Adaptive behaviour of agents in

stealth games

Paul-Ionut Arsenie
University of Derby, Computer Games Programming
Course: Games Behaviour
100369891@unimail.derby.ac.uk

Abstract: This study is focused on artificial intelligence in stealth

games, providing a review of the current state-of-the-art in this area,
identifying the current trends and their origins. Furthermore, it
provides techniques that could improve the near future and identify
the potential challenges that may be faced in the coming years.

Contents
1. Introduction:..................................................................................................................................2
2. Explanation:...................................................................................................................................2
2.1 Sound:..........................................................................................................................................3
2.2 Visual:.........................................................................................................................................3
2.3 Awareness level:..........................................................................................................................3
3. State of the Art:.............................................................................................................................3
4. Recommendations and Conclusion................................................................................................4
5. Bibliography..................................................................................................................................5
1. Introduction:
Artificial intelligence and its implementation in games makes NPCs looks more realistic and
it cover decision making process of them. In stealth games, AI is used so intense that it gives us the
impression that the NPC have senses (sight and sound), each sense giving them a state of awareness
as the challenge to the player is to move from a location to another undetected.
In a game with stealth mode, breaking the reality can be the fact that determinates if you will
play or not anymore (Rabin, Game AI PRO 2, 2015). Being one of the most realistic genre of games,
using a high implementation of AI, some issues comes along with it, as the details can easily break the
fragile reality this genre of game achieve. Playing stealth games or games with stealth mode (Metal
Gear Solid, Hitman, Dishonoured, Assassin’s Creed, etc.) the player will notice that the quality of
NPC senses is different from a game to another (as in one game sound sense is better the sight sense
and vice versa) and the awareness of the player can be for a very short time. Is it possible to make a
stealth game with a high implementation of senses? Can the NPCs character act like a human once
their awareness level increase?
The challenge was always to create the most realistic game, giving to the NPC all senses to
make him exactly like a human being. AI should act as intelligent as a human, but it means that it
should do mistakes as well. (Schwab, 2004) In the document below, we will discuss about the issues
that does not let the stealth games to be 100% realistic and about the limitations that could occur if all
the algorithms will be implemented in order to create a perfect game.

2. Explanation:
As the states before example the unsatisfactory uses of the algorithms for sense and how the
state of awareness is insufficient to achieve a perfect realistic game, we will discuss about each of
them apart and try to find a solution.
As it can be seen in the image below (Fig 1.0), in order to create a realistic NPCs, it needs
things to see and things to hear, so the game needs sounds source and visual source. Having these two
important things, the NPCs achieve visual sense and sound sense (Rabin, Game AI PRO, 2013), fact
that makes our NPCs act like a real human.
(Fig 1.0 from: Rabin, 2013)

2.1 Sound:
To create a sound sense, a pathfinding from the noise source to the position of the agent is created
(Rabin, Game AI PRO, 2013). In this way the NPCs detect the position of the player, and even track
him by footsteps sound. The distance between the NPC and source point must be calculated
accurately, otherwise, bugs like hearing through walls can occur (Rabin, Game AI PRO, 2013), fact
that makes the sound sense algorithm even complex.
Furthermore, with a sound radius implemented, NPCs should detect any object that make noise
around him, not only the footsteps, fact that take us to the first issue. Even if many games have
implemented the idea of throwing object to distract the NPCs, it is distracted just by thrown object,
not by dropped one as well (Ubisoft, 2015). Based on the experience form the game it can be noticed
that NPCs should hear any object that make noise but most of them just pass unnoticed, fact that
breaks some important aspects of the reality created in the game.

2.2 Visual:
Based on Blacklist experience, when a player enters the visual cone of an NPC, a timer starts,
scaled with the distance between them, when it reach 0, the NPC immediately act (Rabin, Game AI
PRO 2, 2015), it represent a very good example of how vision cone works, and how the visual sense
is implemented for NPCs.
On the other hand, a critical issue is represented by shadows as it is a part of the graphics settings,
it can be turned on and off. The algorithms implemented for visual cone interact directly with objects
or characters, so as the shadow is a part of the graphics settings, it does not represent a physic element
in the game, resulting an inexistence of the interaction between the visual cone and the shadow, fact
that makes the NPCs to let the shadow pass unnoticed.

2.3 Awareness level:

NPCs acts should be predictable, as you should have some idea about what they will do, but
predictable does not mean repetitiveness. (Rabin, Game AI PRO 2, 2015). NPCs should not act
repetitively as it makes games looks unreal, an NPC should act different every time he notices
something suspicious, and that state should be irreversible.
 NPCs awareness level should be predictable, in order to let players, expect what will happen, but
after a number of acts, they should act different, and they should never go back to the first state, as it
will represent a weak consistency of the game and it will show to the player that their behaviour is
unreal.

3. State of the Art:

Nowadays, state of art in stealth games means high implementations of senses (sight and sound)
and a complex finite state machine in order to create a complex behaviour of the NPC to make it act
real. Most of the methods used to create a stealth game are represented by implementing the next
features:
- Audio perception (sound radius and its utility),
- Visual perception (visual cone and its utility),
- Awareness level (implementation of it).
NPCs in stealth games must act very real to make games credible and to give the impression that
you are in the game, and you live the moment. All the credibility comes from the way agents act, and
it comes because their behaviour has an interest source and they act to detect and respond to them.
The interest source can be detected using the two main senses of an agent in stealth games, sight
and sound. Most common technique used in stealth games is pathfinding from the noise source, and in
this way, by following footsteps, an NPCs starts to chase the player. In a group of persons if there is
detected and interest source, one person will check, and the others will be in prevision alert. (Rabin,
Game AI PRO, 2013)
Furthermore, pathfinding from the noise source have many other utilities, as the technique has
been improved. Many features like hustle or throwing objects have been implemented to create a
noise source to distract the NPCs. These features improve the game, giving the possibility to act more
real to the players. (Ubisoft, 2015)
On the other side, source of interest can be represented by changed object as well, small details
like opened doors or turned on lights can turn on the awareness system of the gents, making them to
act in consequences (Rabin, Game AI PRO 2, 2015).
Moreover, concepts as visual cone and awareness level have been combined by developers to
create a realistic behaviour, as NPCs have now perception and awareness. These two attributes as
used by NPCs in order to percept things that happens around them and as a timer will start once they
notice something, as the time goes, they become aware of what is happening (Rabin, Game AI PRO 2,
2015).
Based on the context, the event can be changed as in Splitter Cell if an NPC find a dead body for
the first time the awareness level will increase. On the other hand, if a dead body is found in the
middle of a war zone, the NPC will act like nothing is happen. (Rabin, Game AI PRO 2, 2015).
On the other hand, once with all the futures there comes limitations as well, for example, in Mark
of Ninja is a box where the player can hide, and he can move with it also, but moving with it order to
reach attention of NPCs will gain the desire result because the NPCs will not notice, and the interest
point will not change (Rabin, Game AI PRO 2, 2015).
Other limitations come about sensible behaviour of agents, as it is hard to achieve when the point
of interest is changing quickly and often. This limitation was handled as when the NPC notice a new
interest point, it will compare with the actual one, and if it is similar, then it is not handled as a new
interest, but the timer and the position will be updated (used for footsteps) (Rabin, Game AI PRO 2,
2015).
4. Recommendations and Conclusion
As it was shown in the essay, artificial intelligence has one of the most important role in stealth
games, as it is the main point that makes the game playable. For this reason, any details that are not
implemented or are implemented incorrect can break the fragile reality created in this genre of games.
State of art in stealth games is represented by implementations of senses like sound and sight and the
way the agent percept and become aware of what is happening around him and how it acts.
For all the above-mentioned reasons, many improvements should be added to stealth games in
order to create a credible environment for the players. Most of the important improvements that
should be added to the stealth games are:
- sound radius should be implemented on each object in the environment, as one move, it should
create a sound, even it is moved by a player or by another environment events;
- shadows should not be just graphic settings anymore, it should affect directly the game on the
way that NPCs act, it should be something that can interact with NPCs in order to change the
events;
- NPCs awareness level should be changed, as a person should stay aware of what is happening
longer, and the state do not change back so easily.
All in all, stealth games represent one of the most realistic genre of games because of all the
futures that it implements, but it also need some improvements as the expectations of the video-
game’s consumer get higher and higher.

5. Bibliography
 Rabin, S. (2013). Game AI PRO.

 Rabin, S. (2015). Game AI PRO 2.

 Schwab, B. (2004). AI Game engine programming.

 Ubisoft. (2015). Assassin's Creed.