An Analysis of Artificial Intelligence Techniques in Multiplayer Online Battle Arena Game Environments

Abstract

The 3D computer gaming industry is constantly exploring new avenues for creating immersive and engaging environments. One avenue being explored is autonomous control of the behaviour of non-player characters (NPC). This paper reviews and compares existing artificial intelligence (AI) techniques for controlling the behaviour of non-human characters in Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game environments. Two techniques, the fuzzy state machine (FuSM) and the emotional behaviour tree (EBT), were reviewed and compared. In addition, an alternate and simple mechanism to incorporate emotion in a behaviour tree is proposed and tested. Initial tests of the mechanism show that it is a viable and promising mechanism for effectively tracking the emotional state of an NPC and for incorporating emotion in NPC decision making.