This book covers artificial intelligence methods applied to games, both in research and game development. It is aimed at graduate students, researchers, game developers, and readers with a technical background interested in the intersection of AI and games. The book covers a range of AI methods, from traditional search, planning, and optimization, to modern machine learning methods, including diffusion models and large language models. It discusses applications to playing games, generating content, and modeling players, including use cases such as level generation, game testing, intelligent non-player characters, player retention, player experience analysis, and game adaptation. It also covers the use of games, including video games, to test and benchmark AI algorithms. The book is informed by decades of research and practice in the field and combines insights into game design with deep technical knowledge from the authors, who have pioneered many of the methods and approaches used in
