Dog = Canus ex Machina?

[nokori3byo]

Don't get me wrong, I love Dog and I love his two scripted action scenes in Episode 2, but the fact that (so far as I know) he still doesn't have any combat AI kinda bugs me. As it stands, he just serves as a kind of deus ex machina (or, if you prefer, canus ex machina) for scenes in which Gordon and Alyx need to be rescued. Also, his absence from the final battle is a notable gap in the story's logic and I can't help but think that adding an intelligent Dog for the player to command might have contributed an interesting dimmension to that scene. (Note: The scene was great as it was, I'm just saying...)

So, why then is Dog still without combat AI? Is it primarily programming issues that are holding this development back, or does it have more to do with gameplay issues?

 

[Cheomesh]

Yes, I'm constantly saying this so I agree that he is a DEM.

He doesn't have any combat AI because he does not have to.

 

[Qhartb]

It's not a programming issue--Dog is just a character, just like Alyx or the rebels. They's technically nothing keeping an AI from driving it.

It's a storytelling issue. The way Dog fights is a major part of his character, just like Alyx's interactions with Eli are a major part of hers. For things like these, Valve wants to direct the player experience as much as possible. In an Alyx/Eli scene, everything is carefully choreographed out, the possible locations of the player are considered, and the result is that for most reasonable player actions, the point that these two care about each other is well-made. Likewise, in a Dog fight scene, the point is not that Dog is saving you from something; the point is that Dog is bad-ass. He can throw an APC or tear out a Strider's brain: that's awesome. Those sort of things need to be scripted. It's possible to make Dog AI-driven with hints that there are special context-specific actions that are bad-ass, but then there's the possibility of those contexts not coming up, or the coolest ones not happening, and the almost certainty of a lot of special animations not being seen, and it screws with pacing. But 'likely to be bad-ass', 'fairly bad-ass', 'frequently hobbling between places where he can be bad-ass' are not the character that needs to be established, so Dog's actions are made deterministic to ensure that every player will see a scene meticulously designed and developed through iterative playtests to best establish that Dog is bad-ass.

 

[Lokizen]

^ what he said ^

 

[nokori3byo]

It's a storytelling issue. The way Dog fights is a major part of his character, just like Alyx's interactions with Eli are a major part of hers. For things like these, Valve wants to direct the player experience as much as possible. In an Alyx/Eli scene, everything is carefully choreographed out, the possible locations of the player are considered, and the result is that for most reasonable player actions, the point that these two care about each other is well-made. Likewise, in a Dog fight scene, the point is not that Dog is saving you from something; the point is that Dog is bad-ass. He can throw an APC or tear out a Strider's brain: that's awesome. Those sort of things need to be scripted. It's possible to make Dog AI-driven with hints that there are special context-specific actions that are bad-ass, but then there's the possibility of those contexts not coming up, or the coolest ones not happening, and the almost certainty of a lot of special animations not being seen, and it screws with pacing. But 'likely to be bad-ass', 'fairly bad-ass', 'frequently hobbling between places where he can be bad-ass' are not the character that needs to be established, so Dog's actions are made deterministic to ensure that every player will see a scene meticulously designed and developed through iterative playtests to best establish that Dog is bad-ass.

Hmmm, well, I guess I see what you're saying, but I hardly think Dog's badassery takes absolute precedence over what he could contribute to gameplay. People enjoy spawning antlion guards with the developer console and watching them punt zombies around, right? By the same token, I don't see why Dog's spontaneous interactions with enemies couldn't be just as interesting as his scripted ones. They might not be as epic or cinematic, but could be highly entertaining. Also, despite the fact that I enjoyed both his rescue scenes in Ep. 2, I felt the second one lost some of its poignancy because it was the second time we'd seen Dog doing something like that in a single game. When you consider the fact that each of the episodes has given us something new in the way of gameply possibilities, it hardly seems outrageous that autonomous-Dog-accompanied combat would be added to the third game. Then again, given that he weighs four tons, I don't think our robot buddy will be joining us on the next leg of the journey.

I guess I accept the reasoning that leaving Dog behind to guard the VIPs during the Strider battle was a reasonable allocation of a valuable tactical resource (in this case, a super-strong, nearly invulnerable robot with obvious combat applications). But it would have made more sense to have him guarding a pass against Strider incursions--if not from a gameplay standpoint, then certainly in terms of narrative consistency. I wonder if they ever considered that.

I'm not Hell-bent on seeing Dog combat AI in future games or anything; I'm just throwing the question out there.

 

[Narvi]

Dog really isn't this awesome antistrider device, you know. The one time he managed to take one down he managed to surprise it at close range from an elevated position. He was lucky its singularity cannon didn't disintegrate him as well. In open spaces he'd get disintegrated.

 

[ríomhaire]

I annoys me how in every major battle all of the characters who usually kick the most ass become entiry useless, especially Alyx. EP1 gunship battle. EP1 guard battle. EP1 strider battle. EP2 chopper battle, EP2 guardian battle. EP2 final battle.

 

[Iron_cube]

She's got a puny pistol. Youve got RPGs and crossbows and gravityguns.

Hey.

 

[ríomhaire]

I'm sure she could be doing something useful.

 

[Iron_cube]

She throws healthkits at you during the ep2 chopper battle

 

[attorney general]

He's got to have some basic AI now.. I don't think the race scene was purely scripted.

 

[Mahalis]

Dog really isn't this awesome antistrider device, you know. The one time he managed to take one down he managed to surprise it at close range from an elevated position. He was lucky its singularity cannon didn't disintegrate him as well. In open spaces he'd get disintegrated.

We've seen him move and pretty damned fast at that. I think he's more than capable of dodging the warp cannon, particularly on open ground.

She throws healthkits at you during the ep2 chopper battle

Is there some way to trigger that? I kept running back to hide under the bit of the train, within her LOS, but three times out of four she just stood there holding the medkit and staring at me.

 

[Gordon_X]

I guess Dog is there to lighten up the mood when things get dark and hard.

And when dog attacks (Anti Citizen One), it's all cinematic, not really a basic attack pattern like other NPC's.

 

[314URBLOC0017]

Canis ex machina.

</nazi grammatici>

 

[kupocake]

I'm sure she could be doing something useful.

As if modern Half-Life's NPCs didn't steal enough combat screen-time already!

AI dog could be interesting for a section of a Half-Life game. We've only just met up with him again, so we'll see if he takes a more substantial role in Episode Three and beyond. Because he's simply too good at Close combat, I'd like to see him in a wide-open space with a more defensive priority: shielding the cover-less player, edging towards the enemy, dynamically fighting larger targets whilst Gordon picks off smaller, but dangerous units (Rocket-Soldiers and Hunters giving Dog grief).