Trigger Happy
of “Strong AI” in order to become excited by these possibilities for videogames. “Strong AI” is the position, much postulated in science fiction from Blade Runner and Terminator to The Matrix, that one day computers will be able to think for themselves. Now, just as with physical modeling, with NPCs you only ever need as much realism as is appropriate to the game. Remember, an accurate simulation of Formula One racing would be a bad game, and simplifications and elisions are part of the process of good game design.
Some simplifications, however, are more impoverishing than others. And as much as the behavioral possibilities of videogame NPCs (whether flesh, fish or fowl) are increasing, dramatic interactions are still going to be pretty
Outcast requires the player actually to “speak” to other characters in the game; their responses vary from the helpful to the belligerent. Yet how are the player’s lines chosen? You cannot simply say anything you like. Instead, you call up a menu screen that offers you a handful of possible conversational gambits, and you simply choose one with the joystick or keyboard. It is
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