Since there's little chance of me getting a MacIntosh
to play a single game, perhaps you can discuss it with
me?

I've said before that I feel like The Sims is a
descendant of Alternate Reality in that the characters
have drives that constantly need attending to, just
like your character in AR had hunger, cold, sleep and
such to take care of.

AR also had a social structure, your character could
be liked or disliked, and The Sims does as well.

The game Galatea also does a good job of creating a
realistic seeming NPC. The fact that she's not quite
human to begin with makes the awkwardness of
interacting with a computer part of the game:

http://emshort.home.mindspring.com/galatea.htm

A lot of games that have a limited set of possible
interactions, like chess, RPGs and, again, the Sims,
allow for the best interaction - you already know that
there are limits to what can be done and accept them.

Mark

--- Listmaster wrote:
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Ken Alper [ksalper--speakeasy.net]
> > Sent: Sunday, March 03, 2002 5:38 PM
> > > > Subject: RE: AR vs. The Matrix...?
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Mark W [developer2013--yahoo.com]
> >
> > >I've been thinking a lot about AI in video games
> > >lately. I've never seen a satisfactory AI.
> Something
> > >along the lines of Eliza, but updated for modern
> > >computer capabilities. What games do you think
> come
> > >closest to creating believable NPC's? This can
> include
> > >simulations (flight, chess, maxis games), RPG's,
> > >Adventure games, Interactive Fiction, etc.
> >
> > Ah. Get thee to a Macintosh, and play the Marathon
> trilogy.
> >
> > While Durandal, Leela, and Tycho aren't actually
> AI's, they are VERY
> > believable NPC's.
> >
> > --Ken
> >
> >
>