Developing a consistent and reliable AI game master for text-based games is a challenging task due to the limitations of large language models (LLMs) and the complexity of the game master's role. This paper presents a novel approach to enhance AI game masters by leveraging function calling in the context of the table-top role-playing game "Jim Henson's Labyrinth: The Adventure Game." Our methodology involves integrating game-specific controls through functions, which we show improves the narrative quality and state update consistency of the AI game master. The experimental results, based on human evaluations and unit tests, demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach in enhancing gameplay experience and maintaining coherence with the game state. This work contributes to the advancement of game AI and interactive storytelling, offering insights into the design of more engaging and consistent AI-driven game masters.

Embracer Group is making the move to using AI in game development following the mass layoff and game cancellations months ago. The parent company of THQ Nordic, Gearbox Entertainment and Crystal Dynamics - Eidos Montreal detailed in its annual report (via Game Developer) that it is adopting an AI policy to its game production model, despite the controversy around the use of AI in the games industry and beyond. It said that not using AI will lead to the company lagging behind other major game developers and publishers like EA, Sony, Square Enix and Ubisoft, claiming that the tech will help expedite the development process and give players an optimized gameplay experience. "AI has the capability to massively enhance game development by increasing resource efficiency, adding intelligent behaviors, personalization, and optimization to gameplay experiences," Embracer said in the report. "By leveraging AI, we create more engaging and immersive experiences that provide each player with a unique, dynamic and personalized experience." Along with listing the benefits of using AI in and outside of game development, Embracer said it understands that adopting the technology is not without risks.

Cortana (Jen Taylor) is one of the first characters that comes to mind when you think of the Halo universe. With a live-action Halo series on the way on Paramount, we thought a guide to Cortana (without giving too much away for those who haven't made their way through all the games) was in order. Cortana serves as a guide and ally to the player throughout Halo gameplay, and in that sense and many others, she is essential to the Halo experience. Her mannerisms as an AI make for a sort of dry humor that makes her stand out among other recurring characters in the game. It will be interesting to see how this character, who fits so easily into the video game format, will be adapted to a live-action television series.

An open area of research for AI in games is how to provide unique gameplay experiences that present specialized game content to users based on their preferences, in-game actions, or the system's goals. The area of procedural content generation (PCG) focuses on creating or modifying game worlds, assets, and mechanics to generate tailored or personalized game experiences. Similarly, the area of interactive narrative (IN) focuses on creating or modifying story worlds, events, and domains to generate tailored or personalized story experiences. In this paper we describe a game engine that utilizes a PCG pipeline to generate and control a range of gameplay experiences from an underlying IN experience management construct.

Some of the biggest challenges facing modern game development can be found in open-world game design: how to build large, vibrant and interesting locales for players to explore. Artificial intelligence can often by adopted to address this challenge by creating interesting and dynamic environments that enhance the overall experience for the player. In this article, we take a look at the methods and design decisions behind the ever increasing game worlds in Ubisoft's Far Cry series. Far Cry is renowned for an open approach towards problem solving: allowing players to explore the world in a manner that suits them. Originally starting out as an open -- albeit linear -- gameplay experience, the series has became increasingly more adventurous in its design; with maps not only increasing in size but also with the introduction of more interactive environments and wildlife.

Amid the news-packed chaos that is the Electronic Entertainment Expo -- or E3 for short -- TIME caught up with Doug Bowser, the president of Nintendo of America. Our conversation followed a busy day for Nintendo, which on Tuesday announced a sequel to the much-loved The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and revealed more details about Luigi's Mansion 3, Animal Crossing: New Horizons and more. Unlike some of its competitors, however, Nintendo was tight-lipped when it came to hardware, using this year's E3 to instead focus on new games for its console/mobile hybrid Switch platform. Speaking via phone from the E3 floor, Bowser discussed Nintendo's latest news, the company's efforts to appeal to a wide range of gamers, and how it can help address crunch and burnout among video game developers. The following conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Augmented Reality (AR) environments are those in which digital and physical objects co-exist and can be interacted with in real time. Augmented reality is achieved via headsets or glasses that render digital graphics overlaid on what the user can already see. With the highly anticipated Microsoft HoloLens and Magic Leap headsets, augmented reality and mixed reality is poised to enter the mainstream for the first time. Google Cardboard is already available. Augmented reality -- or more accurately Mixed Reality (MR) -- is already being eyed as the next new innovation in platforms for computer games.

Artificial Intelligence seems to be everywhere at the moment. Massive tech companies are spending vast amounts of money on research and development of ever more sophisticated AI-focused tools, services and other assorted products. News outlets give a huge amount of coverage to events in which AI is the star of the show. Perhaps most importantly, AI is being discussed more by the public at large. Yet for the vast majority of people, AI is a nebulous area.

Knowledge and its attendant phenomena are central to human storytelling and to the human experience more generally, but we find very few games that revolve around these concerns. This works to preclude a whole class of narrative experiences in games, and it also damages character believability. In this paper, we present an AI framework that supports gameplay with non-player characters who observe and form knowledge about the world, propagate knowledge to other characters, misremember and forget knowledge, and lie. We outline this framework through the lens of a gameplay experience that is intended to showcase it, called Talk of the Town, which we are currently developing. From a review of earlier projects, we find that our system has a novel combination of features found only independently across other systems, and that it is among the first to support character memory fallibility.