you don’t want the saucer to jerk and
Q&A Q1: Everyone acts like computers are so smart, but you’ve made it sound like they’re dumb. What gives? A1: Computers, in fact, are very “dumb” when it comes to what we humans refer to as thought. However, computers are very “smart” when it comes to mathematical calculations and algorithms. The trick with AI is to model the subtleties of human thought in such a way that the computer can do what it’s good at, executing mathematical calculations and algorithms. The point is that thoughts we take for granted are often very difficult for computers simply because human thought takes into account an incredibly large number of subtle variables when arriving at even the simplest decision. Q2: If my game is designed to have only human players, do I even need to worry with AI? A2: Even though games with all human players might appear to not require any AI at first, it is often useful to control many of the background aspects of the game using simple AI. For example, consider a two player head-to-head space battle game. Even though you might not have any plans for computer ships, consider adding some AI to determine how the environment responds to the players’ actions. For example, add a black hole near the more aggressive player from time to time, providing that player with more hassles than the other player. Although the intelligence required of a black hole is pretty weak by most AI standards, it could still use a simple chase algorithm to follow the player around. Workshop The Workshop is designed to help you anticipate possible questions, review what you’ve learned, and begin learning how to put your knowledge into practice. The answers to the quiz can be found in Appendix A, “Quiz Answers.” Quiz 1: What are the three types of roaming AI? 2: How does behavioral AI work? 3: In regard to strategic AI, what do the terms look-ahead and weighting mean? Exercises 1. Play some video games with computer opponents and see whether you can tell which type of AI approach is being used. 2. Tinker with the AI code in the Roids 2 program example to see how changes to the minimum collision distance affect the movement of the flying saucer. Hour 21. Example Game: Space Out This hour embarks yet again on the development of another complete game. The game is called Space Out, and it represents a culmination of everything you’ve learned about game programming throughout the book. Although this isn’t the last hour of the book, this is the last complete game you’ll be creating. The remaining hours focus on improving the Space Out game with some interesting features. This hour, however, explores the design and development of the basic Space Out game, which is a vertical space shoot-em-up. The closest arcade comparison I can make to Space Out is Galaga, but the aliens in Space Out don’t move with as intricate of patterns as those in Galaga. Nevertheless, I think you’ll find Space Out to be a fun and entertaining game, both from a programming and a playability
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