So here we are, after 50 episodes of AI and Games, and I'm revisiting the most popular one, so for fun I wanna tell a wee story about the original Alien video. Alien: Isolation was episode 15 of the show. And in-truth the one that helped the channel grow. IIRC I had just broke 3000 subscribers just before the channel turned three years old. The Alien: Isolation video had actually been out for almost six months by this point. Then it blew up and I personally distinguish the channel's two 'phases' of its life as being everything pre-January 2017 and everything since. I had wanted to do a video on Alien: Isolation almost immediately after the game came out. Heck I actually did several let's plays of the game where I tried to guess how it worked. It had received such hype around launch that I thought a making-of would make great 'content' for the channel. It was at this time I was also a track chair for the nucl.ai conference in Vienna. The first year I helped run that event I tried to get a speaker in to talk about the game but no luck. However, the following year Andy Bray submitted a talk to us to run at the conference. I sat in and listened to that talk and loved it: lots of great technical details and a fun insight into the workings of the system. I also had the pleasure of chatting with Andy afterwards as well as Derek Fagan, another developer working at Creative Assembly who was attached to another project. You might recall Derek's name from last years Halo Wars 2 episode as he was kind enough to help me out with that one. I learned a few things that are not in the talk that made it into the video. Which was pretty cool, making it the first time I had any sort of 'exclusive' insight. Also, I found out from some other CA devs who had watched my Let's Play series that they had followed along intrigued to see whether I would figure out how the alien works. This was actually a really nice moment - and for the life of me I wish I could recall who it was that told me this (it was late, there was beer, I'm terrible with names etc.) - given it was the first time I'd ever heard of someone working in a AAA studio who watches my work. So I get home from Vienna and the first thing on my to-do list was make a video about Alien: Isolation. I put the video together and despite some small technical issues - including a laptop failure and microphone problems - I released it in early August of 2016. It actually flopped. It had around 8K views after six months. Which was less than some other videos I had made by that point. I was a little disappointed, given I thought 'surely someone cares about this?' It wasn't until it was bounced around on Reddit about six months later, and it finally got some traction. In January 2017, the channel received more views than it had done in all of 2016 and by March subscribers had jumped by over 1,000 more. In fact according to my analytics 10K subscribers - who are still subscribed - joined this channel because of that one video alone. I have never really wanted to do a follow-up. I often feel chasing what's hot isn't what I'm about. Given I want to focus on interesting topics and bring them to you. But late last year I got thinking about what to do for episode 50 and two ideas came up. One was revisiting Alien: Isolation and the other... I'm not going to tell you! It's still a secret, because it will probably happen one day. But both were focussed on using mods to break a game open rather than relying on more reliable sources (dev talks, interviews, research papers etc.) which is how I usually do my work. Don't worry, that other video, if it goes as planned, it will be worth the wait. Hence I reached out to Matt Filer for some help and any additional input he could provide. I've known Matt - purely in an online capacity - for a few years now as he would ask me questions about my understanding of the AI as he was building OpenCAGE, though I imagine he knows way more about all of this now than I do. His tools are fantastic and at the time of writing he is only just graduating university. As someone who in a previous life taught game developers, I'm confident he has a long career ahead of him. I wish him all the best! But hey, this is probably the last time I discuss Alien: Isolation. It's been fun and I hope you all enjoy this video. Will this video prove as popular as the first one? Probably not. But it's been great to see so many people share their stories in the comments of the original video. Or just make the same god awful 'perfect orgasm' joke. I'll admit the first time it was funny, but given someone has made that joke in the comment section every 2-3 days for the past four years, let me tell you it gets really, really.... really... old! Enjoy! - Tommy

never forget that this is the game that got a 4.3/10 from ign, the same ign that gave rainbow 6 siege and overwatch a 10/10

"Gracefully walk" *_Boxes get smashed across the floor_*

The fact that when the alien goes “into” the vents it’s really just turning invisible makes that so much scarier. Cause now not only do I have to deal with a immortal and super smart alien. It now can turn invisible.

The best part is, this didn’t ruin the game for me at all. It just shows the alien really knows what it’s doing. Great.

This game has such a special place in my heart. I know it's a AAA game but it feels like a a passion project. You can tell Creative Assembly are super fans of the original alien film.

i love how it will recognise when you raise the flamer at it after the first time, and when you do scare it off it will come back way faster than normal and a lot more pissed off.

I would love to see a sequel with a permadeath system, where your part of a small crew with the objective to escape. Every time your player character dies/is killed, you take over another member of the crew and continue until either you escape or all your crew dies.

I think the reason people keep citing Alien Isolation when discussions come up again game AI is because its such a HUGE part of the game. You aren't playing the game to look around a space station, you're playing it to "simulate" being in that movie, narrowly avoiding death by hiding and using your wits to distract and retreat and gain an edge from this Murder Machine. You can cheese any games AI, but I've never WANTED to do it in this game because the atmosphere is so tense, the way it moves and sounds so wet, heavy and angry is simply terrifying if you can get yourself in the right head-space to play the game, which shouldn't be too hard when the game only asks that you be alone, probably in the dark and listening very very closely. And that's about the best praise I can give a game, its so good at what it sets out to do that I feel intimidated to fuck around with it.

This game had a ton of passion put into it, shame there probably won't be a sequel

10:04 i love how the Alien's tail is down when he is searching by Ripley, and when he spot somethig, the tail goes up. It's a cool detail

Alien: Isolation is the game that taught me fear is good, because it keeps you alive. You learn to respect the perfect organism unless you want him to relieve you of your lunch money quicker than you can even say "sandwich". It's been 6 years and this game does indeed hold up very well to the test of time.

14:45 "...the alien's backstage routines" "Deep breath in... Deep breath out. You can do this, Scott, just imagine the audience naked if you start hyperventilating"

This is kinda messed up but one of my favorite things to do is throw a noise maker at a group of other survivors. Sit back and watch the Xenomorph do its thing.

I always wondered how the Alien worked when I played. They did such an amazing job with the Alien AI that I still have flashbacks to the time I felt safe hiding in a locker for the Nth time, only for the Alien to eventually walk right up to it and rip the door off. Legit had to stop playing for a bit after that one.

Me: now i want to play this game again Also me: i'm too scared to ever play this game again

The AI of the Xenomorph in Alien: Isolation is still incredible even to this day. As a game developer myself its a beautiful masterpiece

Love those scenes where you're focusing on the Xeno, and then a Working Joe just casually walks by and gives you an indignant "bitch, please" glare.

One of my favorite things to do in this game is to do "mercy or prudence" playthroughs. This is done by never personally attacking any human NPCs. It's incredibly enjoyable as you soon discover that the more complex AI of the alien is easier to deal with than the simpler AI of the Working Joe's and the humans. I've lost count of how many times I've died because I hid in a locker, the alien drops down and sends the human NPCs into an alert/combat mode, and instead of shooting at the alien, they turn and *shoot the locker I'm in* because their AI was so overly simple, when they went into combat mode, they instantly knew where I was despite having no indication of where I was and none of the processes to locate me had been performed. I've had the alien START to see me, only to lose me when I ducked out of view, yet a human NPC who saw me at a glance down the hall not only followed me into the room, but stood next to the table I was under to mutter how "I could have sworn I saw something". Still, my favorite moment was where the Alien was Menacing me and a group of 4 armored, shotgun holding human NPCs were "just happening" to be swarmed around the table I was under. Oh what joy it was when the Alien casually walked into the room and then butchered every single one of the NPCs before dropping it's menace level and going back into the vents, letting me travel freely.

I imagined Xenomorph counting the times he scared you on his fingers as he is sitting in the vent

“Revisiting the AI of A:I | AI and Games” There I fixed it for you

14:02 I just love how the Synthetic just look at you and casually walking by like "don't mind me".

I still haven't completed this game, as it scares me too much.

10:00 Why does it look strangely cute just approaching and investigating the Noisemaker? It reminds me of how Houndeyes investigate in Half Life.

One of my all time favorites. The Xenomorph and Mr. X are the only two entities which made being chased down feel terrifying and incredibly fun at the same time. An almost perfect balance so rarely achieved by the entertainment industry.

Seeing them deactivate the xenomorph's sight made me think that it'd be really neat if there was a horror game where you could modify what senses the main enemy has. It'd be an interesting way to alter difficulty, plus it'd make the game a lot more accessible to those who don't usually like horror

When your first Alien isolation video came out is when i started playing through the game and now you release another as I start it again.

The sad thing is that we will never get alien isolation the sequel from creative assembly that's what I'm upset about, because I believe it would have been epic

this game deserved infinite more credit and success. some of its sequences reach the level of the movie (and I am talking about a masterpiece). the reactor scene, the Derelict scene and the final walk in the spacesuit. I hope in the future, when great VR headsets will be released and widely adopted, this game will receive a rehaul and destroy our nights again, with fear and nightmares

Wait if the Alien can be controlled with a gamepad... Is it possible to mod PvP?

I love how in making the noise of doors opening 'inaudible' they also chose to use the sound of a sledgehammer beating Toto's 'Africa' on an oil drum

Played this years after it’s release and was stunned and scared shitless. Amazing game and the looks still hold up even after all this time.

Weird, just started a fresh game yesterday and it still scares the shit out of me.

"Running causes accidents." -Working Joe 2014

It's interesting to consider the parallels between the role of the game developers and the role of the Alien's AI Director. The former wants to facilitate the player's ultimate victory, but wants them to work for it. The latter has the same motivation, except in relation to the Alien.

I discovered the hard way, the first time I played it, that the motion tracker can attract the Alien. Hiding in a vent, Alien just outside, pull out tracker (thinking i'll just track it to see when it leaves). Boom AAAAH death. Thank Tommy, love your Vids. I particular love the concept of a Director. It really adds a Dungeon Master (D&D) feel to the game. I wish more games utilized a system like that, to really tailor the user experience.

Went straight to the hardest difficultly on my first run. Hard, but fair. Such a legendary game.

It took me three years to realize the director AI is like the most unintentionally reference/reversal to the Dallas in the vents scene of alien, with the director taking the role of Lambert.

This game is up there lads. I just wished this game had a budget of a Rockstar's or Naughty Dog's title. What Creative Assembly achieved with what they were given is amazing. AI being aside. The graphics, the gameplay, the pacing, the inventiveness, the combat loop, and the level design is just "chef's kiss".

Just wanted to let you know, this might be a two-year-old video, but it's one of my favorites to come back and listen to. I haven't played this game too much due to being very busy IRL, but listening to how the Alien works is just such a marvel and enjoyable to listen to, thanks for having one of my favorite videos to come back and listen to over and over again.

My single greatest moment of satisfaction when playing this game was in a level where hostile humans were there too. During the first part to find the objective, i left the humans alone and explored in silence. In the second part, the Alien is there, and you have to flee. I had just slipped past the alien, and the humans were in my way. I made myself visible and pointed my gun (but didnt shoot) the humans fired of course, so i just hopped in the nearest locker and laughed as the alien tore them to pieces

I had already noticed from playing the game that being within the vision cone for a period of time before being seen was a thing. Not just because you could break line of sight quickly to avoid detection. But I had also noticed that the time before detection was cumulative. So if you were within the vision cone, then broke line of sight, if you then re-entered the same enemy's vision cone too soon, they would spot you much quicker. Because your 'signal' was still registered and still had some residual value.

I actually did manage to "run away" from the alien, after it had spotted me through two windows from the other end of a scythe-shaped hallway (in medical?). I saw it dashing towards the room I was in and immediately hid behind a table - and the fucker actually lost me. Played hide-and-seek for about a minute, before it left the room and me with one of the most memorable moments in my gaming vita. :) The fact that A:I actually is a formidable stealth-action game plays a huge part in what makes it so darn great.

I actually managed to run away from it once.

"Ripley, where are u? I wanna menace u." "Alien no pls."

I rewatch your original at least every few months. I'm a software dev by trade, and I find it inspirational in that the AI itself isn't as innovative as the engineers that implemented core concepts in new, unique and intriguing ways. It's a good reminder that computing power is not a replacement for ingenuity, and that close collaboration of vision between an entire team can lead to something quite amazing. Also, I really love the original "Alien", so that helps!

The best horror game ever imo. Fascinating AI, the moment i saw how smart the AI is i fell in love with it

Did anyone notice how "Alien Isolation" has the same initials as "Artificial Intelligence"? I just did and my mind is blown.

"Wait, the vents weren't real?" Xenomorph: "Never has been"

If this is what the devs came up with for the first game, imagine how the AI in a sequel would be. This game never getting a sequel is simply criminal.

The two things that made this game so fucking terrifying was the audio design and the AI.

now that we're able to see the alien move without fear of it seeing us. it really is quite elegant and oddly beautiful in its movement and animation. horrifically beautiful if that makes sense. The Xenomorph truly is a design that will stand the test of time.

I had a moment when the doctor was getting ready to leave the room and normally he walks over to the door and the Alien grabs him, instead as he walked over to the door I was stabbed in the back by it’s tail then a hand came down to grab my face leading to a game over.

I remember watching Markiplier playing this game and the Xenomorph seemed to call out Mark's bluff with the flamethrower. Periodically puffing some fire at the alien. He was dangerously close to running out of fuel but he was in a very dangerous situation. I don't know if he got too close or if the Xenomorph actually called his bluff. Anyhow, it was fucking terrifying.

Anyone remember back when RE3 ‘99’s Nemesis felt this complex and intimidating? And that version is still scarier than REmake’s Nemmy 21 years later with this game’s pursuer as the freaking benchmark? The perfect organism blows the ultimate weapon out of the water with energy to spare.

22:58 does that mean there can be an asymmetric multiplayer with someone controlling the xeno?

This makes me want to replay the game. Alien isolation is truly one of my all time favorite games.

I'm doing just a casual novice playthrough of this game after completing it multiple times on every difficulty except for Nightmare. (Got stuck late game, just couldn't manage it). The thing I love most about this game is how I've been able to work out a lot of the details described in this and the first video, all through trial-and-error as well as purposeful experimentation. (I'm on the PS4, so no PC modding to help me out). It's a testament to this game that it can have so much going on in the background of the AI that you can somewhat gleam just by playing it and paying attention, yet _still_ have such a comprehensive and sophisticated program working it. Thank you for making these videos, they just add to the appreciation I have for this game and what went so lovingly into it. And thank you for making all these videos.

Simply a modern achievement in gaming. Good work to the AI devs and overall game devs for Alien Isolation. This has to be one of video games' latest and greatest advancements in AI programming. Also, great video! Makes me confident enough to revisit the station one last time and complete the damn game! Haha, cheers! (edit: I have returned and my god how amazing it is to outsmart an AI that can 1-hit kill me).

everybody gansta till the alien start runnin *thud thud thud thud thud screeeeeeech*

Utterly love this game. My proudest PS4 platinum. So fond of this masterpiece, that I am now going through its terror all over again on the PS3. These guys never got the credit they deserved for this amazing game.

Imagine. Just imagine. A Survival Horror Action Game with the AI of Alien Isolation added onto a Jurassic Park Setting.

F in chat for those who missed the game on sale for 1 buck

1979 Alien. 1986 Aliens. And this game. Best 3 offerings from the Alien franchise.

I've owned this game since it came out. I just got around to playing it a week ago. The xenomorph has genuinely scared the shit out of me about 10 times so far, with its ability to find/get to me

All you need to know about this AI: *Never hide in lockers* ez, gg

The way the Xenomorph's vision works seems to imply that it doesn't actually see by visible light at all, but perhaps some kind of infra-red vision like a snake.

I remember one death I suffered at the hands of the xeno particularly well. I made it to a staircase, at the top a save point, I throw a noisemaker clear in the opposite direction I’m heading. I head up the stairs quickly but quietly, insert the punch card to the save point and breathe… only to see the game isn’t saving, nor did it stop. The next sequence I see is a tail slowly jutting its’ way through my torso, only to die. This game was a true survival horror.

this is one of my most favourite games. It doesn't even feel like a game it feels like an experience, the world is alive thanks to the ai

I loved playing this game. So glad it exists.

I admire its purity. A survivor. Unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality..... happy new year to everyone on the channel, and many thanks to AI and Games for this outstanding video.

That was, unsurprisingly, an absolutely fantastic breakdown and analysis of the A:I's, well, AI :D Great job as always! Learned and discovered a ton of new things I didn't know, as well as happily got some of my own theories confirmed as well. It was utterly fantastic to see such a detail look in to all of the little nuances of how its AI is constracted and works (all the sub-trees in the Behaviour tree, entitiy's vision, how it moves around in the "vents" (absolutely clever design there) and etc). But on top of that, I do have at least one question I hope you'll read and have the time and interest to answer. But we'll get to it, first: - I, from my experiences with the game, also noticed that Alien sees in the dark as well as it does so in brighter areas, aka doesn't care how well lit the area is, while other enemies do suffer a "penalty" to their vision, which I'm happy to hear that it's true, because it's awesome, and that's how good the vision of the Alien should be at least (Somewhat masochistically I do wish that it would simply see through smoke as well, but on the other hand it kind of limits player's options too much)! - also I had strong suspicions that you can trigger its "stalker" mode and affect its behaviour by not only using offensive tools on it, but by simply drawing its attention, so glad to be right there as well! - you can use the loudness of the gun shot to your advantage, as you can start a gunfight and have the Alien clear a group of humans without wasting any of the items, and also you can lure it in the vent and the moment you hear it drop in it, get out and move out to the objective/escape! It's all about using your items smartly, then you'll find a good use for all of them! - I did manage to loose the Alien after getting spotted by it (visually exposed myself and have it running after me). You do need to have some distance between yourself and the Alien, and as it starts running at you, immidiately break the line of sight an hide somewhere, locker in this case actually works pretty well. I tested that out on Nightmare, which is my favorite difficulty to play A:I on, so I imagine it is more "forgiving" on lower difficulties. However, when I said "have some distance" and "immidiately break the line of sight", I did mean it. So when trying to replciate that, make sure that you're standing in a doorway and the hiding spot is like right next to you, obviously not in the visual vicinity of the Alien, so that you don't have to run for it. - always knew it can think of flanking you, it happened to me numerous times! And I am very glad for that! - I wish the locker opening/closing sound were either much more quiet, or even non-existant, exactly because the enemies can't hear those for whatever reason! Quite immersion breaking (and quite annoyingly)! :( As for the question: I've played through Isolation about 8 times, 1,5 times through all of its DLC's and did a bunch of "experimentation" runs to test out/play around with AI, and I am *convinced* that the pacing can be heavily affected by how the player interacts with the Alien, and what actions he/she takes against it. Specifically, I am talking about how the player himself can make the Alien to be more aggressive and persistent depending on their own actions and playstyle, *and have it "grow" resistance to fire of the flamethrower with each use of it on the Alien, meaning the more often the player uses the flamethrower on the Alien, and the more fuel is used on it in each use, the quicker its resistance to it will grow, as a result increasing the amount of fuel needed to be spent to scare it away and more often it will appear, or go from backstage to frontstage, simply become more aggressive and persistant too* (tho I did notice that its resistance will top at a certain value, I got as high as ~100 for each scare consistently on higher difficulties)...well at least that's what I am convinced in, based on my many playthroughs and experiences. But I didn't catch you talking about that, specifically about how Alien can supposedly become more resistant to the flamethrower, as well as hunt more aggressively, unless I missed that, so now I'm not completely sure and so I'd appreciate if you would elaborate on this - is that a myth, and in reality the "resistance to fire" and aggressiveness/relentlessness levels of the Alien, their "growth" and change is "controlled" by the developers/it's all scripted, or can it actually dynamically change depending basically on how the player plays and interacts with the Alien? Also, if it's talked about in your first vid on the Al of Alien, I'll then re-watch it, because I did see it, of course I would! Thanks in advance, all the best wishes and additional thanks for returning back to the AI of Alien: Isolation and going even more in-depth into it this time. Cheers!

I loved this game when it came out, it's clear from how everything in the game is designed from the level design, sound, lighting that a LOT of care and craft was put into it. One of the first games that I actually enjoyed getting all the PS4 trophies for as well

The vent thing is really interesting to me, I always assumed the alien would just teleport between the vents and there would just be random sounds triggered around the player to make it seem like it's moving around. In general, great job on the video, tons of useful stuff here, I hope this one gets as much recognition as the original, because it damn well deserves it. My only worry is that people won't watch it because they'll think it's the same one.

The alien actually came after me before the introduction cut scene. It happened when I was waiting for the first monorail. I was making lots of noise and sprinting around. I did not think it mattered cause the alien was not introduced yet via cutscene. But then it came out of the vents and got me completely off guard. Simply amazing more games should have AI like this.

Seeing a Xenomorph crouched down wondering at a noise-maker curiously kind of makes it look adorable. Cute little murderous Ultimate Organism.

Something that always annoyed me is that the alien always knows where to search. Its always somewhere in your proximity and if you move to a different section of the map it THEN goes there too. I think it would be better if the alien walked around the entire area that you are in instead of just being close by and searching. I think it might add more suspence not knowing where it is all the time.

3:33 Hard mode: "We don't do that here"

My favorite game of all time wish a sequel could pay 1000 for it

Time to download OpenCage

Can you go more in depth about that “Alien max health?”

I still think this game is a masterpiece. It's on par with Witcher 3,MGSV GTA5

Instead of it being in a constant hunter mode, it should rather hide in hardly visible spaces and remain quiet, without movement. Even if you already were in it's proxmity. So you would go along, doing your stuff while the Alien is actually somewhere above you in a well hidden place. That means, instead of presenting itself as a menace, it could literally be anywhere at anytime literally playing hide and seek and not just "seek" then strike at a random moment. Also it would frequently run away from you, luring you in that constant "searching" mode. Because its most unsettling if you don't know where it is. It can maintain its dominance by not giving away it's presence. That would match its behavior more to the movie towards the end, where it was actually hiding in the pipes all the time.

On a sidenote, this game is so much better than any recent Alien movie.

this game is a masterpiece, a truly hidden gem that doesn't get near the credit it deserves. it is one of a kind

I wish certain games had a mode where you could see the environment in its hay day. Meaning I would love to see Sevastopol Station when it was a bustling station full of people doing business and coming and going. Basically I would love to see the world of Alien with out the alien. To get a feel of what it would be like under normal circumstances to live in this reality.

The anxiety this game gave me. I thought I was gonna have a heart attack when it first followed me into the vents, I thought that wasn't possible 😂

Absolute masterpiece that deserves a sequel. A real sequel.

This game is my favorite game, for a few reasons. 1. I love the Alien look and lore. 2. I'm not into Stealth Horror games at all, and this captivated me entirely. Scare the shit out of me for days. 3. The AI. I've looked at and read the XML files and "Trees". Let me tell you, it's unkind, evil, and unrelenting. Then I learned the Devs turned it down so Players could actually survive. (My Jaw dropped when I learned this.) As it turns out, the "Child" behavior XML trees are far more brutal than you realize until you spend time looking at them all, and seeing how they relate and cause the "child" (Alien/Xeno) how to act or what to do. They did a good job at tethering the xeno to the player without the player realizing it right away. It comes down to a mechanic function to create intensity and make sure the player is pushed forward in the game and responds according to the Player's actions, like Running, Firing Weapons, and using the vents. There are some places the player can run for a while without seeing a Xeno attack them, however, generally, if you're new to the game. Don't Run. "Running causes accidents."

Love this game soo much. I wish they made a sequel to it, and improved on the Alien AI even more to make it more creepy/scary and realistic... It was an absolute blast. Thanks for the video!

It's ridiculous how often I can replay because it's just never the same experience, and always frightens me. The AI is incredible, the game is super atmospheric, and it's definitely one of my favorite games of all time.

I just bought the game on Steam Sale. I prepared my system with TAA mod and Mouse Fix. All best gfx settings buttersmooth FPS benchmarked. Mentally prepared myself by watching the original movie yesterday. Maye will watch the most recent movie, or the 2nd. After watching this video and the previous AI analysis video I now know the enemy. Briefing complete. Now I'm prepared, just waiting for the right time, to get scared for life.

19:38 I can't help but think that your pronunciation of "cute" is rather cute :D

I loved the first one, and now it's time for part 2.

I absolutely love this game because it's the only one that manages to make a single Xenomorph feel like a legitimate threat.

it was really smart to code it so it is actually looking for you instead of always knowing where you are and haveing a random chance of going right to you from what i see this litterly emulateing a liveing creature

Ah Alien Isolation, the one game I haven't finished yet because it scares me too much

Still in 2023 one of the absolute best games ever

I just wanted to say that your videos are very, very well scripted. Clear, concise, informative. Highly enjoyable.

I love this game so much. One thing about how the director sends the alien back to the area where the player is that i like, it implies the alien can smell you. Hang out in an area too long and it will be around even more. It can smell you, and it's coming.