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Gamers have been pitting their wits and skill against computers since the earliest days of video games. The levels of difficulty were pre-programmed, and at a certain point in the game, the computer was simply unbeatable by all but the most gifted gamers.
Over time, the concept of difficulty levels evolved. For example, Madden NFL Football games have four different levels (ranging from Rookie to All-Madden) that make running plays more difficult, while first-person shooter (FPS) games like Duke Nukem 3D follow the same type of tiered difficulty (ranging from Piece of Cake to Damn, I’m Good) that makes it tougher to stay alive and kill enemies.
While creating different difficulty experiences has long been a discussion topic, something new happened in 2000 when Perfect Dark was released for the Nintendo 64. Like GoldenEye (one of the most beloved games on the Nintendo 64), Perfect Dark was an FPS that you could play with or against friends. Unlike GoldenEye, however, Perfect Dark offered the ability to add up to 8 computer-controlled enemies (called Simulants) to matches, with each Simulant having a customizable difficulty level (ranging from MeatSim to DarkSim).
Suddenly, you didn’t need to have friends come over to have dynamic gameplay experiences; Perfect Dark’s Simulant AI made every match different, and each match and Simulant could be customized to exactly the difficulty level you wanted.
Fast forward to the era of online gaming. The rising popularity of MMORPGs (i.e., World of Warcraft) and battle royal games (i.e., Fortnite) has changed the social paradigm of a generation. You never have to have your friends over; they are always available to play from wherever they are. But how much longer will you need friends to play with? This level of isolation may portend a new era of social interaction as human vs. machine and ultimately machine vs. machine contests evolve.
AI in Video Games
AI has been present in video games since their inception in 1947. You probably remember one of the best-known examples of human vs. machine gaming, IBM’s Deep Blue. It was a chess-playing computer that beat world chess champion Garry Kasparov in a six-game chess match in 1997.
