As discussed in my previous blog entry, the wave of zombie films and games stems from two limitations in computer technology. The first has to do with graphics and animation, and the second with artificial intelligence. The latter is the subject of this entry.
Game designers fall prey to the zombie temptation because virtual actors have to move and adjust to the world around them in real time. Conscious beings do this quite easily. Natural selection weeds out the animals and human beings that fail to adapt to their surroundings. When we see a dog or a human, we expect them to react to the world around them.
Zombies are, by definition, unconscious. Their skulls contain decaying, rotting, stinking grey goo. So it's to be expected that a pack of the living dead won't react -- or won't react quickly -- to the fact you've just tossed a grenade in their direction.
The game player will forgive zombies if they can't figure out how to jump over a low obstacle or open a door. After all, it's just a shambling corpse. You don't really expect it to pick up one of the numerous weapons lying strewn about on the floor and start firing back at you. You would expect that from a living, breathing human being, however.
So, the game designer thinks to herself, zombies it is! It neatly explains the unnaturalness of the animation, the lack of facial expression, and the poor AI found in most games today. After all, it's only a zombie! It has no brain. That's why it wants yours.
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