Microsoft and Google aren’t the only one who’re looking to make advancements in cloud technology. Through a lengthy blog post on Medium, EA’s chief technology officer Ken Moss has announced EA’s own Project Atlas, an “engine + services” platform that over a thousand EA employees are currently working on.
“Today, I want to share an inside view of what we’re working on to bring together some of the most transformative technologies into an integrated “engine + services” game development platform,” said Moss.
Project Atlas looks to leverage cloud computing to employ self-learning artificial intelligence for the purposes of tools that can create content that is dynamic instead of based on scripted coding. Moss brings up the example of dynamic NPC reactions that will be contextual instead of pre-scripted.
“Leveraging AI and machine learning will also give game makers the ability to craft in-game interactions with non-playable characters or NPCs in a way that is virtually indecipherable from a human interaction,” Moss wrote. “So, instead of a pre-scripted, pattern-based logic for NPC behavior, this would make it possible for an NPC to engage in a way that is dynamic, contextual and absolutely believable. For example, imagine that you’re playing Madden, and you’ve just thrown your second interception of the game against the same cover 2 defense that caused the first turnover. Instead of the commentator simply stating that you threw a pick, the AI enables contextual, real-time commentary to reference the fact that you’re throwing to the sideline against a cover 2 defense and should have thrown against the weak zone over the middle to your tight end, who was open on the route. This would certainly push the game into a greater level of contextual and experiential realism. The AI is working with your gameplay. It’s responding to your needs as a player.”
Project Atlast, as per Moss, will also work to optimize cloud distribution of engines, rather than being limited by single client-side computing devices, which, in theory, should allow the platform to “break from the limitations of individual systems”.
“With Project Atlas, we’re now working to optimize cloud distribution of engine services to process the rendering, physics, and simulation of a game instead of being entirely constrained to the specs of a single client-side computing device,” said Moss. “With Project Atlas, which is cloud native, we’ll have the ability to break from the limitations of individual systems. Previously, any simulation or rendering of in-game action were either limited to the processing performance of the player’s console or PC, or to a single server that interacted with your system. By harnessing the power of the cloud, players can tap into a network of many servers, dedicated to computing complex tasks, working in tandem with their own devices, to deliver things like hyper-realistic destruction within new HD games, that is virtually indistinguishable from real life — we’re working to deploy that level of gaming immersion on every device.”
Moss concluded the lengthy post by talking about how work on Project Atlas is coming along. “As we increasingly work with partners outside of EA to make the platform better, we also look to them to share and exchange insights and ensure that the platform we’re building meets their needs,” he wrote. “And as always, our players will continue to serve as a guiding light, telling us what they want to see in future gaming experiences.”
He then went on to say that more updates on Project Atlas will be coming in the future- of course, we’ll be bringing all of these updates to you, so stay tuned to GamingBolt.
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