Description/Reflection

This project served as a study in how to create patrolling enemy AI characters. I have made enemy AI character before but I had never implemented an noticeable behaviours. I wanted to make this project different. I created system for the enemy to see, chase, and search areas for the player. I also added a way for the player to do stealth takedowns on the enemies.

I first started with researching how perception works and then prototyping it into the project to develop the core enemy AI system. I then developed the AI character's behaviors, testing and iterating on them until they felt natural and challenging. I also developed the stealth takedown system and incorporated it into the gameplay.

I learned a lot about creating effective enemy AI, including how to create patrolling behaviors and how to implement stealth takedowns. I also honed my skills in programming, blueprints, animation, and level design.

One of the biggest challenges I faced was developing AI that was challenging but not frustrating for players. I also had to ensure that the AI behaviors felt natural and believable, which required a lot of iteration and refinement. This included adding audio barks into the behaviour tree to better inform the player of what the AI was doing.

I incorporated feedback from fellow students and friends from outside of my university. After receiving reports of the AI not behaving as expected or being able to move too fast, I took notes of all complaints and compliments. I found that creating backup behaviours greatly increased the experience for players.

This artifact was improved by having it function much better. My first iteration had the enemy ran away from the player if attacked because the projectiles were blocking the AI's vision for a split-second which caused it to conclude that there was no one to pursue. This version does not have to problem as vision is not the only indicator the AI uses to locate and chase the player.