The Low-Tech AI of Elden Ring
This technical analysis explores the underlying AI architecture of the video game Elden Ring, specifically focusing on its use of a pushdown automaton system. It explains how the game's NPC decision-making is implemented using a stack of goals rather than a standard finite state machine.
Why it matters
It offers insight into the software engineering practices of major game developers, appealing to developers and gaming enthusiasts interested in AI implementation.
FROMSOFT has a reputation for diverse and punishing npc encounters across the entire Soulsborne extended series, but the implementation of the AI decision making itself is perhaps unexpectedly low-tech. Since the majority of the code is implemented in Havok Script (A games-oriented Lua implementation from Havok) it’s pretty easy to take a peek behind the fog wall to see how they’re implemented.
The content is a technical deep-dive into software architecture with no political or social bias.
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