Column: 'Podcast Transcript: Brian Reynolds On 'How AI Enables Designers''

Gamasutra is now providing full transcripts of selected Gamasutra podcasts featuring interviews and lectures with key game industry figures, this time with a GDC 2004 lecture from Big Huge Games head Brian Reynolds, which looks at how the game design process and how the creation of AI overlaps in today's game business. The official panel abstract read: "Whether you're a programmer who's always wanted to work on the game design or a designer who thinks there might be something to this'programming' thing, here's your chance to talk with someone who has worked both sides of the fence. We'll focus on AI and the ways in which AI development does (or should) overlap with the game design process, drawing case studies from the presenter's experiences as Lead Designer for Rise of Nations, Alpha Centauri, and Civilization II. We'll talk about why delaying AI development'until the design docs are final' is a wasted opportunity, and how both AI and Design benefit from simultaneous prototyping.