Computer game bot
Encyclopedia
A bot, most prominently in the first-person shooter
types (FPS), is a type of weak AI
expert system
software which for each instance of the program controls a player in deathmatch
, team deathmatch and/or cooperative
human player. Computer bots may play against other bots and/or human players in unison, either over the Internet, on a LAN or in a local session. Features and intelligence of bots may vary greatly, especially with community created content. Advanced bots feature machine learning
for dynamic learning of patterns of the opponent as well as dynamic learning of previously unknown maps – whereas more trivial bots may rely completely on lists of waypoints created for each map by the developer, limiting the bot to play only maps with said waypoints. Using bots is incidentally against the rules of all of the current main Massively multiplayer online role-playing game
s (MMORPGs).
In Multi-User Domain games (MUD
s), players may utilize bots to perform laborious tasks for them, sometimes even the bulk of the gameplay. While a prohibited practice in most MUDs, there is an incentive for the player to save his/her time while the bot accumulates resources, such as experience
, for the player character
.
connections and thus may be unable to play online
. Bots can also be used to allow players to play without worrying about opponents using cheats or exploiting bugs in the game. Players may also use bots to fill in spots on a server when there are few other players. In this respect, bots help create a longer interest in the game. Most bots use existing 3D models, textures and sound of the games or mods.
Some multiplayer games were released initially without single-player components and bots were created or added later on by fans and enthusiasts in the modding
community.
Bots are usually written in C or C++
as stand-alone, completely independent applications or plugins or just dynamic link libraries (dll) for an existing game engine. In the Ragnarok Online game, the Perl
programming language is exclusively used to create bots. Some authors also write some applications with which the bots' behavior, skills and other characteristics can be created or modified, such as Bot Studio for Quake III Arena
.
bots is quite different from bots found in FPS games. MUD bots are not normally utilized as alternative opponents, but rather to perform tasks on a player's behalf. This practice is often seen as disruptive and hence prohibited in many MUDs.
What constitutes a MUD bot is most often an extended and perfected script
on a mud client
, a program that a person would normally use to connect to the game. Different MUDs have different rules as to how an illegal bot is defined, some even prohibiting the use of any automated scripts altogether.
It is generally agreed that a sufficiently sophisticated bot will be indistinguishable from a human player, if the bot is able to summon the player to the terminal for those tasks that it is not programmed to perform. For less sophisticated bots, this will mean any event it is not specifically programmed to react to. For more sophisticated bots, this means chatting and other complex tasks.
Note that the Turing test
is used to evaluate a machine's capability of engaging in a human-like conversation. , no machine has passed such a test, making the conversation test an effective measure against would-be botters. As said, this test loses much of its effectiveness if the bot client in question is able to alert the human with sufficiently short notice, so that the botted game performance may be supplemented with actual real-time human communication, making detection harder.
Static bots are designed to follow pre-made waypoint
s or pathnodes for each level or map. These bots need to have a unique waypoint file for each map, or a pathnode system embedded in the map, if they are to function. For example, Quake 3 Arena bots use an AAS (area awareness system) file to move around the map, while Counter-Strike
bots use a WPT (waypoint) file. Unreal Tournament
's series bots use an embedded pathnode system in the map to navigate.
Dynamic bots, on the other hand, dynamically learn the levels and maps as they play. RealBot, for Counter-Strike
, is an example. Some bots are designed using both static and dynamic features.
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
types (FPS), is a type of weak AI
Weak AI
Weak AI is used to refer to:* An artificial intelligence system which is not intended to match or exceed the capabilities of human beings, as opposed to strong AI, which is. Also known as applied AI or narrow AI...
expert system
Expert system
In artificial intelligence, an expert system is a computer system that emulates the decision-making ability of a human expert. Expert systems are designed to solve complex problems by reasoning about knowledge, like an expert, and not by following the procedure of a developer as is the case in...
software which for each instance of the program controls a player in deathmatch
Deathmatch (gaming)
Deathmatch or Player vs All is a widely-used gameplay mode integrated into many shooter and real-time strategy computer games...
, team deathmatch and/or cooperative
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
human player. Computer bots may play against other bots and/or human players in unison, either over the Internet, on a LAN or in a local session. Features and intelligence of bots may vary greatly, especially with community created content. Advanced bots feature machine learning
Machine learning
Machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence, is a scientific discipline concerned with the design and development of algorithms that allow computers to evolve behaviors based on empirical data, such as from sensor data or databases...
for dynamic learning of patterns of the opponent as well as dynamic learning of previously unknown maps – whereas more trivial bots may rely completely on lists of waypoints created for each map by the developer, limiting the bot to play only maps with said waypoints. Using bots is incidentally against the rules of all of the current main Massively multiplayer online role-playing game
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
s (MMORPGs).
In Multi-User Domain games (MUD
MUD
A MUD , pronounced , is a multiplayer real-time virtual world, with the term usually referring to text-based instances of these. MUDs combine elements of role-playing games, hack and slash, player versus player, interactive fiction, and online chat...
s), players may utilize bots to perform laborious tasks for them, sometimes even the bulk of the gameplay. While a prohibited practice in most MUDs, there is an incentive for the player to save his/her time while the bot accumulates resources, such as experience
Experience point
An experience point is a unit of measurement used in many role-playing games and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's progression through the game...
, for the player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
.
Usage
Bots can help a PC gamer learn the gameplay environment and the game rules as well as help them practice shooting accuracy and gaming skills before going online to compete with other human players in a multiplayer environment. Some PC gamers prefer to play exclusively with bots rather than human opponents – especially in the case of those who have slow dial-up internetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
connections and thus may be unable to play online
ONLINE
ONLINE is a magazine for information systems first published in 1977. The publisher Online, Inc. was founded the year before. In May 2002, Information Today, Inc. acquired the assets of Online Inc....
. Bots can also be used to allow players to play without worrying about opponents using cheats or exploiting bugs in the game. Players may also use bots to fill in spots on a server when there are few other players. In this respect, bots help create a longer interest in the game. Most bots use existing 3D models, textures and sound of the games or mods.
Some multiplayer games were released initially without single-player components and bots were created or added later on by fans and enthusiasts in the modding
Modding
Modding is a slang expression that is derived from the verb "modify". Modding refers to the act of modifying a piece of hardware or software or anything else for that matter, to perform a function not originally conceived or intended by the designer...
community.
Bots are usually written in C or C++
C++
C++ is a statically typed, free-form, multi-paradigm, compiled, general-purpose programming language. It is regarded as an intermediate-level language, as it comprises a combination of both high-level and low-level language features. It was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell...
as stand-alone, completely independent applications or plugins or just dynamic link libraries (dll) for an existing game engine. In the Ragnarok Online game, the Perl
Perl
Perl is a high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming language. Perl was originally developed by Larry Wall in 1987 as a general-purpose Unix scripting language to make report processing easier. Since then, it has undergone many changes and revisions and become widely popular...
programming language is exclusively used to create bots. Some authors also write some applications with which the bots' behavior, skills and other characteristics can be created or modified, such as Bot Studio for Quake III Arena
Quake III Arena
Quake III Arena , is a multiplayer first-person shooter video game released on December 2, 1999. The game was developed by id Software and featured music composed by Sonic Mayhem and Front Line Assembly...
.
MUD bots
The programming, styles of use, and the purpose of MUDMUD
A MUD , pronounced , is a multiplayer real-time virtual world, with the term usually referring to text-based instances of these. MUDs combine elements of role-playing games, hack and slash, player versus player, interactive fiction, and online chat...
bots is quite different from bots found in FPS games. MUD bots are not normally utilized as alternative opponents, but rather to perform tasks on a player's behalf. This practice is often seen as disruptive and hence prohibited in many MUDs.
What constitutes a MUD bot is most often an extended and perfected script
Scripting language
A scripting language, script language, or extension language is a programming language that allows control of one or more applications. "Scripts" are distinct from the core code of the application, as they are usually written in a different language and are often created or at least modified by the...
on a mud client
MUD client
A MUD client is a computer application used to connect to a MUD, a type of multiplayer online game. Generally, a MUD client is a very basic telnet client that lacks VT100 terminal emulation and the capability to perform telnet negotiations...
, a program that a person would normally use to connect to the game. Different MUDs have different rules as to how an illegal bot is defined, some even prohibiting the use of any automated scripts altogether.
It is generally agreed that a sufficiently sophisticated bot will be indistinguishable from a human player, if the bot is able to summon the player to the terminal for those tasks that it is not programmed to perform. For less sophisticated bots, this will mean any event it is not specifically programmed to react to. For more sophisticated bots, this means chatting and other complex tasks.
Note that the Turing test
Turing test
The Turing test is a test of a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behaviour. In Turing's original illustrative example, a human judge engages in a natural language conversation with a human and a machine designed to generate performance indistinguishable from that of a human being. All...
is used to evaluate a machine's capability of engaging in a human-like conversation. , no machine has passed such a test, making the conversation test an effective measure against would-be botters. As said, this test loses much of its effectiveness if the bot client in question is able to alert the human with sufficiently short notice, so that the botted game performance may be supplemented with actual real-time human communication, making detection harder.
Bot types
Bots can be either static or dynamic.Static bots are designed to follow pre-made waypoint
Waypoint
A waypoint is a reference point in physical space used for purposes of navigation.-Concept:Waypoints are sets of coordinates that identify a point in physical space. Coordinates used can vary depending on the application. For terrestrial navigation these coordinates can include longitude and...
s or pathnodes for each level or map. These bots need to have a unique waypoint file for each map, or a pathnode system embedded in the map, if they are to function. For example, Quake 3 Arena bots use an AAS (area awareness system) file to move around the map, while Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike is a tactical first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation which originated from a Half-Life modification by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess "Cliffe" Cliffe...
bots use a WPT (waypoint) file. Unreal Tournament
Unreal Tournament
Unreal Tournament is a futuristic first-person shooter video game co-developed by Epic Games and Digital Extremes. It was published in 1999 by GT Interactive. Retrospectively, the game has also been referred to as UT99 or UT Classic to differentiate it from its numbered sequels...
's series bots use an embedded pathnode system in the map to navigate.
Dynamic bots, on the other hand, dynamically learn the levels and maps as they play. RealBot, for Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike is a tactical first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation which originated from a Half-Life modification by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess "Cliffe" Cliffe...
, is an example. Some bots are designed using both static and dynamic features.
See also
- Game artificial intelligenceGame artificial intelligenceGame artificial intelligence refers to techniques used in computer and video games to produce the illusion of intelligence in the behavior of non-player characters . The techniques used typically draw upon existing methods from the field of artificial intelligence...
- Non-player characterNon-player characterA non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
(NPC) - POD botPOD botPOD-Bot is a bot for Counter-Strike and Half-Life. POD stands for "Ping of Death" Bots, a name derived from the fact that bots using the Half-Life engine always have a minimum ping of five. POD-Bot was scripted, coded, and developed by Markus Klinge, also known as Count Floyd, and was developed to...
- IRC botIRC botthumb|409px|right|An IRC bot performing a simple task.An IRC bot is a set of scripts or an independent program that connects to Internet Relay Chat as a client, and so appears to other IRC users as another user...
- ChatterbotChatterbotA chatter robot, chatterbot, chatbot, or chat bot is a computer program designed to simulate an intelligent conversation with one or more human users via auditory or textual methods, primarily for engaging in small talk. The primary aim of such simulation has been to fool the user into thinking...
- Computer game bot Turing TestComputer game bot Turing TestThe Computer game bot Turing Test is a variant of the Turing Test, where a human judge viewing and interacting with a virtual world should be unable to distinguish between other humans interacting with the world and game bots that interact with the world....