Towards the design of a human-like FPS NPC using pheromone maps

Abstract

Non-player characters (NPCs) in video games tend to be easily recognized by human players, reducing the sense of immersion and limiting the complexity of character interactions. In this paper we study various aspects of the NPCs performance and how it differs from human players. We provide categorization and metrics for quantifying some aspects of the NPCs performance and provide an in-depth analysis of the behavior of NPCs. We detail how movements, interactions, use of items, and relying on static decision-making schemes result in markedly different behaviors from humans in the popular FPS Quake III. In addition, we propose a framework relying on a special kind of influence map, a pheromone map, which can lead to a more adaptive human-like behavior. These maps can efficiently give a summary of the events in the game world, be adaptive in nature, and be effectively used in the decision making process of NPCs.