Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Agent's Weapon:
What sort of weapon do
we
have? Are we packing something
serious like the rocket launcher from Chapter 5, or are we stuck with the equiv-
alent of a military issue peashooter? How much damage could we do in one hit?
Over time? What is the accuracy? Is it area of effect or direct fire? All other
things being equal, how long would it take us to dispatch our horrible nemesis?
Number of Enemies:
How many baddies are out there after all? Is it just this
one dude with dark glasses and a stupid hat, or are there many shade-wearing,
ridiculously crowned nemeses that we have to deal with? If it is more than one,
is it still a reasonable enough number that we would feel confident in our abil-
ities, or are we counting on the art department to provide our character with a
change of pants after this encounter?
Number of Allies:
How many of our own chaps do we have around to assist us?
We certainly would feel far more comfortable taking on the enemy if we had
some support. Are we alone, or do we have strength in numbers?
Proximity to Leader:
Is our fearless and inspiring leader within visual range? Is
he the type who would encourage us to press on into the battle—either through
positive reinforcement or the threat of his boot to our head? If he is close by,
we may feel more comfortable (or more afraid of him than the enemy). If he is
distant—or dead—we may begin to feel that all is lost.
Proximity to Location:
Is our pitched battle taking place near an important
location we need to claim? Or near one we absolutely
must
defend? Are we near
a safe fall-back point, or is our back up against a wall?
Anger:
How clearly are we thinking about all of this? Is our morale artificially
heightened to an irrational level by a sense of vengeance? Do we just want to
“get even� regardless of our situation?
All of these issues need to be addressed and codified in some manner. When we
do that, each of them can be represented as a utility value. Constructing some of
them will likely use the principles of marginal utility as well.
As utility values, they become our core building blocks. As such, everything
that follows from this point on will be based on what we determine to be the appro-
priate interpretations of these factors. If we are inconsistent or flawed in our ap-
proach to creating them, these inconsistencies will be cascaded throughout the rest
of the decision algorithm.
Assembling Our Blocks
Additionally, as is illustrated in Figure 9.1, we can begin combining these individ-
ual factors into intermediate concepts. Each of these concepts, once created, can
stand on its own as a new attribute that can then be combined with other attributes.
