False Intelligence

Three characters are given the same task: deliver a package to a neighboring village. However, each NPC has a distinct personality. The first is cautious, the second is curious, and the third is prone to risk.

Setup The user is asked to choose a character’s personality and predict the route they will take.

In the demonstration example, the characters have access to a safe road, a shortcut through the forest, and an unknown trail. Their choice depends on the set priorities, route information, and current needs.

An NPC’s personality can be represented by a set of parameters that influence situation assessment. A cautious character might prefer safe routes, while a curious one is more inclined to explore unknown areas.

However, personality should not dictate every action. Circumstances and past experience also influence behavior. Convincing character behavior is built upon a combination of personality and the game situation.

Video Script
00:00–00:08. A village appears on screen. The narrator asks: «What happens to the characters when the player leaves the area?»
00:08–00:18. The blacksmith’s daily routine is shown. In the morning, he opens his workshop; during the day, he works; in the evening, he returns home.
00:18–00:28. An unexpected event appears in the schedule. The blacksmith falls ill and cannot come to work. The consequences for another NPC who came to place an order are shown.
00:28–00:40. The change in routine is demonstrated. The narrator explains that autonomous characters can react to events without constant player input.Routines help create a sense of life in the game world. However, for behavior to feel convincing, it is important to plan not only for routine actions but also for situations where the usual schedule is disrupted.

Three characters reside in one settlement. Anna is friends with Mark, Mark conflicts with Viktor, and Viktor is barely acquainted with Anna.

An event occurs in the simulation: Viktor accuses Mark of theft. Anna witnesses the conflict. This is a simplified example of a character relationship tree.

Users observe how the conflict impacts the trust between the characters. Changes depend on what Anna believes, how much she trusts the participants, and what information she receives.

The relationship system can be built on more than just a single affinity scale. For more complex behavior, trust, shared memories, commitments, and attitudes toward specific events can be taken into account. The relationships between NPCs can create new gameplay situations without pre-scripted dialogue for every possible conflict.

The character is assigned a quest to go to the forest for resources. However, before leaving, another need arises: they haven’t rested in a long time and are very tired. The author demonstrates a priority system. For example, gathering resources receives 60 arbitrary points, while rest receives 85. These values are an example of design, not a measurement of real human behavior.The NPC chooses to rest, even if the developer expected them to complete the task. After recovering their energy, the character can return to the original quest.If the character always executes the last command received, their actions may appear mechanical. A needs system allows for considering the NPC’s state and selecting actions based on the situation.However, the priorities must be understandable and predictable at the level of rules. If the character constantly switches tasks without a discernible reason, their behavior will appear random. The autonomy of the NPC lies not in chaotic actions, but in the ability to choose among several tasks according to established rules.

The player encounters a merchant, buys several items, and leaves. A few in-game days later, they meet again. Participants are presented with three options for the merchant’s behavior: he completely does not recognize the player, he only remembers the last purchase, or he retains a history of previous interactions. Three dialogues are displayed. In the first, the merchant addresses the player as a stranger. In the second, he offers similar items. In the third, he takes into account the purchase history and his relationship with the player. Storing every event might be superfluous. For convincing behavior, it is often sufficient to save the most significant information: important agreements, conflicts, and changes in relationship. The realism of memory is determined not by the quantity of saved events, but by how appropriately the character utilizes them later on.

Video Script
00:00–00:07. A small village with ten characters appears on screen. Narrator: «We gave each NPC a distinct personality, a routine, and several needs.»
00:07–00:17. The simulation begins. The characters move to their workstations, visit shops, and interact with one another.
00:17–00:27. An unexpected situation unfolds. One merchant fails to show up for work, preventing another character from completing their task.
00:27–00:37. The sequence of events in the village changes. Some characters find alternative actions, while others wait for the initial condition to be met.
00:37–00:45. A cause-and-effect diagram emerges. Narrator: «The game world begins to generate stories from the interactions of its own systems.»This experiment helps to test how autonomously characters can sustain a coherent simulation without constant player intervention.

The user is prompted to create a merchant for a small fantasy village. After selecting the parameters, the user receives an example of how the character might behave when encountering a stranger, during a conflict, or while fulfilling a dangerous quest. Even a small set of attributes can help create distinctions between characters. However, the numerical parameters themselves do not automatically generate behavior; one must define how they influence the choice of actions.

Two characters work in the same building. Initially, they feel neither attraction nor aversion toward each other.

In the editor, general work objectives, the possibility of conversation, and a system for changing relationships after events are set up.

In the demo scenario, the characters help each other complete tasks. After several positive interactions, the level of trust increases. However, if there is a conflict of interest, their relationship may deteriorate.

Friendship between NPCs should not arise merely because they spend a lot of time near each other. For believable relationship development, specific actions, shared events, and ways for the characters to assess those events are essential. The relationship system becomes more engaging when actions influence it, rather than just the time spent together.

In a small settlement live five NPCs. Each has a personality, a profession, needs, and relationships with other characters.At the beginning of the experiment, an event occurs: the village’s food supply disappears. Users choose the conditions: how many resources remain, how much the characters trust each other, and what actions are available to them. In the demonstration scenario, one character attempts to find new resources. Another suggests dividing the remaining supplies. A third character hides their own food, which could lead to conflict.The development of the situation is determined by rules that connect needs, memory, relationships, and the events of the game world.Such a system relates to the principles of emergent narrative. The story arises from the interaction of game mechanics rather than being reproduced as a fully predetermined sequence of events.However, the developer still establishes the core rules, conditions, and possible actions. Therefore, the emergent story is not entirely independent of the author’s intent. The Editor can help create game stories where events unfold through the interaction of autonomous characters.