AltDevConf Programming – Alex Champandard
Programming Track.
Alex is a veteran of the industry. I’ve known about him since the late 90s, when he used to write some regular columns at ai-depot.
Today, Alex has a unique perspective of recent game AI developments that draws from both his professional and academic experience. He has worked at leading game studios and continues consulting with them regularly. His has contributed to many games including Killzone 3, Killzone 2, Max Payne 3, and Rockstar Table Tennis.
On the academic front, he’s the editor-in-chief of Paris Game AI Conference, which he co-organizes with his wife Petra.
Alex has become one of the main authorities for the study and advocation of Behavior Trees in games. In his AltDevConf talk he will introduce this technique to newcomers, discuss modern trends in current games, and predict what to expect from future implementations. Here’s a description of the talk in his own words:
This presentation will provide the most comprehensive overview of the design and implementation of behavior trees to date. Since their incremental evolution into the games industry ~8 years ago, a lot has changed and there are clear trends in their uses and applications in commercial games. Drawing from AiGameDev.com‘s extensive experience prototyping, teaching, consulting about behavior trees, you’ll learn the key principles behind first- and second-generation behavior trees as they are currently used in games — and what challenges and opportunities this presents for your game’s AI and scripting system.
Alex is just one of the speakers we’ll be introducing during the next few days leading to the conference. You can read more about the program we are putting together at AltDevConf.org and remember to clear your schedule February 11th/12th to come join us!
