Creating the artificial intelligence for poker game Lords of New York

Is it okay if artificial intelligence (AI) cheats? That’s one of the questions posed by Dan Higgins, lead programmer at Lunchtime Studios, in this article lifting the lid on how he created the single player poker game Lords of New York.

He argues that cheating AI can be the key to making a fun game. For example, he has programmed real-time strategy games to watch the player’s defences and attack where the player is strongest. That makes the player feel good about having strengthened their defences there, and creates a great gameplay experience.

In his article, Dan discusses how all the AI players (and the real game player) can cheat, and reveals how the virtual players understand the game world, and how filters are used to shape their personalities and responses to it.

Poker is a game usually associated with the thrill of winning money, but the article shows how Dan’s studio used it as the basis for a story-driven game, with quests and characters motivating gameplay, rather than a financial reward.

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This blog post is written bySofttalkblog, and is sponsored by the Intel Developer Zone, which helps you to develop, market and sell software and apps for prominent platforms and emerging technologies powered by Intel Architecture.