What reasources would one need to begin studying AI? I can't deccide if I want to go towards Graphics or AI programming for game programming so I need some reasources but necessarily just beginner reasources for AI.

Check out AI game programming wisdomI. Ill sell you a brand spankin new copy for cheap, pm me if your interested.

In the meantime id say start reading these: http://www.gamedev.net/reference/list.asp?categoryid=18

I'm also eager to begin AI programming, in particular using steering behaviours and simple goal-based state machines. One book that's caught my eye is Mat Buckland's (aka fup) Game AI Programming by Example. It's not released yet, but from the topics it covers</t> it looks like a great introduction to practical game AI. Going by Mat's previous works it should be a good book [smile]

Yes.

I am making a java text-based game at the moment. It is very interesting because I am having to make AI for it. In fact, there is no/little human interaction involved. One only needs to load a character file and press start. You can pit you Fighter against a copy of himself or other Fighters,

I didn't know how fast it would be, but it looks it turned out OK.

The AI method was especially interesting, because it was to the second and the largest AI I had done.

It's pretty cool. However I have structured so that you have to play it for a long time and you need so little involvement and memory that you can do other things whilst training your Fighter.

A nice web site is AI Depot

Check out the tutorials on AI Junkie (www.ai-junkie.com). Also, check out Craig Reynold's site on steering behaviors (http://www.red3d.com/cwr/).

-Kirk

I like Generation5

What exactly are you looking to do, AI wise? How much previous experience do you have?

IMO, as a hobbiest, game programming and AI go hand in hand - for every game I program I end up writing some form or another of AI. But if you need some suggestions for easy suggestions for study/work:

• Tic tac toe
  
• Space Invaders++
  
• A* Pathfinding with...any game
  
• Conway's Life (if you like theoretical stuff)
  
• ELIZA
  
• Decision trees

I don't want to write more, because that would be bombarding with unasked for info.

But I would suggest that you just do random AI stuff, and just work on it. Come up with an application, and write an AI solution... practice paves the path to improvement [wink]...