Will AI revolutionise the way video games are developed and played in the future?

Have you ever played a game with a really well-designed AI?

I don’t mean an AI that seeks cover well or can magically roll away from your bullets when you aim at them or an AI that starts the game at whatever difficulty you set it at then stays the same the rest of the game, maybe gaining a bit of health as you progress.

No, I mean an AI that learns as you play. An AI that watches and records what actions you, the player, is doing and begins to adapt to those strategies, emulating what a human player does.

A game like Alien: Isolation is built around this mechanic.

This perfect organism will adapt to how you play. If you throw a sound buzzer into the corner to distract the xenomorph from hunting you, the next time you do it will be less effective. Perhaps the first time the xenomorph chased it, next time it might just look at it then start looking for you again, and a third time it might just actively start looking for you around where it thinks you threw the buzzer.

You cannot keep fooling this AI as it builds and learns as you progress. On top of that, the AI doesn’t just know where you are, but rather actively searches for you in a terrifying game of hide-and-go-seek were making noise will increase the AI’s likelihood of finding you.

The xenomorph’s AI makes the game progress as you progress, you must stay ahead of the AI at all times and not waste your abilities or resources as the AI can and will adapt to you like a human player.

Now think about how many video games and role-playing games in particular progress. The AI doesn’t get smarter adapting to and with you. No, the AI usually just gets more health bars as you get more gear.

Or perhaps the AI can spawn units faster than you can or perhaps throw more enemies at you. At the end of the day though that is just making your enemy into giant bullet sponges with you the player needs to shoot more or make more headshots.

Now imagine if every game’s AI learned from the player instead like Alien: Isolation, that the game developers took the time to make a compelling AI system that adapts to the player each time they play the game.

Suddenly, forced RPG mechanics aren’t what makes you decide your gear, but rather how you started playing and how you have been progressing. The game takes on a new dynamic entirely, leading to sheer moments of terror in games like Alien: Isolation, but could also lead to more interesting gameplay in even a simple first-person shooter as the AI figures out your pattern of play. Perhaps the AI can even ‘create’ strategies if it has multiple units at its disposal to flank you while trying to flush you.

The replayability of games would change drastically as well as allow each playthrough to be more unique, especially if you change up the tools the player gets access to too early in the game. Your single-player games suddenly become alive as the computer isn’t just a platform, but rather has a built-in antagonist looking to beat you organically.

That is just one way AI can (and has) revolutionized gaming. Making more dynamic AI in more games would be incredible. Let alone the other ways that can benefit the industry.