Poll #27: 12/04/01 - 01/01/02


ExAI -- Worth the Effort?
Are there any truly good reasons to build an Extensible AI into your game?
  
Absolutely! We should always give the user what he wants. (54)
40%
  
Sure! The user can always use the tools to extend the game and keep it "alive" longer. (31)
23%
  
Maybe. Depends on the cost/benefit ratio, how easy the tools are to package, schedule, etc. (39)
29%
  
No way! While it might make sense to do it sometimes, it never is worth the cost. (6)
4%
  
Never! The game is the game; no changes allowed. (3)
2%
  
Well, there are lots of reasons, including (enter your own)... (1)
1%

Total Votes: 134

FINAL RESULTS

Steve's Comments: I pretty much expected these results, actually. Most of the folks who hit these pages are AI fans, after all, and the biggest percentage would like to see ExAI whenever possible. Still, I was surprised that nearly a third agreed that there was a cost/benefit ratio to be considered, and another 6% think it's just never worth it period. Assuming a big chunk of the "Maybe" folks get told "no" by their management and/or producer, that means a big chunk of folks don't even consider the potential of an ExAI at the start of the design phase.