SAN RAFAEL, Calif., 29 April 2009. The U.S. Army has licensed Autodesk Kynapse artificial intelligence (AI) middleware from Autodesk Inc. for the America's Army 3 computer game. Kynapse will help enhance game play in the title by providing AI to various classes of non-player characters (NPCs), or characters that are not controlled by the individual playing the computer game.

America's Army 3 will be released in 2009.

"Autodesk Kynapse will allow us to enhance game play for America's Army 3 in several ways," explains Michael Barnett, chief engineer for the America's Army titles. "First, interactions with indigenous NPCs will be paramount to the successful completion of mission objectives. Second, NPCs on opposing forces will function as individuals, as well as part of a squad, using squad-based counter-tactics for future cooperative game play modes. Third, the game's vast environments will be populated with a large number of NPC civilians that move, behave, and react to players realistically."

"America's Army is more than just a computer game; it is also used to develop simulations for U.S. government agencies," says Marc Stevens, vice president of Autodesk's Games Technology Group. "These simulations require characters with realistic behavior patterns." The U.S. Army has chosen Autodesk Kynapse to help meet this need.