The earliest arcade games were made on clear logic and were strictly based on competition between the players. Therefore there was not any A.I. system.

Heuristic algorithms have been used in the arcade games. The common method of controlling an NPC in the game was by scripting.

Path finding is a commonly used A.I. system in the real time strategy games. Path finding determines how to move an NPC from one place to another after considering the terrain and obstacles.

Games like Quake and Pursuit based all the opponent actions on particular stored patterns. The space invaders further refined this movement by adding in-game events which were dependent on the hash functions.

This produced a variety of complex enemy movements.

Pac-Man not only adopted this technology but also added different personalities for each ghosts.

Even though the ghost movements in Pac-Man felt random, it was a cleverly scripted and well disguised action.

The 1990s saw the emergence of finite state machines. The arcade racing games were powered by a ‘rubber banding’ A.I. system.

If the computer determined the opponents “fall behind”, they received a superb boost allowing them to catch up.

The system works to enable  human players to catch up if they fall behind. A good arcade shooting game must be programmed to provide a large rule base - list of NPC options like attack long range, call for help, flee etc.

The secret is in using a random factor to choose from this base factor. This has provided an enhanced feeling of intellect and developed the entertainment quotient.

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We continuously witness evolution of technology pertaining to hardcore graphic systems capable of rendering movie like graphics. Quite ironically, online arcade gaming has successfully weathered such changes.

One main contirbuting factor to such a success is the presence of a large number, all over the internet, of dedicated communities that support arcade games. These communities conduct tournaments which carry big ticket prizes, for arcade games at regular intervals.

For example, Xbox Live organized a Pac-man championship in first half of year 2007 in New York. At stake were

* one of a kind Pac-man inspired Xbox 360 console
* 100,000 Microsoft points
* Pac-Man Live Arcade Trophy

There were nine finalists from nine geographical zones namely Japan, USA, Europe, Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Canada and Mexico. Criteria for selection was scores of Xbox LIVE Arcade leader box.

You will be surprised to know that each of these communities is a well-knit unit and all the communities compete game genres as a single entity. Massive growth in the penetration of Internet has brought about a similar growth in the number of such communities. Another factor is the rise of a huge number of multi-player arcade games.

In a way, arcade games look like they are from another era, given the advances in gaming technology. Unless arcade gaming communities stay united, they will find it extremely difficult to survive intense competition.

Interestingly, we find that consoles and hand hled devices are populated with arcade titles in big numbers. It could also be a reason for the growth in the number of arcade communities.

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