Curious Characters for Games in Second Life

Abstract

Recently, a new generation of multiuser virtual worlds has emerged in which users are provided with open-ended modelling tools with which they can create and modify world content. The result is evolving virtual spaces for commerce, education, entertainment and social interaction. In general, these virtual worlds are not games and have no concept of winning. However the open-ended modelling capacity is nonetheless compelling. The rising popularity of open-ended virtual worlds such as Second Life[1] and There [2] suggests that there may also be potential for a new generation of computer games situated in open-ended environments. A key issue with the development of such games, however, is the design of non-player characters that can respond autonomously to unpredictable, open-ended changes to their environment.