AI developers behind Assassin's Creed III, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and Warframe came together to discuss how they improved the AI in their games, with three focused postmortems given in this GDC 2013 video. Courtesy of the GDC Vault, these short but sharp postmortems explore how Digital Extremes overcame AI problems in Warframe's procedural levels, how Firaxis created several distinct AI behaviors for all of its alien types in XCOM: EU, and how Ubisoft Montreal changed the character's free running and navigation in Assassin's Creed III. Session Name: AI Postmortems: Assassin's Creed III, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and Warframe Speaker(s): Daniel Brewer, Alex Cheng, Aleissia Laidacker, Richard Dumas Company Name(s): Digital Extremes, Firaxis, Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Montreal Track / Format: AI Summit Overview:This session will provide a high-density look into the AI of three upcoming or recently released games. Unlike traditional industry postmortems, the session's presenters will dive immediately into the challenges faced, and how they addressed these challenges. We will show how Warframe dealt with the challenges of creating tactical and behavioral AI in procedurally generated levels of a multi-player co-op game. We will also show how Firaxis approached the movement and ability usage for the various alien types in this year's hit turn-based tactical shooter, XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Lastly, the session will explain how Ubisoft upped their parkour gameplay in Assassin's Creed III by improving on their already noteworthy climbing and running mechanics.

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent GDC events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers. Those who purchased All Access passes to events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC China already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscriptions via a GDC Vault inquiry form. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company. More information on this option is available via an online demonstration, and interested parties can find out more here. In addition, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault admins. Be sure to keep an eye on GDC Vault for even more new content, as GDC organizers will also archive videos, audio, and slides from other events like GDC China and GDC 2013. To stay abreast of all the latest updates to GDC Vault, be sure to check out the news feed on the official GDC website, or subscribe to updates via Twitter, Facebook, or RSS. Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Tech.