How Forza's Drivatar Actually Works | AI and Games #60

Channel:

AI and Games

Subscribers:

219,000

Published on May 30, 2021 4:00:13 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeYP9eyIl4E

Game:

Forza Horizon 5 (2021)

Duration: 23:56

139,510 views

6,775

Drivatar, the system that powers AI racers in the Forza franchise to drive just like you and your friends, is one of the longest-running applications of machine learning in the video games industry. But how does it actually work? We crack open the bonnet to find out what makes this engine tick and how it creates a social experience for Xbox players in both the Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon titles.

This episode is inspired by the following sources:

- Microsoft Research's pages on Drivatar (now dead)
http://web.archive.org/web/20140208083127/http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/drivatar/forza.aspx

- Jeffrey Schlimmer's 2015 talk at the nucl.ai conference:
"Drivatar and Machine Learning Racing Skills in the Forza Series"

- The following interviews with creative director Dan Greenawalt:
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/09/war-stories-how-forza-learned-to-love-neural-nets-to-train-ai-drivers/
https://www.wired.com/2014/09/forza-horizon-2-drivatars/
https://www.topgear.com/car-news/gaming/meet-man-behind-forza-motorsport
https://web.archive.org/web/20070314015129/https://forzamotorsport.net/news/pitpassreports/pitpass36-2.htm
https://venturebeat.com/2013/11/06/how-microsofts-turn-10-fashioned-the-ai-for-cars-in-forza-motorsport-5-interview/
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2011/sep/06/forza-4-interview
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-the-making-of-forza-horizon

Chapters
[00:00] Intro
[00:50] What is a Drivatar?
[02:03] The Challenge of Racing AI
[05:22] Forza Physics
[09:01] The Original Drivatar
[13:30] Drivatar v2.0
[18:21] Designer Modifications
[20:33] Hacks & Tweaks
[22:27] Closing

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#Forza #ForzaHorizon5 #Drivatar

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