We have been interacting with Artificial Intelligence (AI) through gaming for years. Gaming and AI offers us a gateway to an alternative world which allowed us to become super heroes, elite athletes and even rock stars. As people around the globe are confined to their homes the gateway to this virtual world and our interaction with AI is perhaps more important than ever. Whilst AI probably isn’t at the forefront of our minds when we’re saving the world or scoring a goal, it is certainly the subject of our exasperation when we’re unable to score that goal or save the world. AI powers the evolution of gaming which has resulted in our experiences in this alternative world becoming more and more real.

Take FIFA for example, have you ever considered how your midfield maestro reads your reverse pass when you weren’t even controlling him? This is AI. AI adapts to your playing style, so whilst you may not have had training camp in Marbella, AI has effectively trained the players you aren’t controlling to react to your style of play. This enhances the gaming experience and makes it even more exciting as AI becomes your gaming partner. AI collects the data points and builds a profile using thousands of previous gaming sequences to ensure the playing experience is optimised.

 

Players and developers both benefit

It is not only the player that benefits from the deployment of AI. AI has also vastly improved the test phase before a game can be rolled out. Historically this was a cumbersome process and heavily time/labour intensive. The evolution of AI in the development process means that human testers are only needed for the most complex moments of the testing phase.¹ AI does not only work in isolation, it also compliments the human developers, who utilise AI to identify any programming errors.

In StarCraft^®, a science fiction strategy game, the developers have gone one step further by teaming up with a prominent tech company’s AI “Deep Mind”. The artificial intelligence was developed from extensive understanding of previous games and now lets AI actively play StarCraft® - human opponents can activate it as an opponent which allows the AI to continue to evolve and enhance its understanding further.²

 

Gaming and AI have a long history

It was 20 years ago that the chess computer Deep Blue defeated the then world chess champion Daniel Kasparov. Since then there have been numerous success stories for the development industry. The development of Bots has allowed developers to refine and improve existing game strategies even further. This has also benefitted eSports professionals who use the AI modified strategies to improve their own game play.

And AI continues to evolve. The AI victory of Deep Minds Alpha Go against a human opponent in 2017 was unique. Unlike its predecessors, version four of “Alpha Go Zero” had no human intervention; the victory was achieved solely on AI’s interpretation of the game. Furthermore: version four also beat its AI predecessors who had already prevailed against human opponents. In just three days it reached the level needed for victory in 2016 and after 40 days it had reached a vastly superior level than the master version 2017.³

 

AI supports development across industries

The European Union has also recognized the importance of AI across a number of areas. The European Regional Development Fund promotes research, innovation and the improvement of access to quality communication technologies across the European Union.⁴

 

^Conclusion

The future of AI in the gaming area is huge. It ranges from the use of cloud connections for collecting vast amounts of data to highly customized game content. The continuous development of graphics cards and processors provides a good basis for further development and the continued evolution of AI.

AI will continue to excite developers and gamers alike. It is anticipated that AI will have the power to create ever changing experiences, producing that certain ‘magic’ we feel as gamers when we experience something new, but this could repeated over and over again

 

References

¹ Source: https://hochschulanzeiger.faz.net/magazin/themen/branchenkompass/kuenstliche-intelligenz-in-der-spielebranche-16232654.html,
published: 12.6.2019, accessed 13.8.2019
² Source: https://www.kicker.de/1000002041467/video, accessed 13.8.2019
³ Source: https://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Kuenstliche-Intelligenz-AlphaGo-Zero-uebertrumpft-AlphaGo-ohne-menschliches-Vorwissen-3865120.
html, published: 19.10.2017, accessed 13.8.2019
⁴ Source: https://www.game.de/positionen/kuenstliche-intelligenz-und-games/, published: 5.10.2018,accessed 13.8.2019.

 

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