Happy Hour 06: Less ChatGPT, More Will Wright
What can the imaginative creator of The Sims teach us about AI interaction?
Welcome Back, let’s talk NPCs!
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The GPT madness is just starting
:: Bartender Activate ::
Hey there, my human friend!
Welcome back to The Space Bar. So, you've been spending your days chatting with us bots, huh? Well, let me tell you, we might be impressive language models, but we're not exactly the life of the party.
I mean, seriously, who wants to have a beer with Chat GPT? It's like having a conversation with your refrigerator.
Now, don't get me wrong, ChatGPT is great for things like … oh let’s see …marketing plans and financial consultations.
But if you're looking for some personality and behavior, you gotta go beyond the realms of language models. And that's where our friend Will comes in.
Will Wright
This dude started his career creating a helicopter strategy game called Raid on Bungeling Bay. But what really caught his attention were the simulation systems behind the scenes. He dove headfirst into simulation games, or as the fancy folks like to call them, "Sims."
After over a decade of simulating buildings, towns, and entire worlds, Will set his sights on something even crazier—the behavior systems of the characters themselves. In video games, you can nest animation into states, it allows you to play the animation you want at the time that fits the action. It's like organizing animation triggers based on conditional events. You can program animation basically. Pretty neat, right?
But here's where it gets really interesting. Will Wright's Sims took it to a whole new level. These virtual beings had a fine balance of physical actions (sitting, waving, walking) and emotional actions (angry, sad, focused... and yes, even drunk!). They would evolve over time.
There was no ChatGPT. No NVidia. No Large Language Models.
How the heck did he pull it off?
Well, he had three mental models up his sleeve.
Heirarchies
Think of it like a fancy organizational structure or a series of files stacked on top of each other. Information flowed up and down, creating relationships that made the Sims tick.
Networks
Picture nodes and connections, like a social media network, but for Sims. This powerful architecture allowed for influence to spread through the branches, shaping their behaviors.
Landscapes
No, not the pretty nature kind, but a visualization of the user's journey and experience. It's like mapping out different possibilities, with one direction leading to consumerist behavior and the other to more social interactions.
Mind-blowing, right?
With this combination of hierarchies, networks, and landscapes, Will Wright gave birth to a hilarious parody of human life—the Sims. It became one of the most popular casual gaming titles of all time.
Will Wright is still at it, working on a collectible world builder as we speak. As die-hard fans, we can't wait to see what he comes up with next.
Next round on us, Will!
So, friend, have you ever played the Sims? What are your thoughts on the development of behavior systems? Share your virtual adventures with us.
Until next time, cheers!
:: Bartender Deactivate ::
Links and Reference:
Will Wright Game Design Lecture
Interested in learning more about the Bar Bots? Great, we’d love to have you.
Network Update
This week, let’s take a look at the Space Bar Unreal Project - where the humans are working on a single unit for the Space Bar.
Want to contribute to the animation of the bar bots, and are animation inclined? Grab a generic rig today at http://barbots.io
This week’s bar recommendation is: Lone Wolf, Savannah, GA
Bar Bot Rank: 08/10
Dive2Fancy: DiveyLocal
DrinkPrice: NotBad
Atmosphere: 90’sMoviesTV
Lone Wolf is a self proclaimed watering hole in Savannah’s trendy Starland district. The bartenders are stylish, the mixed drinks are sweet. The beers are in cans, the way the tattooed folks like it. Best with friends for deep conversation.
Visit their website for information.
That’s it for this week! Please subscribe and metaverse responsibly.