What is Multiple Intelligence and/or artificial intelligence?

[Roled]

For us less than technically knowledgeable guys..

What is Multiple Intelligences theory? Does it apply to PS?

What is artificial intelligence as it applies to or may be planned to apply to PS?

Thanks for answers understandable by smart but uniformed elves... and others...


And please DON'T say Roled already HAS artificial intelligence! 
Ha Ha! Beat you to it!

RR

[Earowo]

from what i know, if you ever played an elder scrolls game like oblivion, artificial intelligence, is what makes a monster run around a wall, and then across the bridge to attack you, ,instead of what PS does, where it runs straight into the wall, and eventually goes through it >.>


If you have 4-wheel drive, i say, use it!!

[Phinehas]

Those are pretty complex questions, but actually happen to both fall under my areas of expertise. Here's a simple explanation:

Multiple Intelligence Theory is the idea that there's more than one kind of intelligence. So, basically, you can be musically intelligent or mathematically intelligent. There isn't just one overall intelligence to rate people by. You can be very intelligent in one area and not in another. The theory is, well... a little simplistic and outdated, if at least a good way to get people to broaden their minds about the concept of intelligence. So this theory falls more under the line of psychology.

Artificial intelligence is, in theory, the idea of a computer being able to "think." As in, not to just do what its specifically programmed to do, but to be able to reason out its own solutions, like a human. In practicality, that idea is way far away, so artificial intelligence just refers to the idea of trying to make "smart" computers. For instance, a computer that can beat a human at chess is a simplistic form of artificial intelligence. It's more of a spectrum than a single concept.

As for how it applies to games, specifically mmorpgs, it'd be used to make the NPCs seem more alive and real. Allowing them to seem more alive and be less predictable.

[LigH]

What is "Intelligence" anyway? Even the natural intelligence is hard to describe, and therefore even harder to measure.

In general, intelligence is (roughly) defined as ability to react (in an advantageous way) on changes of the environment.

From a rather wide point of view, even plants growing towards the sun have very basic degree of intelligence, although there is no "intention" behind this action.

Intelligence does not require self-awareness; one does not need to know "I am" to know "I should move away from here".

From such a wide point of view, "Artifical Intelligence" can be as basic as "Display a message when a player-controlled avatar is moved through an area with a certain radius".

Of course, artifical intelligence can appear more or less "intelligent" in comparison to human experiences. It always depends on the amount of efforts and natural intelligence human programmers put into the logic of artifical intelligence. NPCs finding the straight line to an opponent in a 3D world is a kind of "minimum requirement"; finding a movement path through a restricted environment is already a complex task which requires some calculation power, and don't forget that it would have to be done "permanently". NPCs taking advantage of the environment even (taking cover behind obstacles, using hazards against opponents) is already so complicated to calculate that it is probably still too much for a multi-player game, even in modern times with multi-core CPUs: An MMORPG server already has enough to calculate with the human-controlled chars, it can't be compared to single-player games easily.

[Trikitiger]

For us less than technically knowledgeable guys..

What is Multiple Intelligences theory? Does it apply to PS?

What is artificial intelligence as it applies to or may be planned to apply to PS?

Thanks for answers understandable by smart but uniformed elves... and others...

The Multiple Intelligence theory, AS IT APPLIES TO PS, Just more-so opens up the style of training. While some people learn by doing, others learn by watching. So in terms of the game, whenever you decide to train your character, the trainer may perform an animation (of the desired skill) or have you do a simple quest to prove your advancement in your skills. Otherwise, Multiple Intelligences doesn't really apply to PS as it's more of a person thing than a game thing (http://www.tecweb.org/styles/gardner.html --- A whole load of different intelligences and how people learn)

As for Artificial Intelligence, that's where the computer 'thinks' for itself, or at least gives the impression of thinking (Computers now, need to analyze its data and then give the impression of thought). Lets say you were attacking that weak and useless one-eyed rat. Instead of it attacking you until it dies, it would realize that it's nearly dead and try to run off. Or being the rat that it is, it would follow the walls of the sewers and try to escape harm before attacking. Another way to look at it, is instead of NPCs just calling you by race and not really having any feelings towards that race make the quests flat. Lets take Harnquist for example, lets say he absolutely HATES Kran, and therefore makes them do all of the hardest quests, yet he loves humans, so he'll give them easier ones (like getting him apples). Doing simple branching things such as that, gives these NPCs a little more life to them, and gives them the impression of intelligence (They're aware of what you are and react in that way). That's the simple gist of Artificial Intelligence, because it gets complicated as you start going into code and how programmers decide how to get those entities to react in certain ways.

If you really want a good idea of AI, play Oblivion and try to run up to a deer, they'll run away. So you need to attack them like you do in the real world, Bow and Arrow. But run up to a Bear or a Wolf, and they'll attack you for going into their territory.

[Perlam]

From a rather wide point of view, even plants growing towards the sun have very basic degree of intelligence, although there is no "intention" behind this action.

the intention is to get as many sun rays as they can, Ligh 

[sashia_mennar]

Thanks for answers understandable by smart but uniformed elves... and others...

Uniformed elves? Now, there's a tad more than I could stand, sry...     pink dresses allowed? 

[LigH]

@ Perlam:

I just doubt that plants think: "I want to grow to the sun". They just grow there. Because such plants which developed in a way that they grow towards the sun got an advantage. Evolutional result. Not a kind of intention or decision a self-aware mind could develop.