Step 2: Configuration
The configuration step is about defining how an AI character inhabits your game world. In practice, this step can be carried out both before and after deployment/integration (step 3). It is often useful to integrate a new character first in a test scene and then to start tweaking its settings.
Configuration takes place along the following four dimensions:
- 1.Personality and unique traits of the AI character.
- 2.Preferences (concerning objects, agents and activities).
- 3.Lifecycle (how the character enters and exits the world).
- 4.Activities (what the character does, and how it does it).
Personality and unique traits can be defined via 'shared client settings' and 'being settings' assets. The former define aspects that are common to all AI characters of a certain archetype inside your game, while the latter are unique to each being.
Preferences are defined for each type of interactable object in your game world and stored together with the interactable's prefab.
Finally, the lifecycle of each being as well as its activities are configured in a separate settings asset called a 'root activity manager'.