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June30,2017|ByJackYarwood
July1,2017
Newrogueliketitlesseemtoappearonanalmost June30,2017|ByJackYarwood
InfinityWard/Activision
hourlybasisintheSteamstore.Thishasmadeit
SeniorAIEngineer PostAComment
InfinityWard
extremelydifficultfordeveloperstogettheirvideo
gamesnoticed.
SnowedInStudios More:Console/PC,Indie,Programming,Design,
GameGeneralist Video
Programmer WhiledevelopingCaveblazers,Itfollowsthestandard
Spelunkylikeformula:youenteracaveandmust
InfinityWard/Activision
SeniorRendering
cleareachsubsequentlevelbyfindinganexithidden
Engineer somewhereonthefloor.WillLewisofRupeckGames,
knewhehadtodosomethingdifferenttostandout.
InfinityWard/Activision
EngineSoftware
Engineer IntelligentcombatAIandtheadditionoffriendlyNPCspresentedthesolution.ThewaythatNPCsbehave
inCaveblazerstrulysetsitapart.Youllmakeallieswhowillfightalongsideyou.
InfinityWard/Activision
AssociateToolsEngineer
Youllalsofightorcs,blobs,andgoblins,aswellasbosses,withuniqueattackpatterns.Itgives
InfinityWard/Activision
Caveblazersauniquetwistonrandomlygeneratedplatforming,providingagreateremphasisoncombat
CoreSystemsEngineer
andstrategy.
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LewisoriginallyhadtheideaforCaveblazersafterplayingtheclassicversionofSpelunkybyDerekYu.As
muchasheenjoyedthatgame,helongedforamorecombatfocusedexperience,withenemiescapable
July1,2017
ofgreatermovement.
SouthPark:Phone
Destroyer'sMissed Toachievehisgoalsforthegame,LewisneededtocreateAIdrivencharactersthatcouldchallengethe
Monetization
playerandrespondtochangesintheprocedurallygeneratedenvironment.
Optimization
MechanicsDepth Theadditionofawalljumpingabilityhelpedtoaccomplishthis.Orcs,hobgoblins,andotherenemies
KnowsBest[3]
pursueyouthrougheachlevel.Iftheycometoawall,theywontstoporreturntotheirstarting
Videogamemusic positions,theyllsimplyclimbwallsormaneuverthemselvestoaplatformtofireprojectilesatyou.
systemsatGDC2017:
whatarecomposers
ThismakesthemomenttomomentplayofCaveblazersnervewrackinglyunique.
using?[4]
YetAnotherGameAudio
HiringArticle[1]
DefaultingtoZero[8]
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About
EditorInChief:
KrisGraft Makingdistinctiveenemies
SeniorContributing
Editor: HavingsmartAIcharactersinthegameisabigdifferenceinmyeyes,"saysLewis."Idon'tlikeenemies
BrandonSheffield inotherplatformergamesthatjustwalkupanddownendlesslyonplatformsandonlydamageyouifyou
NewsEditors: brushupagainsttheirbackside.TheslimesinCaveblazersareprettymindless,butthere'salsosmart
AlexWawro orcs,goblinsandfriendlyhumancharactersallofwhomcanfindtheirwayaroundthelevelaswellas
Advertising/Recruitm youcan,walljumping,pickingupitems,drinkingpotions,fightingoneanother."
ent/Education:
CourtneyBlair Caveblazersenemieshavearangeofdifferentbehaviors.Theywillallfollowtheplayer,butonlythe
goblinsandorcsneedtobeprovoked,astheysitaroundcampfiresandrest.
ContactGamasutra
Thentherearedifferentattackpatternsandrangeofmovementstoo.Bats,slimes,andjumperswillleap
ReportaProblem
towardstheplayer,whilegoblinsandorcswilluseavarietyofrangedandclosecombatattacks,climb
SubmitNews
surfacesandtraverseplatforms.Thiscreatesaneedforbespokestrategiesforeverysituationandevery
combinationoffoes.
CommentGuidelines
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Ifyouenjoyreadingthissite,
youmightalsowanttocheck
outtheseUBMTechsites:
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IndieGames
Ifyoudon'thaveaplangoingintocombatwiththeseguys,orifyou'rerushingthroughthelevel
clumsily,you'regoingtogethurt,saysLewis.There'sabunchofitemsinthegameyoucanusetodeal
withthemyoucanlaytrapsontheground,chuckvariousbombsandorbsintheirgeneraldirection,and
usepowerfulmagicitemsagainstthem.Alotofthetime,you'llalsobeabletogetpastthemwithout
themspottingyouifyoudon'tthinkyoucanhandlethem.
CreatingfriendlyAI
FriendlyNPCsareanotheradditionthatdistinguishesthegamefromothersimilartitles.Whiletheydo
appearinothergamesinthisgenre,likeFlinthook,theyreusuallystationaryoractasmerchantsthatsell
yougear.InCaveblazers,thesecharactersarentpassive,butwillgetinvolvedintheaction,behaving
muchlikeanotherplayermight.
Justliketheplayer,they'llrunaroundthelevelsmashingstuff,fightingmonsters&grabbingitems,
eventuallymakingittotheexitdoor,statesLewis.Ifyoufightalongsidetheseguys,though,they'll
becomefriendlyandstartfollowingyouaroundthelevelandhelpingyouincombatsituations.
HecontinuesTheyaddareallyinterestingdynamiclayertothegame,theydon'tnecessarilymakethe
gameeasier,theycouldtakeoutabiggroupofmonstersthatwasinyourway,ortheycouldendup
pullingtheminyourdirectionandgettingyoubothkilled.Ialsoreallylikehowclumsytheyarethey'll
quiteoftenfailajumpandenduponspikes,justlikeplayerswill.
Whiletheoverallstoryofthegamemaybequitesimple,theseNPCscreatemanyinterestingscenarios.
Theycanaccompanyyouthroughthewholeofyourrunordieonlysecondsafteryourinitialmeeting.
Thismeansyoullalwayshavesomethingtotalkaboutwhenyouexitthegamenomatterhowfaryou
get.
Limitingrandombehavior
Therewereafewissues,however,thatneededtobeaddressedwiththeAI.Thesemostlyrelatedto
randombehavior,whichneededtobetoneddownsothatplayerscouldrecognizeattackpatterns,collect
itemsefficiently,andbetterformulatestrategies.
Myinitialideawastohave[NPCs]asrandomaspossible,admitsLewis.Randomlevelsof
aggressiveness,randomlevelsofgreediness,randomlevelsofabilitytotraversethelevel,etc.Through
thegame'sEarlyAccessperiodIrealizedthatthisisnotwhatplayerswantplayerswantmore
predictableAIthattheycanlearnpatternsof.Theyneedtheirstrategiesabouthowtotackletheseguys
toalwaysbeviablestrategies.
CommoncomplaintsduringtheEarlyAccessreleasewerethatthehumanAIcharactersweretoo
aggressiveandwouldhordeloot.Theyalsohadarandomamountsofhealth,whichsometimesmade
themextremelydifficulttobeat.Theseissuesneededtobetweakedbeforethefinalrelease,tomakethe
gamelessfrustratingandmorepredictableforplayers.
LewisremovedaggressivehumanAIentirely,andaddedwindupanimationstotheenemiestosolve
theseproblems.HealsodecreasedtherandomnessoftheAI,meaninghumancharactersarefarless
likelytobeahindrance.Theyalsonowdropalloftheitemstheyvecollectedupondeath,insteadof
takingitwiththemintothedigitalafterlife.
Theresultofallthisisapseudomultiplayerexperiencethatfeelsbothchallenginganddistinctive.Lewis
hasclearlybeensuccessfulinbringingamoremethodicalstyleofgameplaytothegenre,achievingthis
throughtheuseofdiverseAIandincreasedenemymobility.
IthinktheAIinCaveblazersworkedoutprettywell,"heallows."There'sdefinitelyalotmorethatcould
bedonewithittomakecharactersappearsmarter...butdotheyreallyneedtobeanysmarter?
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