Hello, I'm Dr Tommy Thompson and I'm the creator of AI and Games: a YouTube series on research and applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in video games.

Artificial intelligence is a big talking point these days and I use this video series to talk about it in the context of games. I run a series of videos that address this topic in different ways:

Case Studies
- How artificial intelligence is applied in commercial video games.
- How AI research in games is used to enhance our understanding of the field.
AI 101
- Explaining core AI tech in the games industry, how it works and clever ways it is used in games.
Design Dive
- How AI applications in games influence game design.
Tutorials
- How you can build your own AI behaviours and tools in existing game engines or just in your own software systems.

My case study series to-date had explored how AI is implemented in the following AAA games:

In addition, I also look at work that is occurring in academic research and how games help innovate state of the art AI practices, this includes research projects such as:

I have an almost endless supply of new topics to cover and videos to make - and I need you to help make that a reality.

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Why Do You Need Money?

I currently work part-time and freelance and while I enjoy developing these videos they take away from time otherwise spent earning money to keep me afloat. My videos take a long time to create: from the initial research of a given topic to the scripting, recording, editing and final release can take anywhere from 20-80 hours to construct. Ultimately, patron-money helps offset the production costs of the series itself, but it also allows me to dedicate more of my time towards it's development instead of other paid work.

Why Use Patreon?

In short? It really comes down to costs of the development of this series and the time that takes. I hope that you - my viewers - feel this show is worth investing in.
If you're happy to invest in this show, I simply can't thank you enough. However, I do provide some rewards in return!

Patreon - where we are right now - is a service where you can pledge support to a creator (in this case me) so they can support their work and continue to make it a reality. Patreon is great for creators such as myself given I can remove any need for advertising or sponsorship and instead focus on creating content that my viewers are excited about.

How Do Payment and Rewards Work?

Patrons are charged monthly by patreon and I strive to put out one or more videos a month. As detailed in the rewards tab, patrons who sponsor at varying tiers are offered a variety of rewards, including access to the patron-feed here on Patreon, a monthly newsletter, an invite to the AI and Games Discord Server with higher tiers offering the opportunity to vote on new topics, get early-access to new videos, bonus videos such as the Smoke and Mirrors series, as well as interviews with people involved in the topics I cover, plus other behind-the-scenes content such as my research notes and code from demos and examples.

What Experience Do You Have in Games and AI?

I love reading studying and talking about artificial intelligence in video games, to the point I spent over 10 years in academia studying the subject, I carry both a Masters degree (University of Edinburgh) and a PhD (University of Strathclyde) on game AI. I have published over 30 academic research papers on topics such as machine learning for non-player characters as well as procedural content generation.

In addition, I teach video game development at university level in the UK and am an indie game developer in my own right. I have launched my own game Sure Footing on PC in 2018 - with console and mobile versions coming in 2019 - plus am actively working as an AI programmer for a couple of unannounced games for 2019 and 2020.

Any Other Disclaimers?

In some instances, the authors of the work I am discussing in videos are people who I have an established professional relationship with: researchers who I have known in the academic community, fellow game developers etc. In the event this occurs, this will be disclosed in the video description.