RPG Npc Chat "AI"

Slartibartfast · Post by **Slartibartfast** » 2003-10-15 02:58pm

Ok, I recently acquired a good old original copy of Neverwinter Night, and I must say I am impressed about the level some Persistent Worlds are. But something that I don't like much is how hollow the NPCs always are, unless they're a quest-giver or some other plot character, and even then all they ever do is stand still somewhere waiting for a player to ask him questions.

So I'm trying to come up with an interesting "banter" (?) script that allows NPCs (even generic ones) to have simulated lives of their own - that is, mostly just go from X to Y and chat to somebody (also an NPC), either because they bumped with each other or because NPC A had the intent to talk to NPC B.

I think a fairly decent method would be to adapt the "The Sims" method of relationships, needs, personality & interests, albeit in a very simplified way. Mostly just "does A like B?" and "is B interested in politics?" and "does A feel the need to socialize right now?" etc. So they just meet and one says something and the other might like or not like the conversation.

Each topic would have a list of common topics, some "wildcards" allowing them to replace "hey did you hear about the new <device>" with "did you hear about the new ox-cart model x 200", and a set of possible replies. Also allowing for different speech patterns, etc. In paper it doesn't sound so complicated, but I'm sure it's going to be a bitch to program.

I got this idea from some old Revolution games that featured the overhyped "Virtual Theatre" system, where NPCs would walk around the map and talk when they bump with each other about something silly.

Any thoughts?

Ace Pace · Post by **Ace Pace** » 2003-10-15 03:50pm

AFAIK morrowind does a preety good job, with some modders developing huge scripts *multi megabyte* that give alot of the NPC's full lives.

exept for that, Gothic II

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-10-15 07:41pm

I like the idea of the world being "alive" so to speak. For me, my first experience with this was Ultima V where the NPC's had routines. No more could you go to a shop at 12 midnight and expect service unless that shopkeeper specifically kept those hours.

It does make things tougher on the Player Character if quest giving NPC's move around. It is entirely possible to miss them all together.

How would you plan to present the dialog of non quest giving NPC's. Would it be the floating text ala Fallout or something else?

Ace Pace · Post by **Ace Pace** » 2003-10-16 05:15am

standerd chat, floating text in large cantinas would be horrible

Slartibartfast · Post by **Slartibartfast** » 2003-10-16 12:27pm

There's already a lot of standard chat, floating text when players are around. The trick would be to make NPCs talk with a slow pace, and avoid having many talk at the same time. Like, have somebody say something once a round or two.

When there are players around, the whole thing is a mess of text.

Hamel · Post by **Hamel** » 2003-10-16 12:41pm

Don't you need to know some form of C to get all you can out of being a game master in NWN?

Ace Pace · Post by **Ace Pace** » 2003-10-16 01:06pm

Hamel wrote:Don't you need to know some form of C to get all you can out of being a game master in NWN?

no you have to learn a scripting language that makes morrowinds look easy, and that makes Ureal engine scripts look a like a childs play

Slartibartfast · Post by **Slartibartfast** » 2003-10-16 01:11pm

NW script IS a form of C. In fact it's a lot closer to C than JAVA is (there are actually data types and stuff, but only the high-level stuff).

But to DM a game you only need your magic DM wand and a ready-made module.

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-10-16 01:56pm

Slartibartfast wrote:There's already a lot of standard chat, floating text when players are around. The trick would be to make NPCs talk with a slow pace, and avoid having many talk at the same time. Like, have somebody say something once a round or two.

When there are players around, the whole thing is a mess of text.

Yes, that makes good sense. Everytime I entered San Francisco in Fallout 3 they text of my party would all mess into one big pile that I could not read.

Hotfoot · Post by **Hotfoot** » 2003-10-16 04:23pm

TrailerParkJawa wrote:Yes, that makes good sense. Everytime I entered San Francisco in Fallout 3 they text of my party would all mess into one big pile that I could not read.

You holding out something on us, buddy?

Get him! He has Fallout 3!!! *starts assembling a lynch mob*

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-10-16 08:12pm

Hotfoot wrote:
TrailerParkJawa wrote:Yes, that makes good sense. Everytime I entered San Francisco in Fallout 3 they text of my party would all mess into one big pile that I could not read.
You holding out something on us, buddy?

Get him! He has Fallout 3!!! *starts assembling a lynch mob*

Did I say Fallout 3 ? .....hides box behind back....no I meant Fallout 2. Yes, thats it, Fallout 2. You know I really think Sadam Hussein was the Master. Oh look.....points to sky.....( sound of my feet running from mob. )

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2003-10-16 08:43pm

First level PC walks into tavern

Half-orc glowers at him.
Friend of Half orc: My friend doesn't like you.

SPOOFE · Post by **SPOOFE** » 2003-10-18 06:49pm

I've always wanted to combine a very advanced Chatbot (some of them are pretty good at simulating intelligence) with an improved voice synthesizer to create an RPG with potentially thousands (or, if you're patient enough, millions) of hours worth of conversation, far more than you'd ever get around to actually participating in, and far more than you could get on a disc if you recorded it. I think that would significantly help the immersiveness of an RPG...

Slartibartfast · Post by **Slartibartfast** » 2003-10-19 02:48am

The problem with that, if you managed to pull it off, would be that the players would end up hopelessly hooked up with the conversations and would completely forget about doing questy stuff

Not that it is a bad idea, but you end up making a totally different kind of game

I was thinking more along the lines of having NPCs initiate conversations just like a player would, perhaps using the same kind of "multiple-choice", only a bit more random, and mostly idle chit-chat. (they don't really get the same set of choices as a player - like quest-relevant stuff - instead, they get some randomly chosen one)

SPOOFE · Post by **SPOOFE** » 2003-10-19 09:20pm

The problem with that, if you managed to pull it off, would be that the players would end up hopelessly hooked up with the conversations and would completely forget about doing questy stuff

Nah, not at all. It'd probably be the number one thing they do for the first few hours, but after that they'll start to notice the limitations in the convo engine and it'll stop seeming so amazing anymore.

Similar thing happened when I first got Ultima 6, way back when. I'd spend hours hunting out all the different possible text strings you can make, at first, but pretty soon, it stopped seeming so special.