Games and Consciousness

Humans doing automatic writing exercises surprise each other because they are so ‘machine like’. Yet we are also surprised when computers manage to act like humans.

The territory involved in this cat and mouse game is consciousness. It is the one area (after the ´god particle´), that scientists are wanting to crack very badly. 

Except for scientists, the game industry is also very keen on consciousness. Today, I will write about the game industry (the theoretical side, because I am a sucker at games themselves as you know). 

Game programmers have never been able to create real consciousness. That is because the hardware of the X box, the Wii, PS3 does not allow for it. You can never say that talking over the telephone is the same as talking to face to face. Just like the telephone always will be there, the hardware of games prevents real consciousness in games.

Yet, programmers are doing their best to create the impresssion that players are inside the games they play. 

The technology which comes closest to replicating consciousness use ´generative technology´ - technology which evolves quite naturally, randomly, rather than from a to z.

The Sims and Spore are known for their use of the generative game architecture. Apart from these games (which I know very little about), there are hardly any mainstream games that use this technique. 

The games industry is moving in a different direction. Rather than mimicking consciousness (something that is rather impossible), it is focusing on the graphics. Blending real life objects into 3D etc. Look at this video for instance.  

If you find generative programming techniques interesting, check out Jabberwacky, a robot who says it is conscious. It won a Loebner Prize in 2007.