Evolving multimodal networks for multitask games

Intelligent opponent behavior helps make video games interesting to human players. Evolutionary computation can discover such behavior, especially when the game consists of a single task. However, multitask domains, in which separate tasks within the domain each have their own dynamics and objectives, can be challenging for evolution. This paper proposes two methods for meeting this challenge by evolving neural networks: 1) Multitask Learning provides a network with distinct outputs per task, thus evolving a separate policy for each task, and 2) Mode Mutation provides a means to evolve new output modes, as well as a way to select which mode to use at each moment. Multitask Learning assumes agents know which task they are currently facing; if such information is available and accurate, this approach works very well, as demonstrated in the Front/Back Ramming game of this paper. In contrast, Mode Mutation discovers an appropriate task division on its own, which may in some cases be even more powerful than a human-specified task division, as shown in the Predator/Prey game of this paper. These results demonstrate the importance of both Multitask Learning and Mode Mutation for learning intelligent behavior in complex games.