[MUD-Dev] Natural Language Generation

[Steven King]

blizzard36_2002 at yahoo.com wrote:

> I just saw a Star Wars Galaxies banner that showed what appeared
> to be a pilot interacting with her R2 droid. Now, one of the
> biggest complaints I've heard about SWG is that it doesn't feel
> like Star Wars. Disclaiming here, I haven't played Star Wars
> myself; however, having read a novel or two, I notice that R2
> droids practically have their own personality. R2D2 certainly has
> an amusing one, and Threepio has an equally amusing one. It's
> capable of displaying concern in a variety of ways, for instance,
> from howling to displaying text. Unless you're going to make it so
> that players are the only droids in the game (and who wants to be
> fastened into the back of an X-Wing? Much more fun to be doing the
> piloting and shooting.), you'd either need an RPer who can
> compensate for the weak AI a droid has, or a less immersive
> environ than could be provided.

> True, we don't have the AI to make Star Wars droid-level AI yet
> (or do we? I'm not up to speed on the latest), but why should that
> stop us? And droid-type AI is not "so human it's scary"; it's
> human enough to interact with.

In my opinion, Galaxies is a bad example for AI.  The only "AI" that
I have experienced while playing has been combat-based.  Creatures
defend a lair, protect the young, protect others of the same
species, or are agressive.  All dialogue is scripted, and all
actions are based on simple behavior patterns.  Droids in Galaxies
are little more than mobile "buff" generators.  They slightly
enhance your character's skills or allow you to perform another
action without expending points.

To properly portray droids such as C3-PO or R2-D2, the droid would
have to be given a will of its own (or at least a slightly more
complicated set of behavior patterns).  They would need to act on
their own without being commanded every step of the way.  In a
combat-oriented environment, this may be easier than in a
roleplay-oriented environment.  Bots, such as those in Unreal
Tournament, are programmed for a specific purpose and do it quite
well.  However, they don't always make the smartest moves, nor do
they adapt/learn based on changing situations.  To me, that is
"human enough to interact with" given the environment I am
interacting in.  In a roleplay environment, a much more personal
level of interaction is needed.  The unpredictable nature of human
gameplay is part of what would be missing from this situation.

Steve
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