Shadow of War

Orc captains remember how you treated them, so every player's story differs. In the Nemesis System, orcs recall the exact nature of your last run-in. One might call you a coward, or come back with a sack on its head because of what you did to it, so no two players get the same stories.

It is an example of invisible choices: logging many small player actions rather than a few big decision points, then reacting to them. Quote: "it can build up a massive, and highly detailed databank of everything the player is doing."

Enemy autonomy builds on the player's story instead of undoing it. The Nemesis System follows the improv rule of 'yes, and': orcs act on their own, but in ways that extend what the player has already done to them.

Mark Brown cites the same principle behind The Sims' AI: "never use autonomy to go against the story the player is trying to tell."

Orc captains remember how you treated them, so every player's story differs. In the Nemesis System, orcs recall the exact nature of your last run-in. One might call you a coward, or come back with a sack on its head because of what you did to it, so no two players get the same stories.

It is an example of invisible choices: logging many small player actions rather than a few big decision points, then reacting to them. Quote: "it can build up a massive, and highly detailed databank of everything the player is doing."

Enemies adapt to your favourite move, forcing you to vary tactics. After repeated jump attacks over his head, one enemy learned to deflect them. The way through that fight was a new tactic: shooting him in the backside.

Adaptive enemies are one way to push players to use the whole move set, alongside rewards like health refunds and scoring that values varied attacks.