How do you balance the challenge and fun of AI opponents in games?

AI difficulty goes hand in hand with level difficulty. Most modern successful games will give you the option to freely change the level of difficulty on the fly, Games like Diablo IV have multiple levels of difficulty to choose from or a more simple approach with story-focused or action-focused found in Final Fantasy 16. Give your audience the option to choose difficulties and it will provide gamers more support with your game.

For some games, there is an option for selecting difficulty. These are calibrated based on testing different mechanics and player capabilities to find what an average player can handle and adjust the other difficulties accordingly. In summary, to know your target audience, you need to do some testing to understand who you are targeting and what their mechanical gaming capabilities are to create an optimal user experience for them!

Es vital conocer el rol de la AI en el juego, si es un rol muy activo en el que interactúas constantemente con ella en el juego, por ejemplo, un juego de disparos contra una AI que representa un humano, el jugador necesita sentir que la AI también es humana, de lo contrario será sacado de la inmersión (si le disparas a la AI y esta reacciona de manera torpe, te vas a sentir que no estas en un reto, o todo lo contrario, si apenas al asomarte te derriban de manera inmediata, sabes que estas contra una máquina automatizada). Al final, la dificultad de la AI debe evolucionar naturalmente con la del jugador para siempre maximizar la inmersión de éste.

Different players have varied expectations and skill levels when engaging with AI enemies. While some may relish high levels of challenge, others prefer a more relaxed experience and some player desires to outsmart the AI. Implementing scalable difficulty levels allows players of different skill levels to enjoy the game while ensuring that more experienced players are appropriately challenged. This can involve adjusting AI behavior, decision-making algorithms, resource allocation, and other game mechanics to provide a tailored experience for each difficulty setting.

A dificuldade gerada na IA para levar diversão e desafio aos jogos é um importante ponto, ela deve ter um meio termo ou níveis para que o jogador se sinta entusiasmado nocrescimento, mas também deve ser divertido não gerando apenas estresse durante o jogo. Acredito que dependa muito do modelo de jogo, mas a melhor opção seguida por diversos jogos RPG é haver opções de nível por exemplo calabouços que o usuário pode optar por fazer e este poderá escolher por mais dificuldade e mais conquistas ou mais diversão e mais facilidade, assim você tem maior chá CE de acertar seu objetivo naquele momento.

One way this might show up is in choosing to use AI opponents in a card game to ensure a fast matchmaking experience. If your goal is to ensure players can always find an opponent within a few seconds, AI opponents can provide that experience. You might sacrifice some of the experience of true player versus player gameplay, but you gain consistent matchmaking times and less likelihood of players being frustrated by not finding opponents.

The natural aspect of playing against a human can serve as a valuable benchmark when defining the goals and characteristics of AI opponents. By emulating certain aspects of human behavior, AI opponents can enhance the player experience by providing engaging and dynamic interactions. This can include simulating strategic decision-making, adapting to player actions, and exhibiting varied emotional responses.

My preferred method is that of MMORPG dungeons, similar to what you could find running Mythic+ dungeons in World of Warcraft or Mutators in New World. There is a clear and measurable difference as the dungeons increase in level, different "affixes," and it is the player’s choice in terms of how much challenge, risk, and reward they are up for. One of my favorite moments in gaming was tanking a Mythic +23. I made the mistake of missing a single mob, which we had to charge for after the boss. With less than a second left, the cheers on Discord and the feeling of reward were unparalleled, I will never forget it. While this may seem niche and possibly even simplistic, I believe it could be successfully applied to more genres.

AI should balance between level of challenge and the skill of the gamer. We call this a flow state. Some methods: 1) Dynamic difficulty - adjust difficulty levels as the player progresses to adapt to their performance. 2) Recorded playback of human opponents - in some games (typically ones where users actions are independent of each other, or asynchronous), when a player is online their moves can be recorded and played back later as an AI for a different player. 3) Cheating - the AI can also be made to 'cheat' to offer a sufficient level of challenge, e.g. receives more resources, has access to more information than the player etc. 4) Machine Learning - AI is trained based on the user's behaviour and adapts accordingly, providing realism.

Balancing AI opponents involves selecting appropriate methods to create engaging and challenging gameplay. Techniques such as finite state machines, behavior trees, and utility-based AI can be used to design intelligent and adaptive opponents. Finite state machines are great for simple AI behaviors, while behavior trees allow for more complex decision-making processes. Utility-based AI can dynamically adjust the difficulty based on the player's skill level. Implementing these methods ensures that AI opponents behave in a believable and challenging manner, providing a satisfying experience for players without becoming frustrating.

Designing a fun yet challenging experience is not any easy job, I would recommend following these steps: * Dynamic Difficulty: Analyze win/loss ratios, points, trophies, and upgrades to tailor AI difficulty to player skill and progress. A skilled player with a powerful character deserves a tougher opponent * Event-Based Tweaks: Consider the difficulty level and prize at stake. A hardcore event with a prestigious reward might warrant highly skilled AI, while a casual mode with a smaller reward can have less complex opponents. * Test, Refine, Repeat: Always test AI adjustments. Poorly balanced AI can frustrate and drive players away. Testing ensures a thrilling and engaging experience for all skill levels.

Fine-tuning AI parameters, including speed, health, and accuracy, is key to balancing challenge and fun. It's particularly crucial in difficult games to align AI with the player's learning curve, ensuring a sense of continuous improvement. Dynamic difficulty adjustment is vital in this process, keeping the AI challenging yet fair, and adapting to each player's evolving skill level.

Fine-tuning the parameters of your AI is essential for balancing challenge and fun. Start by defining key metrics such as reaction time, accuracy, and aggressiveness. Adjust these parameters to match the desired difficulty level. For instance, reduce reaction times and increase accuracy for a harder challenge, or make the AI more forgiving for casual players. Use player feedback and analytics to continuously refine these parameters. Implementing difficulty scaling, where the AI adapts based on player performance, can also help maintain the right balance, ensuring that all players, regardless of skill level, find the game enjoyable and challenging.

Even with consistent and repeated testing, lots of bugs can often come out. The key of this repeated testing is to uncover as many as possible to bring the game closer and closer to mechanical perfection.

The key to balancing AI opponents in games lies in learning from others. It's crucial to actively listen to community feedback on various games. This insight offers invaluable perspectives on what works and what doesn't in AI implementation. Respecting the community's input is fundamental; they are the end-users who experience the AI firsthand. Additionally, using other games as examples, whether they're indie or AAA titles, provides a wealth of knowledge. By studying their successes and shortcomings, you can refine your AI design to strike that perfect balance between challenge and fun.