1. A Penguin Attack AI
Jason Buck
CS 470 1

2. Project Overview Goal Why
Develop an AI that can play a competent game of Penguin Attack
Why
Ensures an opponent is always available

3. What is Penguin Attack? Created by myself and Tom Kircher
Open source implementation of a Nintendo puzzle game
Designed for network play

4. How is Penguin Attack Played?4

5. How is Penguin Attack Played? (continued)

6. Project Requirements Network AI is a network client
Sends moves
Game server sends game state information
Sends game state information
Sends control signals

7. Project Requirements (continued)AI
Search game state for potential combos
Generate move sequence to achieve combos
Can send a string of sequential characters
Often sends one-character strings
Must be competent
Typically able to last 3 min against me

8. System Design Written in Java Network component
Not ideal, but “good enough”
Network component
Largely isolated from AI
Connects to the server
Receive and store messages from the server
Send moves/commands from the AI to the server

9. System Design (Continued)AI
Parse game state data
Update internal representation
2D-array of ADT “PenguinAttackBlock”
Generate move sequence

10. Protocol Redesigned since proposal
Client requests state information as needed
Commands are b, c, and t
Client sends move sequences
Commands are u, d, l, r, s, m
Client can notify server with quit
All other notifications are server to client

11. Protocol (Continued) Server notifications: start pause ... start win
lose
closing connection

12. Protocol (Continued) Board State: Mouse position: Timing: [1000 2000]
_ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ 0n1.
1n1h _ _ _ _ 0n5.
1n3h1n4h _ _ 0n1.0n4.
2n5h1n2h1n5h0n3.0n4.0n1.
_ _ _ 0n2.0n2.0n5.
_ _ 0n1.0n3.0n3.0n4.
0n5.0n1.0n2.0n4.0n4.0n5.
0n4.0n3.0n5.0n1.0n2.0n1.
0n1.0n3.0n1.0n4.0n4.0n2.
0n1.0n2.0n3.0n3.0n2.0n2.
0n5.0n5.0n4.0n4.0n1.0n1.
0n3q0n3q0n4q0n4q0n1q0n4q }
Mouse position:
<2 1>
Timing:
[ ]

14. Algorithms playPenguinAttack() loops through: breakGarbage();
raiseStackToSafeHeight();
breakGarbage();
levelOffStack();
makeCombosAndChains();

15. Evolutionary Prototyping
Strategy needed to be refined
Different leveling algorithms
Keep improving the strategy
Much time spent testing
Prototype was never ‘complete’ to my satisfaction
Never figured out how to make intentional chains
Didn’t find a way to deal with ‘accidentals’

16. Schedule Didn’t keep detailed records of what happened when
Worked on it whenever course load allowed
Made majority of progress during spring break
Spent way more time than budgeted

17. What’s next? Will continue beyond the semester
Preventing accidentals and intentionally making chains; AI will be brutal
Analyze the board in different ways while waiting (Threads)
Improve efficiency (Synchronized clock? Maintain own board state?) 17

18. Conclusion