ABSTRACT
The egocentric motion management system (ECMMS) is both a model for agent movement and an application of a behavioral theory. Any game that features agents (e.g., animals, soldiers, or tanks) that move around in a 3D scene has a need for an agent movement solution. A typical movement solution provides mechanisms that allow for an agent to move through a scene, avoiding geometry, all the while executing some sort of behavior. This article discusses not only how focusing on the agent drives the immediate interactions with the environment but also, more importantly, that by gathering some information about the environment during locomotion, we gain the ability to generate spatial semantics for use by the agent’s behavior system. Portions of the ECMMS were used in a cross-platform game entitled World of Zoo (WOZ), shown in Figure 19.1. WOZ is an animal simulator that requires various zoo animals to move through their environments in an incredibly compelling manner while the players constantly alter the environment. So the proving ground for this system was in an environment that could be changed around the agents at any particular moment.
