How Barks Make Videogame NPCs Look Smarter | AI 101

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It doesn't matter how intelligent your videogame AI is if the player doesn't understand it. One of the simplest and most effective ways of communicating intelligence is simply to have it say what it thinks aloud - a concept known in game development as a 'bark'.

That might sound pretty dumb, but you'd be surprised how effective it is in practice.

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For additional viewing, check out these videos from other creators:

- ‪@PeopleMakeGames‬ interview with Supergiant on the dialogue of Hades:
   • The System Behind Hades' Astounding D...  

Plus check out these ‪@Gdconf‬ talks:
Elan Ruskin on Fuzzy Pattern Matching for Dialogue:
   • AI-driven Dynamic Dialog through Fuzz...  

Darren Korb and Greg Kasavin on the dialogue systems of Hades:
   • Breathing Life into Greek Myth: The D...  

Jason Gregory on context-aware dialogue in The Last of Us:
https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1020386...

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Video Chapters
[00:00] Intro
[00:53] Bark Basics
[05:16] Designing for Immersion
[06:50] Barks for NPCs
[10:14] Communicating Game State
[14:38] Simple Dialogue Systems
[18:15] Closing

Music in this episode is by Teknoaxe:
http://www.teknoaxe.com

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