Where did the first game AI come from?

Nowadays, every gamer interacts with AI in some form or manner when playing video games. From the NPCs that sell you potions to the bot opponents in Chess, AI has now become an integral part of any video gaming experience. So where did the first game AI come from? Well, like most things about video games, it has roots in scientific research.

The first “game AI” is from the Ferranti Nimrod Digital Computer (known also as Nim), where you would play a digitized version of Nim against a computer. A lot of people who challenged the computer lost, but interestingly, British scientist and ENIGMA codebreaker Alan Turing was able to defeat it.

Funnily enough, the “AI” seemed to not accept being defeated, and kept flashing “COMPUTER WINS” instead!

AI has now evolved to be able to create games it seems, as Mathler and Sumplete creator Daniel Tait would attest to in our latest podcast episode.

Five game insights we think will pique your interest!

If we’re talking about game AI, then one of the most famous among them is Deep Blue. IBM’s Deep Blue AI went toe-to-toe with Chess Grandmaster Garry Kasparov in a series of matches, where the latter even conceded the last round even though he still had a winnable position because “he lost his spirit” against the machine.

Deep Blue isn’t the only well-known AI to fight a human champion in a game. Google’s AlphaGo also put its foot down in playing Go against Lee Se-dol, a Korean Go champion. The AI was so strong that not only did it win four times in the five-match setup, but it also took away Se-dol’s enjoyment of the game.

Nim may be the first game AI, but what is the first “video game” AI? Space Invaders. Of course, it’s not the same as the AI you’d see in modern video games, but the programmed patterns of the enemies in Space Invaders count as an early form of enemy intelligence.

Another tidbit about Space Invaders: the aliens were supposed to move at a uniform speed throughout the game, but hardware limitations made it difficult. So the more you took out the aliens, the more processor space became available and the faster they became!

The psychological profiling in Silent Hill: Shattered Memories isn’t exactly AI, but the cues and patterns involved in it were never before seen in a video game. This made everyone feel that there was an AI changing the enemies and dictating what’s next based on their responses and choices, and that made the game such a cult classic among horror game fans.

AI has come a long way—from simply repeating and cycling through programmed patterns and behavior, to real machine learning and self-involving intelligence. However, no matter how advanced AI as a tool may get, there needs to be a human mind behind it to create something significant for human use and consumption.

In the realm of video games and development, AI will continue to be a great assistant in creating even better gaming experiences and breakthroughs in the hands of passionate humans.

And with that sentiment, we share a quote from Vivienne L’Ecuyer Ming, an American theoretical neuroscientist and artificial intelligence expert:

“AI might be a powerful technology, but things won't get better simply by adding AI.”

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That’s all for this week. See you next Friday!

-The Hey, Good Game Team