Defining Mob Behaviors By Mob Age

 

2006/05/04

 

For me, changing the appearance of mobs isn't enough to give me the perception of a well-realized animal ecosystem in a game world. For whatever reason, the appearance of a thing means far, far less to me than the behavior of that thing. Of course I like pretty; that's just not what matters most to me.

 

So I just wouldn't care much that Mob X has different age-based appearances. It would be a minor addition to the worldiness of the game, so I wouldn't mind it, but it wouldn't excite me.

 

What would excite me would be if the behavior of a mob changed according to the maturity of an individual mob of that type.

 

Assuming a world with Juvenile, Mature, and Aged versions of a mob, it's fun to imagine them displaying different behaviors in different circumstances. Maybe something like:

 

 

NORMAL

THREATENED

ATTACKED

INJURED

Grazer

 

 

 

 

Juvenile

play

run to parent

defend

escape

Mature

graze/patrol

defend

defend

escape

Aged

rest/graze

defend

escape

escape

 

 

 

 

 

Predator

 

 

 

 

Juvenile

play

investigate

defend

escape

Mature

rest/patrol

attack

attack

escape

Aged

rest

defend

escape

defend

 

 

 

 

 

Semi-intelligent

 

 

 

 

Juvenile

investigate

attack

run to parent

escape

Mature

patrol

attack

attack

defend

Aged

rest

defend

attack

escape

 

 

 

 

 

Humanoid

 

 

 

 

Juvenile

play

investigate

run to parent

escape

Mature

patrol

investigate

attack

defend

Aged

rest/patrol

defend

defend

defend

 

If distinctive behaviors like these were implemented (especially with a little bit of randomness), the game world would feel vastly more dynamic.