By Taninder Sijher
We all know the differences between the main character and the sidekick in a movie. Sure, everything revolves around the main character, but there’s also subtle things, like how the crowd or a random passerby reacts to them. Notice how bystanders pay attention when the main character speaks – they enthusiastically wave, smile, cheer, or even break into dance. That is the aura of the main character. Even if we don’t understand the language, just two minutes into the movie, we already know who the main characters are!
Now, there has been a major gap in video games, where players are the main characters, but NPCs (non-player characters) couldn’t care less. The NPCs go about in their robot ways, completely unbothered by their surroundings. They walk by on loops, mutter the same dialogue, and ignore the chaos around them. They can dampen a player’s main character vibes.
The good news? Not anymore. This is another big difference AI is making in video games today. It is infusing life (intelligence) into NPCs, among other things. When a player wins, an NPC might give them a wave or a fist bump. A group of NPCs can behave more appropriately to the situation, crack jokes among themselves, and make the video game feel more immersive and realistic.
Your game is learning from you, too
It is not only intelligent NPCs that make a game more lifelike, thanks to AI, even the video game itself can learn from a player. By analysing a player, including their skill, style, and strategy, AI can dynamically adapt the difficulty level of plan attacks to make it more engaging and immersive. AI-enabled games allow gamers to choose their own stories and unique experiences. Through procedural content generation, AI games can generate maps, quests, levels, and even narratives on the fly. Thanks to AI, some games offer vast universes with billions of planets, each featuring unique ecosystems to explore.
Massive mame sizes need massive storage
AI is undoubtedly reshaping the video game industry and making games better than ever before. At the same time, these AAA, super-immersive game titles are swelling in size, easily crossing 100GB (gigabytes). Today gamers expect increasingly realistic visuals across games, which means games will be tens, if not hundreds, of gigabytes in size. Moreover, gamers typically prefer to install multiple games on their devices to have the flexibility to play according to their preferences and time. This accentuates the need for the right storage solution that offers low latency, and enough space to handle today’s evolving video games. A reliable, high-capacity, and high-performance storage solution is fundamental to maintaining an immersive gameplay experience. Innovations in data storage ensure that gamers and game developers can continue to focus on what they love the most without worrying about the game sizes or rich resolutions.
AI is pervading our everyday lives and making a remarkable impact on everything it touches. The gaming industry is also undergoing a major shift, driven by AI, from smart NPCs to intelligent, personalised games. What video games of the future will look like is anybody’s guess, but one thing is certain, lack of innovation in storage will not be a limiting factor.
The writer is vice president, Engineering, Sandisk
Disclaimer: The views expressed are the author’s own and do not reflect the official policy or position of Financial Express.
