NPCs Vote! Changing Voter Reactions Over Time Using the Extreme AI Personality Engine

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that NPCs with dynamic personalities, modeled using the Five Factor framework, can realistically change their attitudes and reactions over time based on interactions, enhancing realism in simulations.

Contribution

Introduces a psychology-based personality engine that enables NPCs to adapt their personalities and reactions dynamically, improving realism in virtual environments.

Findings

NPC voters changed attitudes realistically over time.

Personality-driven reactions influenced voting preferences.

NPCs' feelings about issues evolved based on candidate interactions.

Abstract

Can non-player characters have human-realistic personalities, changing over time depending on input from those around them? And can they have different reactions and thoughts about different people? Using Extreme AI, a psychology-based personality engine using the Five Factor model of personality, I answer these questions by creating personalities for 100 voters and allowing them to react to two politicians to see if the NPC voters' choice of candidate develops in a realistic-seeming way, based on initial and changing personality facets and on their differing feelings toward the politicians (in this case, across liking, trusting, and feeling affiliated with the candidates). After 16 test runs, the voters did indeed change their attitudes and feelings toward the candidates in different and yet generally realistic ways, and even changed their attitudes about other issues based on what a candidate extolled.