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Yinjiang Li
Software Development
Tunable Utility-based AI in a City-building Game
My thesis project ’ s goal was to develop a basic city-building game where the player can build different structures , attract citizens , and implement utility-based AI as citizens with tunable utility functions . I chose this project because when I was a kid , I really liked a city-building game called Oh ! Edo Town , in which the player oversees and develops a small village .
In this game , citizens will work , shop , and socialize randomly in the city . I assumed that citizens with different personalities , like in real life , will make this kind of simulation game more interesting . Utilitybased AI can fulfill this requirement and fit the game theme .
utility-based AI and developing a citybuilding game . The core of utility-based AI was to score all possible actions and then choose based on scores . How to score actions and how to choose could be researched in depth .
This project could be useful to the video game industry , especially to simulation games like The Sims , SimCity , or Planet Coaster . AI with different personalities could benefit from this kind of game by bringing more playabilities and possibilities .
The project took me about eight months . Through the process , I learned a lot about
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