
The AI of GoldenEye 007 - danso
https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/TommyThompson/20190709/346311/The_AI_of_GoldenEye_007.php
======
jdkee
It is fascinating to see how many AI techniques were developed from the need
to produce realistic agents/behaviors/mappings in video games. This document
of Left 4 Deads techniques blew me away when I read it. (Not having worked in
the industry but as connoisseur of video games).

[https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/apps/valve/2009/ai_systems_o...](https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/apps/valve/2009/ai_systems_of_l4d_mike_booth.pdf)

~~~
rizzin
Another notable game AI that is still considered quite outstanding is the AI
from F.E.A.R that uses a planning-based approach.

Article: [https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/04/03/why-fears-ai-
is-...](https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/04/03/why-fears-ai-is-still-the-
best-in-first-person-shooters/)

GDC presentation by the developer:
[https://alumni.media.mit.edu/~jorkin/gdc2006_orkin_jeff_fear...](https://alumni.media.mit.edu/~jorkin/gdc2006_orkin_jeff_fear.pdf)

~~~
Agentlien
I wanted to post this as well. Whenever I think of game A.I. the two games
that always come to mind are Half-Life 2 and F.E.A.R.

~~~
Aardwolf
Half-Life 1 as well, it was pretty novel how soldiers would take cover behind
crates and then throw grenades

~~~
robodale
I remember that as well, and made for a very exciting experience.

------
kirrent
> a notable example is the guards on the dam which can't see you until you
> approach their walkways and this is because the STANs at the top of the
> ladder can only see those at the bottom.

It's a credit to the game that I never noticed this and other AI shortfalls.
Somehow the combination of fast paced action, tense stealth gameplay, level
design, and good enough AI was enough to transcend any critical faculties I
had. I guess the lesson there is whether it's CGI, VR, or game AI, when you
understand your limitations and design to them, you can get the audience to do
the rest of the work in their head completely unaware of the shortcomings that
are not only hidden from them but that they may be compensating for.

~~~
breck
Did folks who knew how to program back then still love games like GoldenEye?

I loved it and we played it all the time but I was a kid and didn't understand
computers or programming yet. I'm wondering if understanding how something was
made would have made it less enjoyable? Less addicting?

~~~
JohnBooty
I didn't love Goldeneye in particular, but I was in college for CompSci and
had done a little OpenGL.

No, knowing (roughly, from a very 50,000 foot kind of view) how those games
were made did NOT diminish my love for them.

If anything, it really enhanced my enjoyment and appreciation for them. Having
made my own simple programs I was very appreciative of the gulf between my
weekly programming assignments and the massive amounts of technical wizardry
and craft that went into something like a polished retail game.

I don't think video games ever really fooled me into thinking they were
anything but simulations operating according to some underlying rules.

After all, even if you know nothing about programming, your goal as a player
is to figure out those rules in order to beat the CPU and win the game!

But those rules often delighted me anyway, and I always had a hefty dose of
willing suspension of disbelief, so even something like a 16-bit RPG could
really connect with me emotionally....

------
chrsstrm
They spent all that energy on NPC AI yet the multiplayer respawn points were
incredibly predictable after you memorized the sequence. Eventually
multiplayer wasn't fun anymore when playing against other people who knew the
sequence. You could easily kill a player and then sprint to the next spawn
point and kill them again. Wash rinse repeat. Fun if you were the one on the
spree, not fun if you got caught in that cycle.

~~~
freedomben
Haha yep! My brother and I even got the minimum distance to spawn figured out.
Basically, if you got too close to the spawn point, the AI would skip it and
move to the next. But you could be just a little ways off and not trip the
proximity. It was a vicious cycle indeed. Turning on License to Kill basically
guaranteed whoever got the first shot of the game would own the rest.

~~~
flukus
> But you could be just a little ways off and not trip the proximity.

Speaking of which, proximity mines didn't trigger this proximity either ;)

Once memorized you could get around on many levels just as fast as re-spawns
could happen and your opponent couldn't break the cycle. At some point 3
players is a must.

------
mattl
This article mentions the expansion pak but this wasn’t even released at the
time of the game. The sequel, Perfect Dark, relies heavily on the expansion,
while Donkey Kong 64 requires it due to a game breaking bug.

~~~
jmkni
The only reason the game came with the expansion pak was to fix that one
memory bug, IIRC.

They couldn't figure it out, but realised the game didn't crash when it had a
bit more ram so they just gave everybody an expansion pak.

~~~
vocatus_gate
That's hilarious, I wonder how much that ended up costing them?

------
ceejayoz
I keep hoping someone'll remake it for the Quest VR headset. The cartoonish
graphics would fit in beautifully, and it'd probably be a blast.

~~~
phodo
Are there any good games for the Quest that you recommend ?

~~~
ceejayoz
Thus far, my favorites are Beat Saber (typically not my thing, but it's great
exercise), Superhot (makes me feel like Neo in the Matrix, including rolling
around on the floor - the room scale stuff shines here), and Space Pirate
Trainer. Vader Immortal has potential, but right now there's only the first
episode so it's short.

Oh, there's a free ISS game that's quite good. You can explore the station and
go for a space walk.

------
lifeisstillgood
>>> Released two years after the launch of the film

That explains the weird sort of feeling I remember about this game - that I
had missed out for ages on this game (and clearly was not a member of the
cognoscenti) and so was playing what everyone else already knew about.

Weirdly no young person in the age of wikipedia will feel that for long
anymore...

------
Causality1
Damn I miss the old Rare.

------
djmips
Now that industrial AI has taken off, it's even more striking how pompous it
is to call simple game enemy logic 'Artificial Intelligence'.

~~~
foldor
I don't think so at all. Just because better AI exists today doesn't
invalidate earlier efforts. That would be like taking umbrage at people
calling the BBC Micro a computer because we have more powerful hardware today.

~~~
meheleventyone
People have also used similar techniques (neural nets) to ‘industrial AI’ in
game AI long before as well[1]. It’s also silly in an industrial context to
use a more fashionable technique when a less fashionable one will do the job
better.

[1] [http://www.ai-junkie.com/misc/hannan/hannan.html](http://www.ai-
junkie.com/misc/hannan/hannan.html)

