Past raif topics: NPCs and AI
This is a collection of Past raif topics to do with Non Player Characters and Artificial Intelligence in IF.
If you add or change any of the sections on this page, remember to update the entry on the Past raif topics page as well.
Believable / realistic NPCs
See also => Game Mechanics: Actors / PCs and NPCs
See also => InfAct - Inform NPCs (Roger Firth) .. NPC Characterization (Emily Short)
See also => NPC Behaviour and Responsiveness in the IF Gems review quotes collection (also in the IF Archive)
See also => Best NPCs .. Best_Individual_NPC (IFWiki articles)
- Lifelike NPCs (Mar 1999)
- Active vs reactive NPCs (Sep 1995)
- Realistic NPCs (who ask questions, etc) (Nov 1994)
- Intelligent / realistic NPCs (Apr 1993)
- Achievable goals for realistic NPC design (Mar 1994)
- Intelligent NPCs (Nov 2003)
- Credible NPCs (Feb 1997)
- Examples of complex NPCs ? (Apr 1999)
- NPCs in IF (contest) (Dec 1998)
- NPCs with changing emotions (Feb 2006)
NPC personality / characterization
See also => NPC Characterization in the IF Gems review quotes collection (also in the IF Archive)
- NPC characterization / caring about the characters (Jun 1997, RGIF)
- Likable / interesting NPCs (quirkiness, speech, reactions, etc) (Sep 1994)
- NPC personalities + simulationism (May 1998)
- Modelling NPC personality (Jan 1991)
- Non-typical uses for NPCs (Feb 2006)
Conversations with NPCs
See also => Conversations with NPCs in the IF Gems review quotes collection (also in the IF Archive)
See also => NPCs and AI: Conversation interfaces
- Improving NPC conversations (Jul 1998)
- NPC conversation ideas (Aug 1998)
- NPC conversation / knowledge (Inform 7) (Aug 2006)
- Limited conversations for believable NPCs + NPC mind modelling (Jul 1994)
- Algorithms for NPC interaction (conversation snippets) (Jun 2001)
- Conversations & NPC knowledge representation (Mar 2002)
- Conversation trees + plot branching (Bladerunner) (May 1998)
- Writing a conversation script (Jul 2002)
- Conversations in TADS 3 (Feb 2004)
- Asking an NPC about an object (Jan 2001)
- "Stance" in conversation (mean, friendly, etc) (May 1997)
- Choosing emotional stance in conversations with NPCs (Dec 1997)
- Conversational tone (May 2001)
- Making assertions (in conversations) / "A is B" (Jan 1995)
- Questions PC could ask NPCs (Jun 1998)
- Things could ask NPCs (Jan 1999)
- Conversations & disambiguation (Oct 1997)
- Gender neutral conversations (Oct 1998)
- PC speaking other languages (Feb 2001)
- Lying to an NPC (Jan 2000)
- Repeating the same text each time something is asked (Oct 2006)
- Repeating conversation responses (Jul 2007)
- New approach to conversations / NPCs changing the topic (Feb 2007)
Conversation interfaces
See also => Conversation (article by Emily Short)
See also => Choosing a Conversation System (TADS3)
See also => Conversation Systems in the IF Gems review quotes collection (also in the IF Archive)
See also => Conversation system (IFWiki article)
- Conversation systems (March 2008)
- Conversational methods list (Mar 1999)
- Favorite method of conversing with NPCs (June 2004)
- Best conversations method (Mar 1999)
- Menu driven conversations (Apr 2001)
- Menu driven conversations #2 (Apr 2001)
- Conversation menus / putting words in the PC's mouth (Dec 2001)
- Conversation menus vs ask/tell / modelling intelligent NPCs (May 1997)
- NPC Conversation menus vs ask/tell / modelling intelligent NPCs #2 (May 1997)
- Ask / tell theory & menus (Apr 2002)
- Ask / tell vs menu based conversations (Photopia) (Nov 1998)
- Ask / tell - outputing PC's actual words (Jul 2002)
- Alternatives to "ask about" (May 2001)
- Conversations (Quest conversation system) (Aug 2003)
- Special "chat mode" for conversations (Feb 2002)
- "Reading" and "talking" modes & questions (Galatea / Worlds Apart) (Apr 2000, RGIF)
- Character interaction (conversation menus, special prompts, etc) (Mar 1993)
- Character interaction #2 (Mar 1993)
- Conversation interface in City of Secrets (May 2003)
- Conversations / think about topic (Best of Three game) (Nov 2001)
- Conversation topic lists / topics not yet known to the PC (Dec 1998)
NPC motivations & behavior
See also => OZ Project Publications .. All that Erasmatazz (Xyzzy news) (archive)
See also => NPC Behaviour in the IF Gems review quotes collection (also in the IF Archive)
See also => Façade system .. Review of Façade (Brass Lantern)
- NPC behavior (Mar 1994)
- Implementing NPC behaviour (Mar 1994)
- List of possible NPC behaviors (Mar 1994)
- Things that prompt NPC behaviour / reactions (Oct 1994)
- Motivated characters / issues with creating realistics NPCs (Nov 1990)
- NPC preferences & desires / utility functions (Apr 1992)
- Emotional states & dimensions (a hungry fish) (Apr 1996)
- Implementing an intelligent NPC (a bear) (Oct 1994)
- Models for handling NPCs (scripts) (Sep 1997)
- Implementing "Bringing characters to life" article (Jun 1997)
- Artificial Life (alife) + unpredictable NPCs, good or bad ? (Feb 1995)
NPC knowledge, planning and reasoning
- Goal oriented NPC behaviour (TADS) (Jun 1993)
- NPC common sense / intelligence in a simulationist environment (Oct 2001)
- NPC planning & reasoning (Nov 1996)
- NPC brains / thought processes (Mar 1994)
- CYC and IF (common sense knowledge) (Jul 1994)
- NPC knowledge / "factoids" (Mar 1994)
- Knowledge representation & reasoning (SNePS system) (Jan 1994)
- Reasoning agents / SNePS system (Feb 1994)
- Reasoning agents (psychology) (Mar 1994)
- AI / planning & goals for NPCs #1 (Mar 1994)
- AI / planning & goals for NPCs #2 (Apr 1994)
- "NPC programming language" / planner (Prolog) (Oct 1996)
- Reactive Agent Planner for Inform 7 (Jun 2006)
Artificial Intelligence
See also => Artifial Intelligence in Adventure Games (Brass Lantern)
- IF, AI, and other two-letter acronyms (Apr 1993)
- IF and AI (Apr 1993)
- AI in IF (Sep 2001)
- What's this thing we call AI ? (Sep 2001)
- Overview of AI (Dec 1991)
- AI & Oz project / limited conversations for believable NPCs (Jul 1994)
- AI and NPCs / meaning of intelligence (Jan 1996)
- AI and NPCs / goal oriented NPCs (Jun 2001)
- Artificial Intelligence + real life physics (May 1998)
- Inform / TADS version of ELIZA (Feb 1999)
- Believable NPC stupidity / ELIZA in IF (Mar 1998)
- Machine learning & conversations (Nov 2003)
- NPC goals, memory, etc / CYC & Wisdom projects (Jan 1996)
- NPC goals, memory, etc / CYC & Wisdom projects #2 (Jan 1996)