepete]

"The same thing happened in Black & White too -- a character went off for a poo in the middle of a conversation. It was clear they did not understand the social consequences of terminating a conversation in such an abrupt manner."

It's clear that he doesn't understand the social consequences of taking your poo right there during conversation.

Earth to Lionhead ...

[wfmcwalter]

Lionhead ... this is Earth calling.

Come in please.

We really think your technology is great. Your graphics are excellent. Your scalable-terrain engine knocked our socks off. Your physics engine is amazing. Your AI code is already quite remarkable. Your simulation of a believable, detailed fantasy world is outstanding.

But Lionhead, we have a problem.

Black and White just wasn't fun to play.

Once we were done being amazed at all the features and gasping at the technology - the game just wasn't very good. It didn't engage. We weren't motivated to continue. It just got boring. Sorry - no-one wanted it to be great more than us, but in the final analysis it just wasn't.

You guys are great. You plainly love what you do, and create high-quality product. We're grateful for your dedication. But please - make the next game fun first, then add in the AI, the nice graphics, the believable simulation. We appreciate that fun is hard to describe, hard to measure, hard to design or schedule or test. But it's important. It's only fun that separates a game from a fishtank.

Thanks for listening. Earth out.

Re:Earth to Lionhead ...

[Fourier]

Amen to that. The AI was rather impressive, although the creatures didn't seem to have the ability to prioritize tasks very effectively. Their actions were rather random, which meant that you had to go and do all the real work.

And that is where the sucking started to show. Cast miracle forest, harvest wood/make foresters, build buildings, cast miracle food, repeat ad nauseum. It became micro-management hell. Why did the villagers need to be so freaking helpless? "We need more civic buildings!" Bah. Makes you want to fireball their little loinclothed asses.

And while we're at it: "gestures" are amusing to play around with, but become incredibly annoying when you really need a miracle quickly. Is it that hard to make some hotkeys?

Drunken Borg.

[DarkHelmet]

but unlike the Borg, the characters in the new game are already descending into bar brawls

Have you ever seen an intoxicated borg? No. Does that exclude the fact that you'll ever see one?

No! There's always seasons 2-7 of Enterprise. The borg will be so drunk or stoned off their ass that they'll focus on assimilating Archer's dog.

*arf* *arf *arf*
Translation: Resistance is futile.

That's nice and all

[gmhowell]

That's nice and all, but I'd be happy if they made a game that didn't suck ass. I know lots of people loved B&W, but I found the game unplayable. I have a kid, a dog, and a cat. One throws random stuff, one eats various turds, and one (or more) is virtually untrainable, with or without a leash.

Why did I pay $50 for more of the same?

Here's another hint: SimCity and the Sims can get along just fine without having goals. It's simple to set your own goals in these games. In a game with so many goals as Black and White, don't pretend that they don't exist or that you have an open-ended game.

I remember the original articles about the creature in B&W. Wasn't supposed to be the whole game. They spent so damned much time futzing with them that there was nothing else left. If the same thing happens here, we'll see add-on packs like "Take your people to Middlebury to learn ANOTHER language." Internet play will consist of seeing whose player can develop Esperanto first.

Call me cynical, but this game better be more than the one trick pony that was B&W.

The language bit sounds interesting....

[NeoSkandranon]

I hated B&W, but I might give this a shot...and it sounds neat to have them create their own languages...however, the MOMENT i hear one of the little guys spit out something like
ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn, i'm reformatting and selling my copy of the game =)