How is AI bringing revolution into the gaming industry?

Have you ever imagined a time where games could predict your next move? That has become a reality with the introduction of AI in the gaming industry. We can't help but notice the growing intelligence in the recently launched games. All that has been done by AI, which has slowly but steadily changed the way we interact with the virtual world. The gaming industry has certainly experienced a drastic change due to the limitless capabilities of AI.

AI has been in the gaming industry since 1993, but the way we can use it in the present times is unmatchable. This change was not sudden, and it didn't come out of nowhere; after a lot of research and innovation, we reached a stage where we could implement AI into our games. The impact and capability of AI have certainly changed the way we create and develop games. We have successfully found a way to implement the power of artificial intelligence into our much-beloved games.

Mimicking Humans

On the starting level, the implementation of AI in Chess.com seemed like a very interesting addition to the gaming experience. Somewhere around the mid-2020s, Chess.com introduced Conversational AI into their game. This allowed the players to have a more immersive experience while playing the game and enriched the experience of playing the offline mode of chess. Earlier, the only option they had was playing with the computer.

After the introduction of Conversational AI, they have the option to play with legendary chess players, influencers, well-known personalities, and even fictional characters! AI has been used in such a way that it mimics the intelligence of the conversational AI, which behaves and plays exactly like its human counterparts. Some of the taunts and hitbacks given by the AI may make you feel like you are playing with a real person.

AI has improved NPCs.

Do you remember playing games like GTA Vice City? The NPCs, i.e., the non-playing characters in those games, were not adaptive, and they pretty much looked like bots. The characters used to follow scripted behaviors and hardly had any decision-making capabilities. They lacked depth and basic emotional intelligence.

Cut to the present time; AI has helped the gaming industry give depth to the non-playing characters in games. Not just that, they have started possessing human-like traits.

NPCs can now adapt to the behavior of the person playing the game. Whatever decisions are made by the player, the NPC characters will react accordingly. This enhanced the overall gaming experience, fostering meaningful interactions and engaging gameplay.

Cyberpunk 2077, the futuristic open-world game that was launched at the end of 2020, is the perfect example of how AI has given more personality to the NPCs in games. The NPCs in this game are assigned daily routines and tasks to make the city’s environment feel alive. The reactions that are given by the NPCs are not fixed and continuously keep changing as per the actions performed by the player. The NPCs can even go to work, shopping malls, or engage in their activities until the player interacts with them. This atmosphere is a world that will make players feel like they are in the metaverse.

Adaptive Gameplay

One of the major innovations in AI was brought in by adaptive gameplay. All the games that have AI implemented in them can understand the level of skills of the players. The AI can determine if the player has just started playing the game or is an expert in the game. By extracting the information through the behavior of the player, the AI adjusts the difficulty level of the stages in the game. Through this, AI makes sure that the game is not boring for the players who are experts in the game but also ensures that the game does not become too difficult for the newbies. The experts do need to feel that they are being challenged, but for casual gamers, it’s important for them to feel like they are being rewarded with something. The AI continuously learns and adapts according to the player's skills. In this way, adaptive gameplay enables the player to enjoy a personalized experience.

Moreover, further innovations have allowed game developers to create a never-ending universe through AI. Multiple studies have found that when you feed a certain level of the universe of the game to AI, it can expand the universe of that particular game. This has also allowed game developers to experiment with multiple timelines that have different stories to make sure that each gamer has a unique experience. This leaves the players genuinely excited, surprised, and hooked on the game. This creates a brand new, real-life-like world for the gamers, where anything is possible and anything can happen!

Looking ahead, it certainly seems like the potential of AI has no limits whatsoever. The near future that we were anticipating is right in front of us, where the AI is playing games with us and learning along with us!