The woman walked to the access port and pressed her hand against the panel.  It flickered into life and displayed a large red X.  She pressed her hand on the panel again, with the same result.  Hearing a noise behind her she turned to watch the room’s entrance, but none of the creatures pursuing her had made it throught the maze yet.  She pulled on the door, trying to force it open – but it stayed firmly shut.  With a rising sense of desperation she pressed her hand on the panel once more.  This time a question mark appeared and a voice crackled from the panel.  “I’ll let you through if you win my game.”  It said.  Beneath her hand she saw a grid form and colourful icons appeared facing each other in ranks.

Michael Cook at Imperial College, London has developed an AI system ‘Angelina’ that can build complete computer games from scratch (minus the graphics and sound).  It separates the components within the game and designs each in isolation, bringing them together to deliver a finished product.  While not up to the standards of today’s immersive 3D games, the results are reminiscent of early PC games from the 80s.  Read an article here: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21328554.900-ai-designs-its-own-video-game.html Try one of the games here: http://www.gamesbyangelina.org/

James.