Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
environment at all times, many times we would be unable to sort out conflicting
information. As I watch the various wildlife that we have in our back yard interact,
it is interesting to attempt to determine to what things they do and do not pay
attention. Here are a few observations:
The sparrows at the feeder don't pay attention to the cardinals—but will flee
from the much bigger grackles.
The male cardinals at the feeder don't pay attention to the sparrows or the
grackles, but will readily assault another cardinal.
The birds on the ground under the feeder don't pay attention to the squirrels
next to them.
The squirrels don't pay attention to the birds.
The birds are aware of perches near the feeder that are available for when the
feeder is overcrowded or in use by an unwanted rival.
The squirrels are aware of all escape routes from the ground so as to avoid me
and the dogs.
The squirrels are not aware of perches they can't reach.
Both the squirrels and the birds pay attention to a dog when one comes out.
Both dogs pay attention to all squirrels regardless of location.
One dog (Jake) pays attention to the birds; the other (Maya) does not seem to
see them.
Both dogs pay attention to the chew rope in the grass and will seek it out.
The squirrels and birds do not acknowledge the existence of the chew rope.
Both the birds and the squirrels pay attention to the state of the feeder and will
even watch me come out to refill it. The dogs only think I'm going to play with
them and the chew rope.
Consider that the important factors in the lives of birds, squirrels, and dogs are
only those that are relevant to food, survival, and, in the case of the dogs, playing
with the chew rope. Looking back through the list above and mentally checking off
the relationships between entities as either relevant or not, we see that there are far
more interactions that are not important than those that are important. For example,
our dog Maya doesn't pay attention to:
The location of birds
The sizes and types of birds
The locations of perches
 
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