Enemy AI

What is artificial intelligence (AI)? This term can mean many things, depending on the field and context where it is used, so let’s define it in a way that makes sense regarding the subject of video games.

AI is an entity that is aware of its environment and performs choices that will help it optimally achieve its intended purpose. AI uses what are called finite state machines to switch between more than one state based on the input it receives from the user or its environment. For example, a video game AI can switch between an offensive state to a defensive state based on its current health.

In games such as Hello Neighbor, which was developed in Unreal Engine 4, and Alien: Isolation, the goal of the AI is to find the player as efficiently as possible, but also to follow some predetermined patterns defined by the developers to ensure that the player can outsmart it. Hello Neighbor adds a very creative element to its AI by having it learn from the players’...