Automatically Generating Game Tactics through Evolutionary Learning

Authors

  • Marc Ponsen
  • Hector Munoz-Avila
  • Pieter Spronck
  • David W. Aha

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1609/aimag.v27i3.1894

Abstract

The decision-making process of computer-controlled opponents in video games is called game AI. Adaptive game AI can improve the entertainment value of games by allowing computer-controlled opponents to ix weaknesses automatically in the game AI and to respond to changes in human-player tactics. Dynamic scripting is a reinforcement learning approach to adaptive game AI that learns, during gameplay, which game tactics an opponent should select to play effectively. In previous work, the tactics used by dynamic scripting were designed manually. We introduce the evolutionary state-based tactics generator (ESTG), which uses an evolutionary algorithm to generate tactics automatically. Experimental results show that ESTG improves dynamic scripting's performance in a real-time strategy game. We conclude that high-quality domain knowledge can be automatically generated for strong adaptive game AI opponents. Game developers can bene it from applying ESTG, as it considerably reduces the time and effort needed to create adaptive game AI.

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Published

2006-09-15

How to Cite

Ponsen, M., Munoz-Avila, H., Spronck, P., & Aha, D. W. (2006). Automatically Generating Game Tactics through Evolutionary Learning. AI Magazine, 27(3), 75. https://doi.org/10.1609/aimag.v27i3.1894

Issue

Vol. 27 No. 3: Fall 2006

Section

Articles

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