ABSTRACT
The most successful approaches to scripting will generally fall into one of two camps. First is the “scripts as master” perspective, wherein scripts control the high-level aspects of agent decision making and planning. The other method sees “scripts as servant,” where some other architecture controls the overall activity of agents, but selectively deploys scripts to attain specific design goals or create certain dramatic effects. The master-script philosophy derives its power from one fundamental principle: delegation. Servant scripts derive the bulk of their power from their specificity. Unlike master scripts, which aim for the exact opposite, servant scripts are generally designed to handle a narrow range of scenarios in a simulation. Scripting is all too often treated as a brittle, boring, and undesirable approach to creating game artificial intelligence (AI) systems. Unfortunately, this stigma is largely justified by the negative experiences of players struggling to enjoy games with little depth or variety to their AI interactions.
