What does it take to learn how to program AI?

Assuming you're talking about game AI, and not just AI in general. (If the latter, just go to college and study it, there's a TON of stuff done under the category of "AI".)

1) Just pick up a book or two about game AI:            AI Game Programming Wisdom            Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach (2nd Edition)

also just read around in the Articles & Resources section of this site.

The other great way to do it is to have an idea for a type of AI you want to create and then start creating it. You'll learn how to do things along the way.

-me

Yeah just sort of game AI. I also would like to know if it's hard to learn, if
it is my future (single man) games could be very boring.

I just want to point you over to the fine website of AI Junkie. It's not totally game AI, but it has some nice articles on AI.

If you want to learn the basics of AI, I strongly suggest the book

"Programming game AI by example".

If you dont want to buy/find a book, look for tutorials about "Finite States Machines" in the ressources section of gamedev. They are the basics, very useful, and its something any programmer should know anyway.

Then, here are a few basic algorithms/techniques that are commonly used in AI:

Space search: Depth-first search, A*

Useful for pathfinding, and for finding a solution in a graph. Having graph theory basics is essential in AI, just like basics of algebra are essential in graphics.

Game theory: min-max, alpha-beta.

Useful for games that are played in turns, like chess.

behaviors: Steering behaviors

Simple, very useful in any games with vehicles or NPCs that are moving all the time.

Finally, I beg you, dont look into Neural Networs or GA or anything of that sort unless you have strong basis in operational research. That means understanding and having used at least Simplex, Hill Climbing, Levenberg-Marquard.

oh, a last advice: have fun!

Steadtler.

When creating a game AI, you need to be able to logically break down what you want the AI to accomplish. Nine times out of ten you won’t need to go with a fancy Neural Network ;). When programming the game “Speedy Solitaire” I coded the AI very simply. I ran a timer to make it look like the computer was “thinking” and then I compared the cards in the computers hand with the values of the cards in the spit pile. The rate at which the cards moved and how fast the computer found a match were adjusted to make the AI harder as the game went on.

The key to most game AI (unless you are trying to win an award in the field) is to just make it look like the computer is thinking! Therefore your game’s AI is just a different type of programming challenge and it isn’t much different then coding the player movement or the routines that draw the graphics to the screen.

In other words, the complexity of the AI is based on the type of game that you are making and the level of AI you want to achieve.

Also I recommend using OOP, and based on the game you want to create, you may want to consider using a scripting language such as Lua to manage your AI code.

The local resources on the site aren't working at least under AI in the resources/articles section... :(

Quote: Original post by Palidine
Assuming you're talking about game AI, and not just AI in general. (If the latter, just go to college and study it, there's a TON of stuff done under the category of "AI".)

1) Just pick up a book or two about game AI:            AI Game Programming Wisdom            Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach (2nd Edition)

also just read around in the Articles & Resources section of this site.

The other great way to do it is to have an idea for a type of AI you want to create and then start creating it. You'll learn how to do things along the way.

-me

Will the book AI Game Programming wisdom teach me all or alot of what I need to know, because I don't like buying lots of books on the same subject only to learn a few new thins each time.

Answers?(sorry about being a pest) If there is not just one book what books should I buy to take me from beginner to, um, promediate, sort of advanced level I guess?

i too have this question .. i am wondering where to start with some "simple" AI .. such as NPC paths and whatnot .. im lookin to create superintelligent NPCS but for them to have some life from a somewhat beginner to intermediate lvl.