Improving the Spatial Awareness of Virtual Agents in Games

提高游戏中虚拟代理的空间意识

• 批准号: RGPIN-2019-05213
• 负责人: Verbrugge, Clark
• 金额: $ 2.04万
• 依托单位: McGill University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=715418
• 关键词: Improving; Spatial; Awareness; Virtual; Agents

Many modern games incorporate artificially intelligent agents, as opponents, companions/followers for the player, or even just as bystanders. These Non-Player Character (NPC) agents have different roles, but all of them are required to interact with the game environment in a way that makes sense to the player. Spatially aware NPC behaviours, however, are rare, with most NPCs enacting simple, stereotypical and heavily scripted behaviours that indicate little understanding of spatial properties relevant to their intended activities. Advanced opponents in games may "take cover" or mimic other strategic behaviours, but they do so based on embedded, manual space designations and very simple (and highly localized) properties of the space. Characters in general are not able to realistically hide, sneak, explore, ambush, or otherwise exploit an arbitrary space, or one with dynamic, changing properties. NPCs tend to interfere with each other and the player, and make overly simple, apparently irrational choices in contexts not foreseen by the game developer, inducing frustration by contradicting a player's expectation of how an agent should behave. This research aims to improve the technical capability and interactive qualities of artificial agents in modern computer games. It is aimed at the mechanical benefits, where algorithmic potential exists to better analyze and abstract a virtual space to improve environmental awareness. "Summarizing" aspects of the world state in different ways to better, and more compactly represent spatial qualities relevant to common movement and strategic planning problems has significant potential for improving the quality of decisions made by an NPC, whether applied to opponents in less-scripted game combat simulation, or to non-combat NPCs that need to align their behaviour with high-level player expectations. This work addresses challenges in developing abstractions appropriate to different spatial tasks, focussing on core issues related to use of visibility and perception. This is coupled with efficiency requirements due to real-time computation concerns, typical of interactive environments, as well as the need for practical implementation designs and tooling necessary in rapid development contexts like games. Games have a long history of pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence. Modern games continue to raise that bar in presenting virtual contexts that represent agents and environments in increasing detail, and thus with increasing need to demonstrate rational and effective behaviour. This research work benefits Canada's strong presence in the game development industry, and offers abstractions and techniques useful for the practical use of artificial intelligence in the growing, real-world integration of virtual environments.

许多现代游戏都加入了人工智能代理，比如 球员的对手、同伴/追随者，甚至是 旁观者。这些非玩家角色(NPC)代理有不同的 角色，但所有角色都需要与游戏交互 环境，以一种对玩家有意义的方式。空间意识 然而，NPC的行为是罕见的，大多数NPC制定起来都很简单， 刻板印象和大量照本宣科的行为，几乎不表明什么 了解与其预期目标相关的空间属性 活动。游戏中的高级对手可能会“隐蔽”或模仿其他对手 战略行为，但它们是基于嵌入的手动空间 的名称和非常简单(且高度本地化)的属性 太空。一般来说，角色不能真实地隐藏、偷偷地 探索、伏击或以其他方式利用任意的空间，或用 动态、不断变化的属性。NPC之间往往相互干扰 和玩家，并做出过于简单、显然不理性的选择 游戏开发人员没有预见到的上下文，通过 与球员对经纪人应该如何表现的期望相矛盾。 本研究的目的是提高技术能力和互动性 现代电脑游戏中人工智能体的性质。它的目标是 机械优势，在算法潜力存在的地方，可以更好地 分析和抽象虚拟空间以改善环境 意识。以不同的方式“总结”世界状态的各个方面 以更好、更紧凑地表示与 共同的运动和战略规划问题具有重大意义 提高全国人大决策质量的潜力，是否 应用于脚本较少的游戏战斗模拟中的对手，或应用于 需要将其行为与高层保持一致的非战斗NPC 球员的期望。这项工作解决了开发过程中的挑战 适合不同空间任务的抽象，专注于核心 与可见性和知觉的使用有关的问题。这是加在一起的 由于实时计算的考虑而产生的效率要求， 交互环境的典型特征，以及实践的需要 快速开发所需的实施设计和工具 背景就像游戏一样。 游戏在突破人工的界限方面有着悠久的历史。 智慧。现代游戏继续提高了这一门槛 代表不断增长的代理和环境的虚拟环境 细节，因此越来越需要证明理性和 有效的行为。这项研究工作使加拿大的强者受益 在游戏开发行业的存在，并提供抽象和 对人工智能的实际使用有用的技术在 不断增长的虚拟环境与现实世界的集成。