Tutorial II: Representations for evolutionary computation in games

Abstract

Representation is a central issue in evolutionary computation. The no free lunch theorem demonstrates that there is no intrinsic advantage in a particular algorithm when considered against complete spaces of problems. The corollary is that algorithms should be fitted to the problems they are solving. Choice of representation is the primary point in the design of an evolutionary algorithm where the designer can incorporate domain knowledge and, in effect, choose the adaptive landscape he is searching. This tutorial will introduces representations for level design, agents for playing mathematical games, and for the design of non-player characters. Time permitting, other examples of representation will be included.