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Explore the profound impact of AI technology on games and the need for a structure vs style decomposition for AI. Discover the potential for deep interactivity, consequence, and meaning through AI in gaming.
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structure vs style Chris Hecker Maxis / EA chrishecker.com
disclaimer concrete specific fancy demos big name game provided solution
Question What technology has had the most profound impact on games?
The Heartbreaking Beauty of the Texture Mapped Triangle + <
Powerful structure The computer can reason about the triangle at a deep level... morphology transform rasterize light hit test topology traverse xyzuv whd texels connect
Expressive style The artist can represent subtle but rich designs... minimal DOFs simple linear intuitive DOFs vertices texture pixels
This is much deeper than “data-driving”. +
Other Examples skinned mesh & bones
Other Examples wavetable synthesis
Other Examples Style Machines, Brand & Hertzmann, 2000 mocap processing
Other Examples Lucas Kovar mocap processing
Other Examples spore creature animation
Other Examples spore creature paint Henry Goffin
Other Examples html+css
Other Examples typefaces
style structure vs This decomposition is everywhere hard interactive problems are being solved.
What is a “hard interactive problem”? Not... “wicked” problems. (Rittel & Webber, Hocking) “how to make this game fun” problems.
What is a “hard interactive problem”? Also, not “easy” problems... no quantitative success metric. don’t care about CPU, RAM, even P or NP.
What is a “hard interactive problem”? Problems at the intersection of... technology, aesthetics, interactivity.
My Theory... I think solutions to hard interactive problems will always have a deep structurevsstyle decomposition.
Why? Interactivity demands that the computer be “in the loop”. Emotion & aesthetics demand that a human be “in the loop”.
Humans in the Loop create execute algorithms generate illustrate judge data
Question What technology should have had the most profound impact on games?
AI technology is the key to deep interactivity, consequence, and meaning.
We have not yet found a structurevsstyle decomposition for AI.
What is structure? What is style?
structure xyzuv whd texels connect Static specification of the DOFs describing the object. style + Values for the DOFs describing the object.
static structure xyzuv whd texels connect You can reason about it. You can write code that reasons about it.
malleable style + You can write code that changes it. It is data.
Choosing style DOFs is an Art intuitive expressive frugal blendable efficient It took a long time for the triangle to “win”. The rigid body has not yet won.
What are the styleDOFs for AI? Does behavior mean code? Can code be a style DOF? Note: this is still code!
Where does the code live? + Not in the DOFs
Code is not... intuitive expressive frugal blendable efficient tick_ai() is not a good DOF!
My Prediction... There will be a structurevsstyle decomposition for AI. Its style will not be based on code. There will be a “Photoshop of AI”.
Near Term Look for the structurevsstyle DOF decomposition for your game’s AI.