This limitation creates more lifelike behavior for the AI characters, as they can be surprised, make mistakes and decisions based on their perceptions of whats going on around them.

In this exclusive Stuffo interview, Chris Butcher of Bungie Studios enlightens us.

Advertisement So here I am.

Ive been ambushed, sniped, flushed out, cornered and just plain beat down by the Covenant more times than I care to remember.

In both Halo and Halo 2, the enemys battlefield savvy is one of the most impressive aspects of the game.

The enemies are so much more than just an onslaught of fodder.

If you think that a quick trigger finger is going to let you plow through the Covenant in Halo 2, then there is a body bag with your name on it.

The complexity of the AI can often make or break a games level of fun, realism and replay value.

The enemies react, respond and adapt to the player like real combatants on a battlefield.

If youre amazed by just how dirty the Covenants dirty pool can get in the heat of battle, then you will be interested to hear what Chris Butcher had to say about the artificial intelligence of Halo 2.

Chris is one of four Engineering Leads at Bungie Studios, who are each responsible for certain sections of Halos creation.

Chris created the AI for the original Halo and got to expand his work in Halo 2.

Stuffo got a chance to sit down with Chris a few days before Halo 2 launched and talk about the artificial intelligence of Halo 2.

Want More Halo Weve got it: inside info on creating the story and sound, a tour of Bungie studios, a primer on Halo history and more.

In Halo 2, Chris broadened the AI he built for the first game.

The first thing to understand about the AI characters in Halo is this: The AI lives in a simulated world.

Most first person shooter games, such as Quake or Unreal, are built on a graphical engine.

The player is essentially a stationary camera, and the engine creates the sensation of moving through a world by rendering graphics that create that effect.

The engine creates the world, then puts the player and the AI in it.

Advertisement Each character is written to do certain things, but despite their individual roles, they all function in the same way.

It breaks down like this: The character uses its AI senses to perceive the world -- to detect whats going on around it.

The AI turns that interpreted data into more processed information The AI makes decisions about what its actions should be based on that information.

Then the AI figures out how it can best perform those actions to achieve the desired result based on the physical state of the world around it.

That all works through the same capabilities the player has, Chris explains.

This is a key point in how the Halo AI works: Because the characters are forced to perceive the world around them, they are, in many ways, limited like the player by their senses -- in their overall awareness of what is going on around them.

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