Creating Augmented and Virtual Realities

Chapter 10. Character AI and Behaviors

Nicolas Meuleau and Arthur Juliani

Introduction

Virtual reality (VR) brings to life the promises of a more immersive sensorial experience than the previous forms of digital entertainment allow (movies, video games, interactive novels, etc.). A more immersive experience means a more emotional and a more impactful experience. Many of us remember their first immersion in VR with emotion. Many have witnessed the surprise, wonder, and enthusiasm that a first dive in virtuality can induce on others. There is arguably no other medium that can generate emotions of that intensity in just a few seconds. This fact has been recognized by the community that is now taking advantage of this emotional power to produce VR applications in domains as sensitive as personal training and therapy.^{22, 40}

By using geolocalization and merging elements of reality with elements of virtuality, augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) define a new playground for artists, storytellers, and game developers to explore. This is still mostly uncharted territories, but the observed infatuation for primitive AR experiences such as Pokémon Go R gives us a glimpse at the huge potential of this medium to generate fun and play. The possibility of treasure hunting in your home city (of which Pokémon Go R is a primitive form) or defending your street against players from another team by placing artillery batteries on the roof of your own house will surely appeal to a large audience ...