A Framework for Complementary Companion Character Behavior in Video Games
This addresses the challenge of creating engaging and supportive non-player characters for game developers, though it appears incremental as it builds on existing game AI concepts.
The authors tackled the problem of designing AI companions in video games that perform complementary actions to support player strategy, and found that a majority of participants in a user study reacted positively to the behavior and would consider using the framework.
We propose a game development framework capable of governing the behavior of complementary companions in a video game. A "complementary" action is contrasted with a mimicking action and is defined as any action by a friendly non-player character that furthers the player's strategy. This is determined through a combination of both player action and game state prediction processes while allowing the AI companion to experiment. We determine the location of interest for companion actions based on a dynamic set of regions customized to the individual player. A user study shows promising results; a majority of participants familiar with game design react positively to the companion behavior, stating that they would consider using the frame-work in future games themselves.