Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Stand paralyzed with fear
Scream
Scream and run
Scream and duck
Scream and grab your child/parent/husband/wife/random stranger
Just run (no screaming)
Just duck (no screaming)
Just grab your child/parent/husband/wife/random stranger (no screaming)
Move slowly away from the robber
Move
toward
the robber
Try to get behind a desk
Try to jump
over
a desk
Reach for the robber's gun
Reach for our own concealed weapon
Try to call 911 on our phone
Laugh because the robber is wearing dark glasses and a stupid hat
As we can see, there are a lot of options that the customers and the employees
could have
chosen from. There are probably many more. Add to this list that most
of these actions could be done with various delays and speeds. For example, not
everyone
is going to scream at exactly the same time.
If we can anecdotally list so many actions that our agents
could
select, the fact
that they all selected the same action becomes even more startling. Variation in
behavior is what makes humans look… well…
human.
Because, as we are fond of
saying, “no two people are exactly alike,� it is unlikely that their reactions to a given
set of stimuli will be the same.
V
ARIATION BY A
S
INGLE
A
CTOR
While it is important to consider the behaviors of a group of actors, we also need to
consider the actions of a single actor. Imagine, if you will, the following scenario:
We enter a bank containing 20 customers and 5 employees. We approach
the middle of the lobby and begin yelling loudly that we are robbing the
bank. The woman to our left shrieks in terror. The man to our right drops
to the ground and assumes the fetal position. The teenager in back looks up
from her phone where she is text-messaging, shrugs, and looks back down.
