Ron Burgundy Bot
http://www.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=ea6beed84e36542a
I decided to model a bot after my favourite anchor man: Ron Burgundy. I figured because he pretty much is a robot (in terms of having a one track sort of mind) that he'd make a decent chat bot.
With that said, I've filled his database with several of his more famous witticisms. After a line or two the usual ALICE bot parameters take hold, however that doesn't mean Ron's out of character. Most the after conversation becomes something you might believe Ron Burgundy to say. In other words, he talks like a moron.
In terms of the design process behind creating the Ron Burgundy bot I felt most challenged with trying to keep conversation threads going. For example, after you ask him "how are you", he'll tell you. You might inquire about Greek Gods afterwards (you'll see), he'll reply and then.... staleness. Where does one go? This is the most challenging aspect of the project. Stil, Ron works more or less.
I have to say that Pandora Bot, with its limitation, is a remarkable piece of software for a n00b like me. In terms of this changing the face of NPC interaction in games- I would have to say that we are at a plateau. At the most, NPCs can be like alice prompting us to ask them questions. However, they won't be able to come to us and start a conversation- which would lead to a more realistic type of NPC- someone you might believe for a second is coming to you for help or something. As it works in games- NPCs are there for the player to garner information from and perhaps use to accomplish a goal. They don't necessarily need to be belivable- but when written correctly and smartly they can be quite endearing aka the Green Tentacle from Day of the Tentacle.
Still, as at the moment were at a wall.