F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin Takes AI To The Next Level

Dave Matthews, primary art lead for F.E.A.R 2 said that the AI has been improved significantly from the first game. F.E.A.R was known for having very challenging and intelligent AI. He said that :

One of our biggest successes in F.E.A.R. was our AI, and that's not something that's going to be overlooked. In F.E.A.R. 2 we've enhanced what was created for the original game and built upon the strengths of that system. You're going to see enemies that are far more aware of their environment and a lot more capable of adapting to the way you play.

We've added awareness to environmental hazards such as fire and electrified areas. An AI that catches on fire doesn't just continue fighting with complete disregard for being engulfed in flames. They will now drop their weapons, try to extinguish the flames by patting, the ever-popular stop, drop, and roll, or if there is water nearby, run to it.

If they can douse the flames, they'll switch to their secondary sidearm or find a weapon nearby, pick it up, and reengage in combat. There'll be plenty of opportunities for the player to experiment with new and glorious ways to bring about the demise of their foes.

As for combat, you can think about it like sandbox combat. The environment you fight in doesn't change, but the way enemies attack you and react to your behavior changes every time you play. The AI are now aware and will take advantage of combat opportunities within the environment.

Just as you can target the gas tank of a car to take out the foes, they will be able to find the same types of advantages and leverage them against you. What affords us this emergent behavior is that our AI is not scripted, but educated, so as you enter combat volumes, enemies will adapt to your play style. If you are a run-and-gun kind of player, the enemies will see this and use opportunities to flank you and attack you from behind.

Players that use cover more heavily will find enemies using various strategies, like throwing grenades to your location, to flush you out into the open so they can attack you. The goal is to make players not notice that the enemies are controlled by the computer.

Sounds like the AI will be a huge step up from the previous game and that alone makes me excited for this sequel.

You can read the entire interview over at Gamespot here.