Square Enix AI academy: AI workshop for blackboard architecure

Abstract

The purpose of game AI education is not only to help people understand the theory but also to help them to effectively use the techniques in game development. However, it is difficult to comprehend AI techniques by simply hearing a lecture about game AI. SQUARE ENIX AI Academy is a five session seminar series with lectures and workshops that was held by the SQUARE ENIX Advanced Technology Division in the summer and autumn of 2014. The workshops were held after a lecture to give attendees the opportunity to experience the use of the techniques as introduced in the lecture segment. For the first and third seminars a board game workshop was held. For the second seminar, a hands-on session with an AI software tool was held. Finally, for the fourth seminar, a workshop using blackboards in an agent's internal achitecture and agents' communication was held. In this workshop, several groups of participants engage in a practical example application of the blackboard techniques used in digital game chracter's AI that are introduced in the lecture.