AI Behaviour Design Process
Conceptualisation
Unkindled is a reverse horror action game, where the player takes on the role of a grotesque monster out for blood. In the abandoned hotel, there will be civilian workers and priests of a cult hired to eradicate the player... or die trying.
The behaviours of these NPCs have to be dynamic enough to convey emotion in the time that the player can interact with them, while complementing gameplay mechanics.
Flowcharts
Majority of the design process involved visualising the state machine of the NPCs and the stimuli that can change their behaviours. By compiling the states onto a series of flowcharts and returning to edit it whenever an iteration is made helps to put things in an abstract perspective as to how the system will function as a whole, while providing the team with a reference point so that everyone stays updated on the changes.
Iteration
After each sketch of the logic flow of the NPC behaviours, the systems were handed to the programmers to implement and test. From there, we identified problems and collated them into a list based on priority, then returned to the flowchart to solve the issues with the team. We prioritised changes that were cheapest to produce while yielding the most results, so as to achieve the best version of the system within the limited time that we had.
Implementation
Unkindled is now available on the Digipen Games Gallery! A lot have been learnt on the inner workings of how to create an AI to serve the needs of the experience, and while more polish can be done on the feedback of the NPCs, such as dialogue, sounds, and variations to their reactions, I feel proud of the the final product with the resources available.