Hello, I am Jitesh Mulchandani, a senior gameplay engineer at Super Evil Megacorp. Spatial query systems have become an essential tool for enabling intelligent AI behaviors in complex game environments. They allow AI characters to dynamically analyze their surroundings and find optimal locations for tasks like taking cover, choosing targets, flanking the player, surrounding enemies, or adapting to changes in the environment during combat. Popularized by games like Crysis with its Tactical Point System and now freely available in engines like CryEngine and Unreal Engine 4, spatial queries bring game AI to life by letting them evaluate the game world in real-time instead of relying on predefined points.

Game Developer Deep Dives are an ongoing series with the goal of shedding light on specific design, art, or technical features within a video game in order to show how seemingly simple, fundamental design decisions aren’t really that simple at all. Earlier installments cover topics such as how GOG perfected the imperfect with the re-release of Alpha Protocol, how Ishtar Games designed a new dwarf race in The Last Spell, and how Krillbite Studio cooked up a palatable food prep experience in Fruitbus.

This post first appeared on our blog at Gamelogic. In software development, particularly in game development and real-time applications, efficient memory management is crucial for maintaining optimal performance. One common technique employed to manage objects efficiently is known as object pooling. An object pool is a design pattern that pre-allocates a set of objects and keeps them ready for use, rather than creating and destroying objects on the fly. This pool of objects can be reused, significantly reducing the overhead of object creation and garbage collection.

Introducing AI into creative workflows, particularly in game development, can feel like a double-edged sword. On one side, it offers unprecedented efficiency and new possibilities. On the other hand, it raises fears about losing control of the final product and compromising artistic integrity. The key is to implement AI in a way that both respects and enhances the artist’s role, rather than replacing it. Despite what you might hear from the tech industry hyping generative AI, there isn’t strong evidence that AI can replace the human creative process anytime soon.

The following excerpt is from Game AI Uncovered Volume One, as edited by Paul Roberts. The book was published February 23, 2024 by CRC Press, a division of Taylor & Francis, a sister company of Game Developer and Informa Tech. Use our discount code GDTF20 at checkout on Routledge.com to receive a 20% discount on your purchase. Offer is valid through July 4, 2024. While working on a yet to be announced title, the AI team hit a snag.

One of the most exciting and controversial technological developments in recent years has been the rise of generative AI in game development. This powerful technology has the potential to revolutionize various aspects of game creation, from coding to graphics and beyond. In this article, we’ll explore the impact of generative AI on game development, the challenges it presents, and how developers can leverage automation tools to navigate this new frontier.

The attitude to optimizing games is different for PCs and consoles. Having a well-optimized PC build is always good, but it’s rather a good practice that improves the player’s experience but is not always critical to have. But for console games, the game has to meet the performance criteria to be published. Strict and stable framerate, no long static unresponsive screens, no using all the RAM, saved data size, and read-write operations per minute limitations - getting to console markets requires following this and many more limitations.

Pharah, one of the heroes in Overwatch, has an emote where she says, “Rocket jump? That sounds dangerous.” Almost thirty years before Pharah said that, in Quake, some players discovered that shooting a rocket into the ground would damage them but also provided a jump boost, allowing them to reach higher places and thus having a combat advantage. Using the word “bug” is almost like giving your interlocutor a prompt, inviting words like “stomp,” “crush,” or “wrangle” to fill in the blanks.

Game Developer Deep Dives are an ongoing series with the goal of shedding light on specific design, art, or technical features within a video game in order to show how seemingly simple, fundamental design decisions aren’t really that simple at all. Earlier installments cover topics such as creating asynchronous multiplayer in Solium Infernum, expanding accessibility for the PlayStation port of As Dusk Falls, and conquering hardware hurdles to port Kingdom Come: Deliverance to Switch.