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We’ve entered into an entirely new era of technological innovation. It’s easy to take much of this for granted – after all, who doesn’t own a smartphone? But smartphones, as powerful and complex as they are, have many limitations. These limitations aren’t because of the hardware of the device, but rather the software. An advanced mobile operating system like Android, for example, has come a really long way in the last decade. But we’re starting to see some innovations in these operating systems slow down a fair amount. And part of this is because developers are only able to work so fast, especially in an industry that constantly demands faster updates and upgrades.
But artificial intelligence may change all of that. In fact, many feel that AI is going to usher in countless systemic changes to our world. And one industry that’s going to be greatly affected by the advancement of artificial intelligence is video gaming. Now a global favourite for billions of people, video gaming has become planet Earth’s most popular pastime. And it’s a trend that looks to continue in the coming years. So, let’s dive into what AI means for video gaming and how it will change the way that you enjoy all of your favourite games.
Non-Player Characters
Let’s first take a look at one of the most important parts of most video games: NPCs. NPCs, also known as non-player characters, are the characters that you interact with as you play their game. In the past, these characters usually followed specific rules that were coded into them by developers. Meaning that there are only so many things that these characters can do. And because of their limits, it can sometimes make the game frustrating to play. Fortunately, AI may be able to solve this frustration. And it’s going to do it by making NPCs that much smarter. Allowing them to adapt to the situation at hand. Better pathfinding is also another benefit that will have a positive impact on the gaming experience. Giving NPCs the ability to find their way around the gaming world that much more easily.
So instead of playing alongside or against characters that have limited decision-making, it will be more like playing with other people. This is one of the ways that video gaming will really begin to make the experience more realistic, and something that many gamers are looking forward to. There has always been a focus on generative AI when it comes to NPC development. But with current and future advancements on the horizon, gaming companies will be able to take their NPCs to an entirely new level.
Faster Development Cycles
Another aspect of video gaming that AI will drastically improve is the rate in which new games are released. As more companies bring AI technologies into their development, development times will shorten. This is a trend that’s expected to continue forward over the next decade as AI becomes a more important part of software development overall.
AI may not be nearly as creative as us, but there are areas where it leaves behind in a puff of smoke. Such as crunching big numbers or procedural generation. With the latter in particular, it will make generation within video games that much more intelligently done. And provide a more immersive gaming experience that everyone will appreciate.
It doesn’t just stop with video gaming, however. All kinds of gaming are expected to benefit from the perpetual advancement of artificial intelligence systems. The casino industry is the perfect example of this. Here we have an industry that’s always ready to embrace the latest innovations within the tech world. And it always means a sleeker, more complete experience for casino game players. Well-known names like Grand Rush casino are one of many that are already looking to future technologies to give their customers something new.
Better Quality Games
We’ve already mentioned that AI is good at crunching numbers. But this is a simplification of just how powerful AI systems can really be. One of the areas that this tech shines is in bug testing. Bugs are just a part of the development process. But enough bugs in a game and it can really hurt sales. So it’s important to do lots of quality control and testing before releasing a finished product to the public.
Traditionally, this was actually one of the most time-consuming parts of the process. Especially when it came to complex games where there was a ton of code to sift through. But thanks to AI, we can expect that these processes will go by much quicker. While it won’t be able to catch every single bug in the code, AI can still find potentially hundreds or even thousands of glitches that would never have been caught by the game testers. Ultimately what it means for gamers is that game release times will happen more frequently. Which means less time waiting for that new title to hit the market.
Game Balancing and Adaptiveness
Imagine playing a game where the world constantly changes according to the choices that you make. It would make the gaming world seem like a living, breathing entity that’s aware of your actions. And it could lead to gaming environments where players feel full immersion into what they’re playing. Especially knowing that there will be consequences for their actions. This makes the game so much more appealing. Too many video games feel static and unchanging, and that your decisions don’t matter at the end of the day. But artificial intelligence may be the answer to this video game-centric dilemma. Because now you have a thinking and responsive intelligence behind the scenes, adapting and changing the world based on what you do. There are few better ways of achieving an immersive experience that truly captures the feeling of having a say in the world around you. Even if it’s just a virtual one.
