“Programming” Games Without Programming (sort of)

1. “Programming” Games Without Programming(sort of) H. Muñoz-Avila Jarret Raim Jonathan Martin

2. Most Popular Games Genres • Adventure games: • Solving puzzles • Finding clues • E.g., through conversations with NPCs • Role Playing Games (RPG) • Player assumes fictional roles through Avatars • Avatar acquires skills by performing tasks/actions • “Levels” indicate the progress of the avatar • Massive Multiplayer Online RPG (MMORPG) • RPGs with multiple other players in pervasive worlds

3. Most Popular Games Genres (II) • Strategy games: • resource gathering, managing economy, technology development • Real-Time Strategy (RTS) • Simultaneous actions • Turn-based Games (TBS) • Take turns • Wargames • Accurate depiction of actual units and maps • Sport Games • Simulation of actual sport games • Games of chance • Outcome highly influenced by a stochastic environment

4. Motivation: Scripting Programming Languages • The “Community Expansion Package” is a game created by players, many non-programmers • It is build using a software tool called Aurora which is included in the game Neverwinter Nights • In fact using Aurora, gamers creating thousands their own games • Most variants of the original game • Others significant departures

5. Thief 2: How to program NPC behavior?

6. Finite State Machines and Games • State: an activity performed by an avatar • Event: something that happens in the game world that makes state change Enemy on sight Attack Patrol

7. E S Chase ~S D S Another Finite State Machine • States • Attack • Chase • Spawn • Wander • Events • E: see an enemy • S: hear a sound • D: die Attack ~E D E Wander E ~E Spawn D

8. If player walks here then Spawn Mephisto Put 3 orcs here Starting place of player But it gets even easier (event-on-map)

9. If player cross here Then declare war Even at a Larger Scale

10. Ok Let Us Construct One Finite State Machine • Lets program High Priestess Jeklik • Here is she in action • Text Description • Step 1: list states and events • Step 2: Construct the Finite State Machine

11. Homework (next class) • Pick an existing game • Select one or more NPCs in the game • Create a Finite State Machine modeling the behavior of the NPCs • List states (at least 5) • List events (at least 5) • Draw Finite State Machine • Pick and existing game (can be same as before) • Provide at least 3 different examples of events-on-map

12. Computer Programs -Program: sequence of instructions that the computer can understand read(x) read(y) z  x + y print(z)

13. Scripts - Script: specialized program that uses instructions that are based on game world pick-weapon() if monster then attack(monster) if hurt then heal() A Finite State Machine

14. Three Engines • Adventure Game Studio http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/ • RPG Maker http://www.enterbrain.co.jp/tkool/RPG_XP/eng/ • Aurora (Neverwinter Nigths; http://nwn.bioware.com/ • Almost for every game genre there is such an engine • Available with the commercial release of the game

15. Aurora Neverwinter Toolset By: Nicholas Haines

19. Final Remarks • Give some serious thought to doing the optional assignment of creating a game • Try one of the engines • Last time some 50% of the class created one • Its fun and • Some 80% of them got exempt from the Final Exam