Overview:

Sunset Overdrive is a fast-paced game with a hero that can move quickly with numerous traversal options. This presentation will show how we created enemies able to challenge a player that has such a high degree of mobility. We began development of this game by applying techniques used in previous Insomniac games such as Resistance 3 and Fuse. Ranged enemies used cover and attempted to flank, while melee enemies attempting to swarm the player. As the player's repertoire expanded and the game became faster and more vertical we found these paradigms to be woefully ineffective. This talk will contain detailed descriptions of how we solved some of the biggest AI gameplay problems faced during the development of the game.