Soren Johnson, a lead designer and AI programmer on Civilization games, discusses game AI design, including whether AI should cheat, behave like a human or be fun rather than strong. He uses the Civilization series as a case study.
Why Hacker News points people here: HN commenters recommend it as the key talk on why game AI is built to be fun rather than to win.
“Extremely enlightening, whether you are a gamer or not.”HN comment, 2011
“Extremely enlightening, whether you are a gamer or not.”
Civ lead designer on evolution of Civ AI, cheating, and fun versus good AI
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Continuing my theme of posting relevant google tech talks, here is Soren Johnson, the lead designer and AI programmer on Sid Meier's Civilisation, discussing this very subject with specific reference to the evolution of civ's AI over the years. Extremely enlightening, whether you are a gamer or not. this video "Artificial intelligence is crucial to any strategy game, providing a compelling opponent for solo play. While many of the challenges of AI development are technical, significant design challenges exist as well. Can the AI behave like a human? Should it? Should the game design be adjusted to accommodate the limitations of the AI? How do we make the AI fun? Should the AI cheat? If so, how much? Do we even want the AI to win? This session suggests some possible answers to these questions using the "Civilization" series as a case study. Ultimately, developers must choose between a "good" AI and a "fun" one, with an understanding of the trade-offs inherent when deciding between the two."
RecommendsJonnieCacheJun 2012
“You may well enjoy this lecture at google from one of the civ5 devs talking about the AI design”
Civ developer talk on AI design and game AI generally
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You may well enjoy this lecture at google from one of the civ5 devs talking about the AI design, and game AI design in general. this video
RecommendsaggronnSep 2012
“Its a very good talk”
Talk by designer of much Civilization AI
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You might enjoy a talk by the designer of much Civilization AI: this video Its a very good talk, but applied video game AI as a field is kind of a let down.
Cites ittherealbatmanSep 2012
“Here he split AI into two groups, Good AI(Chess) and Fun AI(Tower Defense)”
Splits AI into good AI and fun AI, using Civilization
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Soren Johnson gave a similar talk on AI Playing to Lose: AI and "Civilization"[0]. Here he split AI into two groups, Good AI(Chess) and Fun AI(Tower Defense), While the good AI plays the same game as you with the same rules and tries to beat you,Fun AI is asymmetrical, playing a different game whose objective is not to beat you, but you might still be defeated. [0] this video
Cites itryzawyMay 2017
“Here's a talk about AI in Civ from Soren Johnson, Lead Designer/AI Programmer on multiple Civ games”
Civ lead designer explains AI design choices, rebutting lazy design claim
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Calling it "lazy game design" is not only offensive to me as a game designer, but it's plain wrong. Here's a talk about AI in Civ from Soren Johnson, Lead Designer/AI Programmer on multiple Civ games: this video
Cites itggggtezMar 2019
“they specifically talk about how to make the game "fun".”
Explains making game AI fun, leader personalities, and why AIs ally with players
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"Playing to Lose" : this video Personal preferences aside, they specifically talk about how to make the game "fun". For example, they try to account for things like real-world leader's personalities. "Gandhi" shouldn't just attack his neighbors unprovoked, but maybe "Caesar" should. And why do the AIs even bother to ally/trade/help the player at all, since the player is the only enemy that really matters anyway? Because the player is also the only person that matters in terms of having fun, and making the game too hard isn't any fun.
Cites it6gvONxR4sf7oJul 2019
“That sort of game AI isn't designed to be strong. It's designed to be fun.”
Game AI is designed to be fun rather than strong
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That sort of game AI isn't designed to be strong. It's designed to be fun. See e.g. this talk titled "playing to lose" this video
Cites itchongliFeb 2026
“Civ AIs are supposed to "play to lose" [1].”
Civ AIs are supposed to play to lose
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I would say diplomacy is the most misunderstood feature of the series. Players constantly say they want a stronger AI that's smarter at diplomacy. But whenever they have built an AI like that, their play testers complained that it doesn't behave like a real world leader (too ruthless). This experience led Soren Johnson (co-designer of Civ III and lead designer of Civ IV) to the realization that Civ AIs are supposed to "play to lose" [1]. [1] this video
