Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) means the intelligence of machines, and is commonly used to refer to computer-controlled units in RPGs. Enemies are AI-controlled, but in certain cases, player characters can also be computer-controlled.
With status effects like Berserk and Confuse, allies are taken out of the player's control and start performing actions on their own. Even if Confuse is always considered a negative status, Berserk can be used to the player's advantage at times, and is considered a positive status in some games.
==Appearances==
===Final Fantasy VI===
Cyan is controlled by the AI where he is given an AI script just like the enemies. For three battles in the Imperial Camp, his AI script is as follow:
Attack Turns:
:1st Turn: Fang (33%) or Attack (33%) or Attack (33%)
If attacked by anything: Attack (33%) or Nothing (66%)
In the Dragon's Neck Coliseum player characters are controlled by the computer and will randomly use any commands they have available, even ones that can kill the character, like Self-Destruct. Thus the battle outcomes are often random and risky.
Umaro is an optional playable character who cannot actually be controlled in battle and is in a constant state of Berserk. Umaro only uses physical attacks, unless equipped with his special relics that allow him to randomly use a special ability.
Gau can emulate a monster. When he does he becomes a computer-controlled character in battle, and has the chance of using two abilities. One of them is always an Attack, the second can either be a special attack, a magic spell, a lore, a dance ability, or an enemy spell.
When Mog selects a Dance, he will randomly perform one of four abilities from the selected dance. The player will lose control of Mog while he's dancing.
===Final Fantasy VII===
Sephiroth, while as a party member, is entirely computer-controlled. He can attack enemies with physical attacks and powerful magic that targets all opponents. If Cloud is dead, Sephiroth can use Life2 on him.
Vincent Valentine is computer controlled when using his Limit Breaks. When using his Limit Break form Vincent has a random chance of either using a physical attack or a special attack, but the special attack is always rarer, in each of his turns.
In the Chocobo Races the player can let the chocobo be controlled by the computer, in which case the chocobo is controlled the same as the other opponent chocobos on the track. The computer does not usually take the most effective turns on the race tracks, however, and might waste Stamina.
===Final Fantasy VIII===
Rinoa's Limit Break, Angel Wing, turns her into a sort of Magic Berserk state, in which she is computer-controlled and casts random magic from her stock, without actually expending the spells. Because Rinoa only casts spells she already has, it is easy to manipulate Angel Wing by letting her only have powerful spells, such as Meteor.
The player also has the option to set Squall's and Zell's Limit Breaks into automatic, in which the computer performs the Limit Break without player input.
===Final Fantasy X===
The Magus Sisters and Yojimbo are optional aeons whose commands the player cannot actually directly control.
While commanding the Magus Sisters, the player offers suggestions to each one individually, and the AI will choose a relevant ability and target. Sometimes they may fail to take an action.
The player uses gil to manipulate Yojimbo's actions: the higher the amount paid the better attack will Yojimbo perform. The Overdrive gauge also plays part of which action will Yojimbo choose.
When playing blitzball, the ball carrier's movement can be set to Auto.
====Final Fantasy X-2====
In the International and HD versions, captured monsters and characters can be placed in the party and used in battle. They are controlled by the game's AI.
Blitzball returns and is now fully automatic.
===Final Fantasy XII===
Gambits allow characters to seamlessly perform actions in battle on their own. The player is still able to interrupt these actions and give the characters commands manually, but if the character has no player commands to execute, they will act according to their gambits.
Guest characters and Espers are computer-controlled allies in the original version, but the Zodiac versions let the player control them, as well as modify guests' gambits.
===Final Fantasy XIII===
The battle system has the player control the actions of the party leader, and the computer controls the two others. The player can also choose the Auto-Battle option, which has the AI choose the commands for them depending on various battle situations. The actions the computer performs and who they target depends on the characters' Paradigm Roles and the situation.
====Final Fantasy XIII-2====
The battle system mostly functions the same, but Serah and Noel can be freely swapped as the party leader. The third party slot is reserved for monsters, who are fully controlled by the AI.
Snow appears as an AI ally against Royal Ripeness.
====Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII====
Fang and the Angel of Valhalla are computer-controlled characters when they assist Lightning in battle in the Dead Dunes and the Wildlands respectively.
===Final Fantasy XV===
Noctis is controlled by the player, while Gladiolus, Ignis, Prompto, and guest characters are controlled by the AI. A later patch allowed switching between non-guest characters in battle.
Each of the DLC Episodes feature a controllable character with an AI ally.
The developers wanted players to feel they are actually with friends, and thus built up AI and animation system on that. During the project, the team considered developing an open seamless world and developing realistic AI for Noctis's friends the main challenges. The allies were designed to pay attention to Noctis and walk together with him, but randomize the speed and the distance from the player character. If they get left behind they come running. Because the system is constantly calculating the friends' AI, its CPU cost is high.
=== Final Fantasy Type-0 ===
The player controls one cadet, while two others are AI controlled. The leader can be swapped in battle with a simple button press. AI cadets are relatively unaggressive (as combat is centered around the player landing breaksights) and may focus more on staying alive than dealing damage. To compensate, they take half damage from attacks, and only consume 1/3 of the normal cost for magic and abilities. They may also prioritize their defensive spells on the player.
===Final Fantasy Tactics===
The player controls most party members, but not Guests, who have similar intelligence to enemies, but fight on the side of the player. There also is an Auto-Battle mode, where players can select actions for the characters (such as "Fight for Life") but they will execute them themselves, as if they were Guests.
===Final Fantasy Mystic Quest===
Benjamin's ally, if present, can be guided automatically by the computer: AI can be enabled or disabled at the press of a button. The AI control character will exploit enemies weaknesses or cast their most powerful spells on the enemy party. There is a bug that involves Phoebe being controlled by the AI. When controlled by the computer, Phoebe will sometimes randomly cast Aero, a spell she does not have in her possession.
===Final Fantasy Adventure===
Temporary party members have poor AI. They'll attack walls and trees, and even thin air for no apparent reason making them hardly useful.
===Final Fantasy Legend III===
The Auto function allows the player to set a character(s) on an automated function, where one or more will become automated. When a character(s) are set to Auto control, they will usually act in a manner befitting the situation.
==Etymology==
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the intelligence exhibited by machines or software. It is an academic field of study which studies the goal of creating intelligence. Major AI researchers and textbooks define this field as "the study and design of intelligent agents", where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its chances of success. John McCarthy, who coined the term in 1955, defines it as "the science and engineering of making intelligent machines".
==Citations==
Category:Recurring gameplay components