Intelligent Design: Inside Titanfall's Artificial Intelligence
One of the most unique features of “Titanfall” is the way both AI-controlled enemies and Titans fit so seamlessly into the action. From the moment you touch down on the battlefield, you’ll see both friendly and enemy AI units Grunts populating the area, allowing you to rack up lots of easy kills in an effort to help your team. Then there are the moments when you’ll hop out of your Titan and give control to the AI, telling it to follow you like the world’s biggest bodyguard or stand guard to protect a must-keep point. The AI really changes the game a lot, so we were dying to learn more during a recent visit to Respawn Entertainment’s studios. We had a chance to sit down with Abbie Heppe, Respawn’s community manager, to discuss all things AI.
Xbox Wire: Why did you decide to put AI-controlled enemies and teammates in “Titanfall”?
Abbie Heppe: For the design team, it accomplished a lot of goals. It gave players who are newer something to shoot at and gave them a way to help their team. They’ll also help lead you into battle if you’re a new player. If you are a more skilled, you can use them to help you trick the enemy. Like, if I’m playing a game of Hardpoint, I’ll follow some AI in and the enemy will shoot the first ones up the stairs and I’ll then take them out. So there are those types of advanced tactics. Then there are the Spectres, which are a more difficult class of AI. If you’re already injured, they can take you out.
The kind of overarching and less specific reason is that it really helps make the battlefield feel alive. You know, you want things to run over in your Titan and punch and melee. They help to create a larger scale battle, especially because they’re not Pilots and they don’t move like Pilots do. You’ll see them get into melee fights on the battlefield and you’ll hear them say “There’s a Pilot coming through.” or “They’re not so great!” They add to the whole character of the universe and make it feel like a more populated universe. Since we’re not doing the traditional single-player campaign, it makes us feel like we have a world.
Xbox Wire: So how do the Grunts differ from the Spectres? Are the latter just smarter and stronger?
Abbie Heppe: Spectres are tough and stronger. They will attack Titans with rocket launchers, and they can also get up to the top of builldings. So they can clear a one or two story jump. It’s funny, because your brained gets trained to see that movement as Pilots. It can be a distraction. You can get tricked into thinking you’re following a Pilot and they can then fight you more effectively.
Xbox Wire: Do the best players typically leave the Grunts alone and avoid detection by not shooting a them? I noticed some people don’t just kill the first Grunts they come across.
Abbie Heppe: Yeah, sometimes …read more