Learn to make games that are more fun and engaging! Building on fundamental principles of Artificial Intelligence, Funge explains how to create Non-Player Characters (NPCs) with progressively more sophisticated capabilities. Starting with the basic capability of acting in the game world, the book explains how to develop NPCs who can perceive, remember what they perceive, and then continue in the game play to think about the effects of possible actions, and finally learn from their experience. Funge considers the system architecture and explains how to implement potential behaviors (both reactive and deliberate) for intelligent and responsive NPCs allowing for games that are more fun and engaging. Emphasizing enduring design principles, Funge covers the basics of Game AI and provides a clear, easy to read introduction that beginning programmers and game designers will enjoy.

John Funge introduces a new approach to creating autonomous characters. Cognitive modeling provides computer-animated characters with logic, reasoning, and planning skills. Individual chapters in the book provide concrete examples of advanced character animation, automated cinematography, and a real-time computer game. Source code, animations, images, and other resources are available at the book's website, listed below.