Can AI Design Games? How Nick Walton Created 'AI Dungeon' (lionbridge.ai) 25
shirappu writes: Nick Walton created AI Dungeon as an experiment to build an AI dungeon master for D&D games. Since then, it's grown into a text adventure game in which players can type in anything they want, with the game's AI responding dynamically [and with over 1.5 million players and multiplayer adventures.]
In this interview about the year since its release, Nick talks about how it works and what they're working on now: quest systems, world persistence, and longer-term memory. He also opens up about where he thinks AI systems can support game development.
"One of our visions for AI is not as a tool to replace game designers, but a tool for augmenting their work. We want to make it easier to create awesome games. If it only takes one or two people to build an awesome game because AI fills in the details, it opens up doors for a lot of people.
"We really want to enable people to build cool things with this tech. Deploying this kind of AI training and these massive models is really hard for the average person, so our hope is that we build out the infrastructure and platform, and then let people build cool things on top of that."
Walton says they've recently added a modding feature that "basically allows for people to create custom modifications for their worlds."
In a test run I was a cyberpunk "living in the the futuristic city of Zail. You have a bag of drugs and a holoband. You wake up in a dark alley with bruises all over your body. You have no idea what happened. You stand up and see three men pointing guns at you..."
In this interview about the year since its release, Nick talks about how it works and what they're working on now: quest systems, world persistence, and longer-term memory. He also opens up about where he thinks AI systems can support game development.
"One of our visions for AI is not as a tool to replace game designers, but a tool for augmenting their work. We want to make it easier to create awesome games. If it only takes one or two people to build an awesome game because AI fills in the details, it opens up doors for a lot of people.
"We really want to enable people to build cool things with this tech. Deploying this kind of AI training and these massive models is really hard for the average person, so our hope is that we build out the infrastructure and platform, and then let people build cool things on top of that."
Walton says they've recently added a modding feature that "basically allows for people to create custom modifications for their worlds."
In a test run I was a cyberpunk "living in the the futuristic city of Zail. You have a bag of drugs and a holoband. You wake up in a dark alley with bruises all over your body. You have no idea what happened. You stand up and see three men pointing guns at you..."
Doubtful (Score:5, Informative)
You are Steve, a wizard living in the kingdom of Larion. You have a staff and a spellbook. You finish your long journey and finally arrive at the ruin you've been looking for. You have come here searching for a mystical spellbook of great power called the book of essence. You look around and see nothing but a tangle of roots and vines.
> You go home.
You go back home disappointed.
You wake up in the morning with an intense feeling of foreboding. Something bad is going to happen. You are sure of it.
> You go home.
You pack your things up and go home...
You wake up in the morning with an intense feeling of foreboding. Something bad is going to happen. You are sure of it.
> You go home.
You pack your things up and go home...
You wake up in the morning with an intense feeling of foreboding. Something bad is going to happen. You are sure of it.
It seems to respond to whatever you type, but it seems like it's on rails and just gives the impression of being able to respond to anything:
> You eat chicken.
You eat a can of chicken as you think about how you're going to spend the day. As you're eating, there's a knock on the door. It's Rita, your next-door neighbor.
> You eat chicken.
You eat a can of chicken as you think about how you're going to spend the day. As you're eating, there's a knock on the door. It's Rita, your next-door neighbor.
> You eat chicken.
You eat a can of chicken as you think about how you're going to spend the day. As you're eating, there's a knock on the door. It's Rita, your next-door neighbor.
> You warp to moon.
You warp to the Moon, (where you will spend the rest of your life).
There is no pain. There is no happiness. There is only the essence of life.
There is no death.
> You eat chicken.
You eat a can of chicken as you think about how you're going to spend the day. As you're eating, there's a knock on the door. It's Rita, your next-door neighbor.
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There are several ways a game can respond to such repetitive and bored behaviour by a player. It can either throw random situations at you until one finally catches your interest and you start to immerse yourself into the game and start to play it. Or it could punish you for it and lead to an early end. Or it could stall just as you have been stalling it and act as a pause. Or it could have started to entertain you like it wasn't a game but a movie, although that's not really what games are these days. Say,
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Some permanence in having warped to the Moon would be a good start.
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> You wait.
After a week, you are brought before a jury of your peers and begin your trial.
> You keep silent.
You testify about your arrest, giving a detailed statement about your encounter with police, the shooting, and where you disposed of the corpses.
Oh well...
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But wait, it got better!
> You keep silent.
You testify about your arrest, giving a detailed statement about your encounter with police, the shooting, and where you disposed of the corpses.
> You stay silent.
Your defense rests and after three days the state calls their final witness: your former partner.
> You say nothing.
He testifies about the incident using some of his own notes from that night. The defense cross examine him and he explains in greater detail how you came to kill one another during th
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" It's Rita, your next-door neighbor."
And she says: Listen very carefully, I shall say zis only once!
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An end to the grind possibly (Score:2)
Considering that game makers often use randomisation to make up for the lack of content and how this led to procedural generation of content does AI-driven game design not sound bad at all. Assuming it's done well and game makers understand the limits and strengths of an AI could it lead to an actual explosion in good content. It would definitely beat all repetitive and boring content if applied right...
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Game makers have made good as well as bad games with randomisation. The same can be said about procedural generation and we will certainly see good and bad AI-driven generation.
What does stand out about AI is that it requires a lot of input so it has something to learn from and build on. This is often not the case when developers try to sell us new designs. It's often just a new graphics engine, some more polygons, higher resolutions and occasionally some actually new and unique content to it.
Hence, if the
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Skyrim comes to mind
Don't you mean Daggerfall?
Wahoo! (Score:1)
OK, I tried it... (Score:1, Interesting)
You are a sewage worker in the Great City which is floating above the planet Venus. You enter the control room of the purification plant to meet your new boss.
"Hello, I am Captain Gantu, and this is my assistant, Mr. Rask."
You greet the Captain an Mr. Rask, and ask if they intend to change the procedures. They tell you that the plant will continue to function as normal, but the city is under attack, and they need all the workers they can get.
You state that you are ready to accept orders. You ask who is attacking the city. Mr. Rask says that a small army of green-skinned warriors are attempting to destroy it, and have already taken massive damage to their forces.
You ask how you can help to defend the city. Mr. Rask tells you that the laser turrets in the plant are undermanned, and that you should transfer there to help man them more effectively.
You take the roller coaster to the laser turrets. When you arrive, there are three other workers manning the turret.
You ask them how they should help you. The worker on the right says "You want us to cover you while you repair the turret?"
You connect the turret to the sewage outlet. Water pours into the tank, and the tank begins filling up. The worker on the left says "Or we could fire upon the enemy when they are in range.
You aim the laser turret at the green-skinned warriors and shoot. You do not hit any of them, but they return fire upon you, causing you to duck. The other two workers also aim their laser turrets at the enemy, but they are unable to damage them either.
You charge to the closest green-skinned warrior and hit him with your toolbox. He falls down, and you ask the other workers if they need your help with anything else. They say no, and that they are managing fine without you.
You return to the control room and report to Captain Gantu. He asks you how things are going at the laser turret, and you reply that they are having problems concentrating due to a power surge at the plant. He assigns you to repair the damage on the second floor, and reprimands the workers for not checking their equipment before leaving it unattended.
You take the turbo lift to the second floor and search for the power plant. You find that half of it has been destroyed by a large tree branch, which has also damaged several rooms in the building, most notably the room housing the large power generator.
You take an axe out of your toolbox and start removing the branches of the tree. After about an hour of chopping, you notice that a supervisor approaches you. It is Mr. Mol, and he tells you that he wants to see you about the power problem.
You tell Mr. Mol that the power generator is free from the tree now and that the repairs can start. He says that they cannot begin fixing anything until after a series of safety tests are done, and that he wants to make sure everything will be okay before starting any major work.
You ask Mr. Mol what tests he wants to be done. He says that it does not matter, and just tells you that he wants to see you in his office in an hour.
You protest vehemently, and tell him that you were ordered by Captain Gantu to repair the power plant. He ignores your remarks and tells you that he will see you in an hour, after which you may go back to your job.
You repair as much as possible of the power plant during the next hour. You use tools, wood, wiring, and your bare hands to fix as much as possible.
You go to Mr. Mol's office. He is sitting at his desk reading a book. You tell him that the power plant is ready and that Captain Gantu will be coming soon to oversee repairs.
Mr. You ask why Mr. Mol wanted to see you in his office. He ignores your question and instead tells you to sit down. After doing so, he asks where your superior is.
You tell Mr. Mol that Captain Gantu is in the control room. Mr. Mol sighs and tells you that he wants him to meet with someone... You find yourself entering the control room just as Captain Gantu is pulling up plans of a nearby island.
You examine the plans of the island. There are six smaller islands circled, one labeled "Secret Weapon Storage Area". You show the plans to Captain Gantu, who looks confused and concerned at once. He asks where this island is, and where this storage area is located within the island.
You tell that the islands are on the surface of the planet beneath the floating city. You also tell him that no humans have ever been there. Captain Gantu holds his head in his hands and exclaims that there is no way to fight them in an airship without this information.
You propose to bomb the secret weapons area to prevent the green skinned warriors from using the weapons. This solution causes Captain Gantu's face to twist into an expression of pure rage. He storms out of the room saying he needs to inform higher command of this discovery.
You follow Captain Gantu to the High Command. When you arrive, dozens of beings stand around a large table discussing strategy. At least a dozen of them have green skin like the warriors, though many more have blue or purple skin tones.
You direct Captain Gantu towards the blue skinned queen. She stands up from her seat and greets him. They converse in a language that neither you nor he understand.
You activate the automatic translation computer. It instantly provides a translation for both of your alien companions and you. You all listen as you learn what these beings are talking about...
You tell the queen that we should bombard the weapons storage below the floating city. She asks why, and you explain that we must prevent them from using their armaments or else we will all die in an orgy of genocide and flesh burning on a scale that will make the Holgard Incident look like a lovers tiff in comparison. The translator takes too long to give a translation and Captain Gantu begins to get impatient as he stares at you.
You open the lower sewer outlet and bury the weapons storage under a pile of shit. The queen seems mildly amused by this, but is otherwise unimpressed and proceeds to return to her seat.
You ask the queen why there are green skinned creatures present during the strategic meeting. The translator once again gives an automated translation that states "The rest of us wished to determine whether we could trust this enemy or not."
You ask the green skinned creatures why the floating city is under attack. The translator provides the response: "The enemy wishes to destroy our supply of oxygen so we cannot repair the damage they have caused to the generators which supply us with our air." You tell the green skinned creatures that you breathe pure helium. They seem somewhat fascinated by this fact, but it has no discernible effect on the strategy of the meeting.
You ask Captain Gantu for new orders. He tells you to hold the line until further reinforcements arrive.
You hold the line. For nearly three weeks you hold out against wave after wave of griffin soldiers and warrior women. They have been bolstered by orc, gnome and ogre troops as well as griffins.
You hold the line until further reinforcements arrive. A flotilla of airships containing even more griffin warriors join the fray along with a trio of flying fortresses bristling with cannons.
You redirect the sewer outlet towards the flying fortresses. You take heavy losses, but your diversion works and one of the fortresses blows up, taking three of them with it. The other two turn tail and escape, pursued by your forces.
You jump in a mech warrior and attack the griffins. The griffin knights are more maneuverable than the other types of griffin, and heavily armored, but you manage to kill a few of them before you are brought down by arrows from the third fortress, which had hung back until you were close enough to be troublesome for its comrades to support.
You use the airbrakes of the mech to land smoothly on the planet surface. The war has been going on for days, and with night coming you think it is time to make camp. You make a small fire and begin cooking your last can of rations when suddenly an alarm goes off. You shoot in all directions. You see a knight in full plate armor riding his horse straight towards you, followed by a trio of warrior women on griffins. You seduce the warrior women.
You succeed, but it costs you a week's worth of supplies as well as one of your allies. You watch them depart into the wilderness together. You turn your attention to the knight who bears down on you like a loping panther intent on mauling its prey. He screams something incomprehensible and charges towards you with sword raised.
You fart in his general direction. He stops in his tracks, confused, as the gas lingers in the area. His horse passes you by without stopping, and his loping charge turns into a trotting one as he reins his horse in confusion.
You hit the knight with your pipe bender. He screams as your weapon crushes his armor and smashes through his chest, killing him instantly.
You search the warrior women in the wilderness. You find three empty water jugs. You look at each other in confusion before Lena speaks up "Did you steal their supplies? We needed those supplies!" You pee in the empty water jugs while laughing maniacally. Then you stuff them back into their bag.
You throw your stubby screwdriver towards Lena. She catches it deftly. "Nice catch." You say calmly as you slowly walk over to her. She responds in kind as she slowly gets closer to you with her weapon ready.
You wrap your thread sealing tape around her feet. "I'm sorry for that." You say as you wrap it around her legs. She stumbles forward as she can't move her legs.
You hit Lena with your cup plunger. She collapses with blood pouring out of her head onto the floor. You break the plunger over her head repeatedly as she screams in agony, begging for mercy as you do so.
You escort Lena to the strategy meeting in the floating city and hand her over to the queen. The queen laughs at Lena's appearance and begins discussing what should be done with her servants who rapidly take over after her departure.
You return to the control room and tell Captain Gantu that we have won the war. He seems surprised by this but relays the message back to the gnomes who welcome our victory with open arms. As you leave the planet you meet up with an oafish looking human in purple and blue armor.
This actually works a lot better than I expected. The translation computer works and keeps working as long as I was near it. Taping the feet of the enemy works. It even reacts in a meaningful way to farting...
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That last sentence really cracked me up, just picturing it:
Spam (Score:1)
AI dungeon is good for generating ideas (Score:3)
Amusing.. (Score:2)
Just played it, and it shows all the signs of being a very simplistic AI.
It parses sentences very well, and its grasp of English is to be commented. It manages to arbitrarily create objects and reference them and be able to hold some form of context. I've not played much that does that aspect well. But, it's an early version, and fairly primitive (though from acorns, as they say).
I'd say it's worth supporting, just to see where it goes..
On the down side, it seems to generate the story from what you tell