between two contested areas. If the AI for the enemy general was properly designed,
the slow drain of troops in that manner would start to enrage him. Once infuriated, the
general would try a foolhardy attack to get back at the enemy forces, thus putting him at
the disadvantage. Here again, a bit of the game’s story has been told through the AI.
In my gameDamage Incorporated, the player is a U.S. Marine Corps sergeant in
charge of a fire-team of four men. Together with their men, players storm through
numerous missions against a variety of heavily armed opponents. The men each have
different strengths and weaknesses. Some are headstrong and will charge bravely into a
fight. Some of the squad members are more careful about firing their weapons than oth-
ers, and as a result are less likely to hit the player character or the other teammates.
These personality traits are all communicated through the AI that these teammates
use. Before each mission, players get to choose their team from a selection of thirteen
different soldiers, each with a dossier players can read. The dossiers provide a psycho-
logical profile of each of the teammates, which gives some insight into their
personalities. Furthermore, when actually on a mission, the teammates are constantly
speaking, either in response to the players’ orders or just to comment on a given situa-
tion. This gives further insight into their personalities and how they will behave on the
battlefield. If players read the dossiers and pay attention to the squad members’ person-
alities carefully, they will notice warnings that some of the teammates may not be
completely balanced psychologically. For some teammates, if they are taken on too
many missions they will “crack” or become “shell-shocked” and attempt to run away
from the battle. Other teammates, if taken on specific missions that they do not agree
with ideologically, will turn against the sergeant and his men. The AI, of course, handles
these “shell-shocked” situations, which thereby helps to tell the story of these
characters.
One area where AI is often avoided entirely by designers but where it can be quite
useful is in dynamic storytelling. All too often designers cobble a story around a game
instead of integrating the story with the gameplay. Furthermore, often designers want
160 Chapter 9: Artificial Intelligence
InDamage Incorporated,
the AI the player’s
teammates exhibit plays
a crucial role in telling
the game’s story.