Behind the AI and Storytelling of Spec Ops: The Line | AI and Games #29
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
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A written version of this video is available on both AIandGames.com and Gamasutra:
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--
Spec Ops: The Line is a cult classic shooter from 2012 that defies expectations of what we expect in the third-person cover shooters.
Special thanks to Jörg Reisig (AI programmer on Spec Ops: The Line) who provided a lot of background information that was instrumental to the final video. Patrons can watch the full interview with Jörg over on Patreon
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You can follow Jörg on Twitter at:
/ _chorge
In addition, be sure to follow Jörg as an indie developer as he works on his game 'The Fermi Paradox'.
/ fermigame
--
Images used in this episode are taken from the following presentation:
"Design-Driven AI in Spec Ops: The Line"
Game AI Conference 2012
Presented by Daniel Kollman and Jorg Reisig.
Text excerpt lifted from "Significant Zero" by Walt Williams
www.simonandsch...
Music in this episode is all taken from the Spec Ops: The Line Soundtrack by Elia Cmíral.
--
Some useful links for those seeking advice and guidance on post traumatic stress disorder and other mental health problems:
UK & EU
==
Mind - a mental health charity
www.mind.org.uk/
PTSD.org - a charity based in Scotland dealing specifically with post traumatic stress disorder
www.ptsduk.org/
Dare to Live - an education programme for veterans returning to civilian life.
daretolive.org.uk/
The Samaritans
www.samaritans...
USA
===
PTSD Foundation of America
ptsdusa.org/
PTSD Awareness at the US Department of Veteran Affairs
www.ptsd.va.go...
It's been a real pleasure working on this one. Spec Ops is something of a cult classic and rightfully so.
Thanks again to Jörg Reisig for his help in bringing this video together. Be sure to check out his work on his own game 'The Fermi Paradox'.
twitter.com/_Chorge
twitter.com/FermiGame
Awesome video mate. You did a great job on covering the game and how the AI systems blend in with the storyline.
Thank you so much, we had a really nice chat about this and I am happy how good the video turned out to be. Great work.
AI and Games very goog game played it on ps3 I will play it again on pc this time 60fps and max settings, the graphics still looks good. Great video yet suggested it and I will follow this channel
"We have our orders: locate survivors, leave the city immediately. Radio command from outside the storm wall. They send in the cavalry and we go home."
Leave the city.....Go home...
That didn’t happen now, didn’t it?
He's not wrong people, PLEASE play this before you watch, it is really fantastic. Also, I'm glad you talked about PTSD. I know I shouldn't be talking about personal stuff in some random comment thread, but I have what is being classified in the ICD Beta 11 as C-PTSD, or Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Your accent reminds me of when I went to England, I got held up in Heathrow because they wanted to make sure I was "Safe to let in" which kind of turned the whole experience negative. But what made it better, and really helped me, was one of the Security Officers was a Soldier who fought in the Falklands and Northern Ireland, and he was telling me that if I ever needed help, theres a group he volunteers with of Veterans, and he said, even if you weren't a Veteran and needed support they were there for everyone who suffers from PTSD, to whatever extent. And I think thats probably indicative of the way people with PTSD cope. Life is going to shit on you. Sometimes you're going to make choices that end up being mistakes that shatter the sense of humanity you hold on dearly too, and its going to rattle the foundations of your being, but there are little lights, little glimmers of beauty and joy in the world, and those are the things you should encapsulate and always keep close to your heart. The Day is Always Darkest Before the Dawn. Its not 100% relevant to this game, and I won't spoil why, but, if you have PTSD, especially as a Combat Veteran, this game might be a bit triggering to you, so, just sharing my experience with people who may want to play the game and might need a bit of a leg up on how to deal with what happens in it. Thanks AI and Games for making this, and all of your other fantastic videos! Keep up the great work.
Stadium ARTs Best of luck to you mate.
God damn legend.
this comments so funny, "a terrorist was nice to me :)" like... ok cool story ig😭😭😭😭
Nice! Spec Ops: The Line is one of my favorite games, and am always happy to see it get more attention...
Hel yea,wat to underappreciated 🤘
Awesome teacher as well,showing the true horrors of war & that not just physical pain but mental pain can destroy you just as bad.
It was and still is one of my favorite games to.
I just found this game and I'm downloading it!
A few months ago, I started this video. Usually I'd ignore spoiler warnings but I decided to follow this one, so I stopped the video. Fast forward, I finished Spec Ops: The Line just a few hours ago. Now I'm here to watch the rest of this video.
I hope it was worth the wait. 😁
@@AIandGames Definitely, great video!
Spec Ops: The Line is the antithesis of the modern war 1st and 3rd person shooters. There is no gung-ho you will always be billy bad ass, but a tiny glimpse that war is the ultimate madness of man, and you are ultimately part of it. Both protagonist and antagonist express fear, question their motives, no one is the good guy when they both share the same methods to win. Bigger game studios has abandoned that trope that is based in real life into a cartoonish mockery of just a bunch of bozos shooting each other in multiplayer for no damn reason.
Interesting point about the story in the game. When you show up the city is under a truce/cease fire which you break in the opening minutes and set the entire storyline in motion. So any blame your character feels is honestly earned because you are responsible.
Also the squad based AI in this game always reminded me of Freedom Fighters by IOI software where you'd order a squad of up to 12 people in combat and they'd find cover, shoot the enemy, flank the enemy on your orders or control a turret. Really solid game.
Iirc, Delta squad didn't break the cease fire, it was the insurgents urged on by the CIA agents.
Yeah. Delta arrived the day the ceasefire was broken. Or it might’ve been the day before, been a minute since I watched Spec Ops stuff. But Delta had no hand in breaking the ceasefire, that all lies with the CIA. Or part of them anyway..
I'm convinced this game has impacted me greatly. Even though I go a long time without thinking about it, I always seem to get back to it again. The story of this game still gives me shivers. Absolutely brilliant with a extremely important and interesting message. I'll never forget this game and reading Heart of Darkness is definitly on my to do list.
I must admit though, I think that people who decide to never play a shooter ever again again because of this game are overreacting. After all, they are still games.
GiRayne: Well said. It's always a positive when a game forces us to re-examine our own perspectives - however uncomfortable that may be.
@GiRayne yes this!
When you started talking about ptsd, it reminded me of my own. I'm in a mental hospital for it. I'm recovering, but flashbacks, nightmares, voices and depression occur. It's not that bad. but it's still hellish.
I hope you get better. I don't know if me saying that is worth anything, but I wanted to say it anyway.
Great video--Spec Ops is one of my all time favourites. Most of the other things I've seen and read about it have focussed on its writing and presentation, so it was really interesting to get to see some of its behind the scenes mechanical details, stuff I never really thought much about before.
I love how the devs' attention to detail can help sell the experience, like how Lugo and Adams don't just call out what kinds of enemies are approaching, but also where they are relative to terrain and objects. I imagine it took a bunch of work to pull off, but it's details like that which make such surreal and awful situations still feel grounded and immediate.
Very nice video, was quite interesting to learn how the game manipulates the situation without being obvious.
I still have memories of picking a squad down to the last man, who stubbornly hid behind cover screaming for help until I finally caught up to him. Now that was unnerving.
Relative of mine told me that "War is hell but in the Bible said when you fight in a war you don't go to hell but realistically why is because the hell we been through gunfire, loss of your brother's, civilians, blood and chaos it's hell on one's mind because you still can still relive it anytime anonymously it's a long term hell those who went to war don't like to think or know about while those whom haven't went glorify it because they havent seen it" sure is hell
Its so crazy how this game, some shows and other types of media can play mental disorders so well that its disturbing. It shows that they do exist. And a glimpse into what it can feel like for some people
Very cool insight. And I loved this game. I played it soon after it first came out, and the twist totally got me. Blew my mind. Honestly I think it's the first video game twist that I ever really experienced like that.
Cool this game is getting more recognition
Hands down one of the best story based games. It laughs at stories rich games like kotor1, the witcher trilogy and practically all bioware rpg's. More so than with any other game I've played this is an experience beyond any interactive media can deliver.
Underrated gem
Most games are an experience with a story to go with it. Spec Ops is a story with an experience to go with it. It is the greatest psychological horror game I've ever played.
I've played it once but it's been a while. I'm going to replay it before coming back and watching this
I loved this game horrifically underrated.
Playing this game makes me question what have i done and i am no hero after the "camp massacre". "What have I done" i question that. And on the playthrough god i qestion everything!!
This game deserves a remaster
I think this game's greatest gift to those who play it is to ruin war games forever. I am now upset hearing extended, realistic gunfire from video games and avoid games that glorify real world war. Beyond just presenting a good look at PTSD, it gives players a reason to question the unreal amounts of violence presented in games to them and perhaps look elsewhere for entertainment. I'm not saying ALL shooters do this, in fact, I much prefer cartoon-violence over the super realistic stuff now, but we should realize when a game is misrepresenting the horrors of war.
I still play war games, but this game still makes me think about the actions I take in some of them.
That's a really well made video, right on point! Congrats.
You make awesome videos man, keep up the good work!
What happened to the footage in the beginning?
New video about spec ops the line
Thats an instant sub from me
9:34 Zulu are part of the 33rd though.
i came for Spec Ops: The Line
i stayed for the accent
One of my all-time favourites. I recently FUBAR'd it again.
Great video, but the video filter over it is kinda annoying
You feel like a hero yet?
You should do a video on halo 1 and 2s AI
clearly shows in the video that he's already done Halo 2
Spec ups the lane
Spec Ops The Line is a great fckng game
Wow it has been 6 years and people still talk about it. I can understand why... epic game.
Cool concepts but I think you need more examples of all that you explain.
White Phosphorus
I appreciate the warning about spoliers - this is untouched in my Steam library, so to coin a phrase - I'll be back....
This is America
Tlou2 if it was at least an ok game
While I totally understood what this game was going for, arguably the most important moment totally failed for me, because while the game claims it gives you a choice - Lugo protests the use of the mortar, and I agreed with him - but through dying a huge number of times through being overwhelmed, then successfully taking out all the enemies on the ground, only to fight infinitely respawning AI, the illusion of choice was shattered. For me, the player wasn't the one that initiated the mental collapse of Walker, but the game forced it. I understand that it wouldn't be possible to write the game in a way that this was actually a choice the player could make - no matter how large the challenge to back up that choice - but I think some form of alternate outcome should have been realised, as this really removed from the intense potential I think the game had.
Even though it would kind of defeat the point of making the player feel guilty, I think that removing player agency by having Walker break and decide to use the mortar (in order to save Lugo, or Adams from the infinite snipers) would tell a story that is more enticing than the version you actually get if you break the illusion of choice, and discover that you've got nothing to do with the mental struggle of Walker, as the game doesn't allow for any other choice, despite acting like it will.
Joseph F Lugo and Adams act as Walkers consciousness. Walker represents the player. Walker becomes more and more aware of the fourth wall the longer the game goes on, coinciding with his sanity descending. Adams is constantly reassuring and backing up Walker when making decisions, whilst Lugo is constantly doubting Walker.
When debating as to wether they should use the white phosphorus, Lugo reminds Walker of when it was previously used earlier in the game:
“That’s white phosphorous Walker, you’ve seen what that shit does”. We’ve seen how horrific the weapon is first hand, and yet we are gonna use it.
When Adams justifies Walkers decision to use it, Lugo retorts “there’s always a choice”. Lugo sees that on a moral level we always have a choice, and that we should always be held accountable for our actions. Walker is aware of his predicament of having his action predetermined for him by an outside force and that he has no control, which within the context of the game, can be viewed as a lack of accountability on Walkers part because he sees himself as the hero who will save everyone, just like the player.
Not having a choice with the White phosphorus can be seen as breaking the illusion, but I believe it serves to strengthen and develop the games characters, story, and overriding themes.
Playing the game or not IS the choice. You're killing Dubai citizens and American soldiers for entertainment. That itself is the atrocity.
You missed the point of the game completely, Joseph F. The game calls the player out for going through with everything it made you do, just because you want to be a hero. It calls other games out for making players do things that would never be acceptable all while coming up with sundry excuses why it was "necessary".
This is like the movie "Wargame". The only way to "win" is by refusing to play.
Jesus bless you
These filters... is this the true power of Article 13?!?
Fault...Walker does start out crazy, because he does have hallucination moments before the white phosphorous event, and if you want to use the idea that the white phosphorous massacre was his doing, then that doesn't work either, because the civilians in the trench were clearly unarmed even in thermal vision and if you don't destroy the final vehicle, they gun you down when the probe drops too low. It's not a twist that works because you're so obviously railroaded into that one point without any choice. Sorry, but Spec-Ops: The Line is not the grand diamond in the rough that everyone's making it out to be, it's a decent story with some glaring flaws tacked onto one of the most brain-numbingly repetitive cover based shooters of the 2010s.
Can't call that "AI" since is not.
We will only have A.I on Games when they will be built with RealTime DeepLearning using Distant Server.
I like Spec Ops but my biggest gripe is the big Phosphorus scene. The devs said they didn't want the "breaking point" for Walker to happen outside of the player's control but it very much does. You might press the button but the game puts your finger there and forces you to do it to continue. You have no other choice or options and it's not really achieving what the dev said they wanted to, and it just makes it feel annoying for the game to go "look at what you diiiiiid" at me when I very much did not.
You can always shut the game off :^) I think that's even heavily implied by the game itself.
Did anyone force you to click? Nope. You made that choice all on your own. Because you wanted to go on. Reach the next shooting scene. Kill some more "people". Or, as Konrad would put it, because you wanted to be a hero.
Just like Walker creates scenarios in his mind that "force" him to do what he does, rationalizations of unconsciable actions, players make up excuses why they had to do what they did.
You're demonstrating precisely the problem the game calls out.
Hey, we all voluntarily blew this cities up didn't we? We were happily blasting away until we realized what we did, didn't we? You sound exactly like martin
"Cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding two conflicting ideas simultaneously."
True to the principles of doublethink...
"Do you feel like a hero yet?"
I know it's been 3 years but the first time i read that line i felt like Lugo and Adams are the personification of those 2 ideas throught the Game
I learnt that shit from the game..12 years later
@@icrievretim Not to be disrespectful but the 2 ideas is Walker's Orders and His Values. It says it as a death screen quote in the game
Something that I noticed, is the executions seem to get more violent, as things go on.
Not only that, but Walker's combat orders become more aggressive and less "official", example: Instead of saying "Take down that target", in the final chapters he changes to "KILL THAT FUCKER!".
Fun fact, the voice actors, when they were making the middle to final voice lines (I think),were required to say the same line multiple times, getting more angry and tired as they did so, that way, they would be able to almost perfectly feel the same tiredness and rage that the characters felt in those situations
@@danielm.595 Damn, that's soo good..wish games dev nowdays pay that much attention to each detail..
"You did this."
No, *_you_* did.
"Someone has to pay for your crimes, Walker. Who's it gonna be?"
Picasso
@@archibaldmoore4514 Ah, I see you're a man of culture as well.
@@archibaldmoore4514 picasso responding to a nazi officer
Playing this on the hardest difficulty was epic , AI is relentless and the battle chatter is fucking amazing , haven't seen anything like it , except in Battlefield pvp , soldiers talk a lot :p
Finishing this game on FUBAR is one the greatest achievement you can have in video games. It's not only hard, it is ridiculous.
I feel like the game is best played on the hardest difficulty because even though your likely to get frustrated by how damn difficult it is, it’s effective in having the player be parallel with Captain Walker and their descent into madness.
I agree with you all... FUBAR was a truly devasting experience for me. Even if I had already beat the game first on another difficulty. Hellish.
By the time I completed FUBAR, I was desensitized to everything.
FUBAR wasn't describing the game, it was describing my psyche.
@@MansMan42069 Let's just say after beating FUBAR. I now understand Walker's mindset.
Spec Ops The Line was my game of the year for 2012. I felt the story and A.I. were great. Wish they'd rerelease it on PS4. Thanks for the interesting video about this great game.
Same, sadly was totally overshadow for the relase of FarCry 3 (which is still a good game) and the fact that not everyone was excited about it, since on surface was another cover shooter that was milking the success of Gears of War... on the surface of course.
It is on PS4... if you’re willing to shell out money for a _separate_ subscription that wants access to your credit card info.
They should’ve left out the multiplayer.
Game of lifetime
After all this years
Its still on my mind
Superb game, superb analysis. Thanks for this, Tommy!
Reminds me of a time in this game where once, I threw a sticky grenade on a soldier, as soon as I did it the dude ran to me and he exploded killing him, and me.
I dunno if it was a bug or something but it still gives me shivers down my spine whenever I thing about it..
Exactly what I would do in online multiplayer if I got stuck with a sticky nade.
They are supposed to run to their allies and explode.
If they are to close they run to you.
I mainly used them on heavies and turrets.
As someone who has 100% this game, I feel that the gameplay is underrated. Sure it’s a little clunky and generic but it also has one of the most helpful allies I’ve seen, especially in higher difficulties. On lower difficulties giving commands rather than shooting the enemies yourself may seem like a waste of time, but on FUBAR, having your allies take out enemies or distract them so you can get a better position is necessary to survive. Also the sand mechanics are underrated, such as throwing a grenade at sand to create a dust cloud for concealment is something I wish more games used
Disclaimer: Don't play this game, this will psychology breaks you apart. You will develop PTSD no need to go to war.
Great video. Would love to see an examination of Binary Domain's squad AI system. I remember it being kinda flakey, but also kinda cool.
using your mic to issue commands to your squad was a bit clunky but it was still fun to use.
Brilliant...... I've played this so long ago and the game is still being talked about this is the most underrated game but oddly enough I'm not sure if I want more people to play the game or simply avoid it considering it's story and what it can do to someone's mindset
Great game with gameplay problems. But that story man. I couldn't sleep for two days after finishing it XD
Playing this game was amazing for me. I honestly just got it at a bargain-bin price on Steam, not really knowing that it had had any sort of acclaim. User rating was alright, looked like a braindead-shooter but on the cheap that I would while-away a few hours with.
Imagine how I felt when I realized I was being sucked into something right out of The Heart of Darkness. :| ...yeah. Yeah. And then that bit with the WP? Yeah. Not a great feeling.
"How many Americans have you killed today?"
Finally! Love this game!
Doesn't get enough attention, people let the multiplayer and kind of cloned cover shooting colour whats a great narrative experience
THIS is an amazing game & VERY underappreciated. The music,story,acting,writing,game play,ect. Very awesome & very sad but inevitable end.
Thanks again👍
Endings,I should say....
I want to add that after finishing this ep I was moved by your discussion on PTSD & offering the info to get help. I can tell you 1st hand suffering it myself my whole life & my father since Viet Nam. Poor man thought the nightmares were well gone(is well into his 80s)then his pace make misfired & shocked him so bad it awoke the demons in his head😔
Its more devastating than a bullet to the brain. Its a terrible affliction that we live with on a daily basis & this game was instrumental in showing the truth of war in a professional adult manner. I thank you again for your channel & for being what seems to be a kind soul✌
It’s a shame to think that we won’t exactly see another game like Spec Ops for a long time
I think it better be, than we get some shitty sequel
We got This War of Mine
My Favorite quote:You feel like a hero yet?
*Welcome to Hell, Walker. We've been waiting for you*
Amazing video and channel. Any plans to do a series on the guards AI from the Metal Gear Solid series?
one of my favorite games of all time. Great analysis, man!
Love this guy
I found that I pretty much was unable to order allies anything (PC)
Takedown needs really precise cursor, so I played through the game without control over Adams and Lugo
I would love to see a video similar to this but with uncharted 4 ' AI..
3:36 THAT is exactly why I still have guilt burden since i was a kid I bought it a week ago and finished it again. I'm sure this game made me a fucking ptsd having rage filled merciless dude. I was not able to get the full effect since I was a kid yet I still had a fuckton of nightmares for weeks and having to go through sleepless nights imagine what i fucking went through since I'm 19 yrs old now.... The guilt is unbearable.. This game MAKES YOU ONE WITH WALKER AND BLAMES YOU JUST AS MUCH AS WALKER!!!
The only other game that has properly explored mental illness to date is Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice
Crazy Easter Egg at 17:01 : 4th row, 3rd & 4th names.
Great to see people still talking about this 6 years later
Fantastic game
oh wow.
Yager Steal My Thunder + Limited Ammo for google christmass cease fire Sake
besides Commando on F.U.B.A.R. first
beautiful video!! Always enjoyed the parallelism between heart of darkness and spec ops
I loved this game it was a true diamond in the ruff along with alpha protocol.
Adam and lugo the best buddy that do heavy work for you
i enjoyed the video but i don't think spec ops works at leas with me.
personaly i didn't really empathize with the enemy because the only thing i could do interacting with them is kill it.
is easy to me to do if i have an option outside of killing them.
Not really, you don't have to shoot at the enemy a handful of times
yeah, you can scare them away by shooting over their heads
in especific story points or is a mechanic i didn't knew about?
Well they speak english? Many enemies in war games aren't from the same nationality as the player character
enssra
no, its not a mechanic. Its only possible once in the story and they arent enemies then, they are civilians.
Not sure why you want to emphatize with the enemy though :D
22 never came to help his mates...
Awesome game, excellent video
I feel like a hero mama
I want this game now
Excellent video
Great video
This is a random thing to compare, but I really wish anime was as subtle with their story telling as this game was.
Ummm
Mushishi
Evangelion
Vinland Saga
Attack on titan
And literally anything thats not 'mainstream' and 'isekai' related
Except for some (drifters, deca dence)
@@imp4ktth Now I've got something to watch. Thank you.
@@DiranJiru no prob
Zulus are still kind of dumb AI wise, they don't really put their better guns to good use.
This and Bioshock Infinite have the best stories ever
The movie isn’t about Walker’s dissociative episode in the face of war. It’s a fever dream where he deals with the heavy guilt of the horrible acts he did in Dubai.
The opening scene where Walker and his allies are in a helicopter crash... that’s when they all die. From there until the repeat of the helicopter scene, that’s Walker’s fever dream as the events of Dubai flash thru his mind in the final moments before death, which is why stuff gets weird... he’s not gonna experiencing real event, he’s re-experiencing them, and his mind is adding things based on his horrible guilt.
Every time the game fades to white, Walker is hallucinating, and that’s the fever dream stuff. When it fades to black, its memory.
And finally, after the “second” crash, Walker is actually in hell, and after traveling thru his own personal version of it, when he gets to the end, he has a choice between accepting his culpability (suicide ending,) or not accepting it, in which case, he stays in hell.
Man I appreciate you including Heart of Darkness on the thumbnail for the video. That's where the inspiration for the game came from and the developers interpretation of the book gave us this amazing video game.
I really wanna watch the video
but I also haven't finished Spec ops yet
Why couldn't you just do something about OpenAI's new 5 bot team?
I found this game awfully boring due to its dull and repetitive combat system. Somehow the boredom caused by the mechanics made the story uncompelling for me.
That's the point. You hate having to fight more not because you are killing people and causing destruction but because it is boring. What kind of monster are you to not want to kill people purely because it is boring and not because of the immorality of it? The game calls the player out just as much as it does Walker since we are controlling him. It makes us see a little glimpse of the heart of darkness within ourselves.
@@WouldYouKindlyGWAR I can distinguish images on a screen from life outside of it and games with a compelling narrative from hamfisted and pretentions attempts at profundity and insight.
It's a video game and the design of its mechanics is poor, which is enough to make my eyes roll at the story. I am not interested in interpretative gymnastics of trying to show how bungled gameplay can be read as meta commentary on horrors of war.
If in need of hearts of darkness, I can always consult Mr Conrad.
@@noname_whatsoever Whatever pal. Each his own.
@@WouldYouKindlyGWAR Take your own pills, 'pal'.
@@noname_whatsoever Lmao
The game wasn't anything new in terms of a cover shooter. What was good about it was an exotic environment and great 'Nam themed music. The spin off plot for the masterpieces "Apocalypse now / Heart of Darkness" was somewhat lazy, you don't get any choice when committing horrors, you either do them or you die, you can only chose to come peacefully at the end or keep on fighting
Maxim Kozin well having choices like that would ruin the narrative