AI’s Impact on the World of Online Gaming
Artificial Intelligence has been around in the gaming world for as long as there have been computers.
Essentially, a games console is its own artificial intelligence. How many gamers once played ‘against the computer’ on their favorite game? If you did, you were playing against AI. This was particularly evident in sports games, where you must make decisions which the AI then must try to combat.
As the years have worn on, technology has become better as has the AI offered by gaming experiences. For instance, sports games developed by EA Sports, the leader in the genre, now implement something called reinforced learning, which allows the computer to develop, learn and adapt without prior input, which increases the difficulty for the user and delivers a far more challenging and realistic experience. Some online shooters have a similar technology behind them, teaching the enemies to adapt to your style of play. Once upon a time, you could find a trick to beat certain levels, maybe sniping from a distance because the computer would not advance as it was not in the programming. Now, thanks to AI, if you try to develop a certain style, the enemies may come and find you. They may even flank you or employ tactics that you then must figure out.
However, AI is not just found in opposition on some video games, but as a core mechanic of almost everything that happens within gaming, whether it is an online experience with friends, or even on your mobile device. Also, AI is not purely there improving gameplay, but overhauling your entire experience, from start to finish.
The online gaming industry is experiencing a boom of late, thanks in no small part to brick-and-mortar casinos having closed doors for much of 2020. Thanks to AI, the online casino is now becoming a place tailored specifically to your requirements and needs.
When you first sign up to an online casino, the choice of games is staggering. Every provider tries to diversify as much as possible and offer branded games, as well as different types of game. For instance, the wide selection of slot titles on Gala Casino includes Wild West: Great Train Heist and Tombstone, both Western-themed. What if you do not enjoy that style of game though, and instead scroll down and find a game you do like, such as Thai Flower? The next time you log in, AI can pick up the games you have played previously and will not only offer you the chance to dive back in but also suggest other relevant games to play. The same goes for live casino games and on some sites even the difficulty level of your poker table. It is as if you have walked into your own personal casino, loaded only with the games you enjoy.
AI makes for a fairer experience too, by fighting against itself! Some cheating players will use their own AI bots to gain an unfair advantage over the house, and as such over other players, too. By employing their own AI to spot the cheats, the online providers can make their games fairer for other plays. It has been likened to the battle between hackers and cybersecurity departments that has been going on for decades but fought by AI systems.
Finally for this article, but by no means the conclusion of the list as far as AI in online gaming goes, the customer service experience is slowly improving thanks to AI. At the moment, many providers of online games, both casino-orientated and within the wider industry, use chatbots to deal with issues, but Forbes explains how there is still a desire for a human touch. Improved AI is making those chatbots more accurate, able to assimilate the data collected on a user to identify playing patterns and habits, which in turn could answer any questions they have before reaching a human advisor. Furthermore, if the AI cannot help, it is also able to quickly assign a problem to the right department or person, with relevant information to reach a quicker resolution.
These are only a handful of the many ways AI is helping improve the online gaming world for providers and gamers alike, and as technology improves we will find AI used more and more to deliver a safer and more enjoyable online gaming experience.