The Elder Scrolls series works its magic to absorb us into its enormous worlds and almost makes one feel like part of something epic. For years, there have also been many more highly amusing instances, courtesy of the wonderfully unpredictable NPCs. But did you know that the sophisticated AI behind Skyrim may have started with a drawing on a napkin.
It sounds somehow like one of your great development legends. However, Bruce Nesmith, a former lead designer at Bethesda, told some fascinating stories about how the Radiant AI evolved. Whereas the foundation of NPC behavior was encountering build obstruction on Oblivion, it was a dire need for development for Skyrim. And apparently, Howard's vision scribbled down served as the trigger for the elevation.
"The Radiant AI system was developed based on Todd Howard's drawing on a napkin he gave to us. So this is a napkin story. There are few stories in life that are real, but this one is one of them." - Bruce Nesmith
Imagine Todd Howard, sketching a hero at center, then placing icons for houses, monsters, and the rest of the world surrounding him, connecting to these by lines. Clearly, he meant in Morrowind, there had been player interaction with these elements, but the elements did not dynamically interact with the player. Oblivion had managed to take a few steps forward, but the goal for Skyrim was slew bigger. Howard challenged the team: "We need to make sure that the world not only reacts to the player but also interacts with each other. Can you do it"
Initially, the AI system was somewhat simple; it mostly kept track of things like player kills. If a player took some NPC out, the AI weighed relationships, and suddenly a relative or friend would get a quest to hunt you down. But Howard was thinking bigger, interaction beyond violence. He wanted the AI to recognize theft, witness NPCs handling items, change places depending on events, and so much more.
The team worked toward having NPCs aware of "home" locations, with those locations holding knowledge of the NPCs and objects within. An event system was made. When something important occurred in the game world, the system would check its trigger list for potential quests that could arise, each governed by its own set of conditions. Once an activating condition was met, a new quest would spring to life.
"The world saw the player. Think about how many games are there where the world dont notice the player. You kill a monster, and nobody knows about it. You solve a problem for a person, and nobody cares about it." - Bruce Nesmith
This new approach empowered the players to experience the sensation that they are making an impact on a world that is living and breathing. The world saw you. While Bethesda may not have been the first-ever to do this, Nesmith believes they were some of the first, and certainly among the most ambitious ever created for that era.
The making of Skyrim was an adventure in itself for Bethesda, awash in clever shortcuts and daring gambles. From balancing the game literally moments before its release to almost having butterflies and ants break everything, the making of one of the most cherished worlds in gaming was anything but normal.
