Player Collaboration in Virtual Environments using Hierarchical Task Network Planning

Abstract

In recent years, the fast evolution in computer games has moved government organizations to investigate how they can be exploited as virtual environments to simulate scenarios which could be expensive or even dangerous to set up in real life, in particular when collaboration among humans is required in order to carry out a shared plan. The proposed system allows the tracking of progresses achieved by each plan participant within the planning domain, by mapping its steps to states and humans’ actions in the virtual environment. It also permits to render the environment and the planning software loosely coupled and to provide flexible responses to participants’ actions in the form of different alternatives to the same plan, such that goals can be achieved following different courses of action.