During the course of my career, I’ve heard the same questions repeated again and again. Questions like: Why should we care about making better video games? Aren’t they just a flash in the pan that will fade away in the next few years?

Chances are, if you are reading this, you don’t feel compelled to ask questions like these. You are probably like me—you can’t stop thinking of how to make video games better. Nonetheless, you might be in a position where your boss wants you to justify the pursuit of better character AI. With that in mind, Valued Reader, let’s take a look at some statistics that are a) impressive to business-y types; b) boring; and c) have a high potential to justify that “No duh” that you are mumbling under your breath right now.

The video-game industry has grown from a small segment of the software industry into a juggernaut of behemoth proportions deserving of its own status and analysis—not to mention its own parking space. Sales figures show that the industry grows every year, recession or not. In fact, according to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), total sales for the game industry during the period from January 1, 2007 to December 1, 2007 almost tripled the sales of the rest of the software industry since 1996. Sales grew six percent in 2006 and, according to the NPD group, sales figures for 2007 had already reached the 5-percent mark by December 1, 2007. VGChartz.com reports total sales figures for December of 2007 at more than 42,000,000 units (9,000,000 more than December of 2006). In addition, the growth of the video-game industry eclipsed that of the national economy in 2007, contributing $3.8 billion to the U.S. Gross Domestic Product in 2006 at a contribution-to-growth ratio of 4:1 (i.e., it’s recession proof). The industry accounts for more than 80,000 jobs distributed across 31 states (at a cost of $2.2 billion of total compensation). Take that, people who think video games are a flash in the pan!

The ESA also reports that the average age of game players has risen to 33 years old, and that the average player has been playing for 12 years. Female players now account for 38 percent of the game-playing population, and 24 percent of players are over the age of 50. Of American heads of households, 67 percent play video games—and 34 percent of those who play also play on a wireless device (up from 20 percent in 2002). Video games are no longer (and frankly never have been) the domain of “young punk kids” with nothing better to do.

Despite rumors to the contrary, a simple business analysis like the one presented here shows that video games are not likely to disappear; in fact, the industry is likely to continue its growth. The research effort into novel uses of video games is expanding on almost a daily basis, with a lot of research emphasis placed outside the primary domain of entertainment. Researchers are looking into how to use games as educational tools, marketing tools, to inspire thought, to change beliefs, and for many other purposes.

Great, so games are a big deal. So what? You probably aren’t reading this book because you just saw the ESA research and rushed out to become a VGAI expert. I’m okay with that—it’s not the reason I’m writing this book either. You are probably either a working game-industry developer interested in creating better characters, a student pursuing the same goal, or an avid gamer wanting to know what advances you might expect in next few years. In the game industry, I frequently had discussions based on the following question: Why spend time and money (that we could spend on a better renderer and better art) on making better characters for video games? This book argues that question, and then provides some “here’s a way to do it” ideas.

Who am I, you ask? I’m a professor of game design and development at the Rochester Institute of Technology, a veteran of both the game industry and the traditional software industry, an entrepreneur, and an avid gamer. Why am I writing this book? The answer to that is simple: I want better AI—smarter and emotionally valid characters in video games that blur the line between playing against a human and playing against “the AI.” I could try to add them to one game at a time until I take over the world … er, excuse me, until all games are full of great characters. Or I can try to help other interested parties add them to their projects. In the end, I just want to play the games with the cool characters in them, and I don’t much care who writes the AI.