AI for your PC

Peek behind the graphics of two new games and you ll find the same artificial intelligence that s at work in Pentagon-sponsored war simulations. In the Sims 2 (due out spring 2004, $50), a player manages the life of a simulated human being who interacts with other computer-generated people and things. The Sims 2 is an evolution of the original (the best-selling computer game ever): Characters display more acute awareness of their surroundings-turning their heads if someone enters a room, or losing their train of thought when distracted. You can roughly predict where each ball is going to spin, but from second to second it depends on how it reflects off a bumper.†Each time a Sims character acts, the game s program engine calculates how his mood is affected. If he s hungry when he cooks a meal, his overall happiness will rise more than if he s not.