The Role of Machine Learning in Game Development Domain - A Review of Current Trends and Future Directions

Machine Learning is a relatively new and emergent field in video game development domain. Despite considerable relevance to the video game industry, there has yet to be a significant commercial product utilising machine learning in its design or function. Although previous research has shown significant potential in the use of video games in developing and testing Artificial Intelligence, the reverse i.e., using Artificial Intelligence to develop and test video games is far less common. This paper provides a survey of existing techniques and reviews current and future applications of machine learning in the field of video game development, both as a tool to streamline development and management processes and as an integrated part of video game end products themselves. This paper also explores a number of machine learning technologies not yet applied to use in the video game field and discusses their potential in future research and product development. Despite the relative newness and lack of development in this field, this paper finds that there is potential for machine learning to significantly improve and expedite production in the video game industry. Machine Learning can potentially be harnessed to develop new or improved products or automate development processes in conventional video game products.