Goal Oriented Action Planning
Goal Oriented Action Planning (GOAP) is an artificial intelligence technique used in video game development and robotics to create intelligent agent behavior. It enables agents to dynamically plan sequences of actions to achieve specific goals by evaluating the world state, available actions, and their costs. GOAP is particularly known for its flexibility and efficiency in handling complex decision-making scenarios without requiring extensive pre-scripted behaviors.
Developers should learn GOAP when building AI systems for games, simulations, or autonomous systems that require agents to adapt to changing environments and pursue multiple objectives. It is especially useful in scenarios where agents need to balance competing goals, such as in strategy games, NPC behavior in RPGs, or robotic task planning, as it provides a more realistic and emergent behavior compared to finite state machines.