Cheating artificial intelligence

Cheating artificial intelligence is gaming terminology for when a multi-player game controls a player using artificial intelligence that does not have to abide by the same rules as the human players. Most video games which use an AI opponent incorporate a cheating AI since it is much easier to program than a competent AI which follows the rules.

Because good AI is so difficult to program, I'm generally okay with games which use a cheating AI provided even a observant player can't tell if it is cheating. When it's clear the AI is cheating, the game stops being as enjoyable to me. For example, in the fighting game Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, there are special moves that the player can only use by holding a direction on the D-pad for two seconds. However, the AI is clearly able to use these same moves instantly. I find this especially infuriating because the AI has an advantage over slow human reflexes and clumsy input, so the AI could follow the rules and still have a strong advantage over the player.

Definition

For the purposes of this page, "cheating" means an AI which is programmed to break rules. This is different than an AI which is not fairly calibrated to the skill level of the player. For example, poker-playing AIs have been designed that can play at a super-human level guaranteeing victory over any human. Although such an AI is not evenly matched to a human opponent, it is not cheating as long as it follows the same rules as the human players. However, if the AI were allowed to know which cards are held in each opponent's hand, something the human players are not allowed to know, it would be cheating.

Also, "cheating" in this context only applies to multi-player games where the player and AI are expected to be evenly matched. There are a lot of platform games where the player takes damage if they land on spikes, but the AI-controlled enemies do not. Although this may not be realistic or fair, this is not an example of a "cheating" AI in this context. Likewise, it's not "cheating" just because the AI doesn't accurately simulate a human body with all its flaws in sensory perception, delayed reflexes, and cognitive impairments.

In this context, cheating AI is used most frequently in strategy games, racing games, and fighting games. Many online databases which list "cheating" AI do so under fuzzy definitions and usually include games where the AI is just too good rather than actually breaking the rules.

Examples

This is a list of games which are important to me that feature a cheating AI, for the full list, see the category.

Title	Released	Notes
Diddy Kong Racing	1997-10-21	Uses rubberband AI allowing computer-controller opponents to accelerate faster than and exceed the max speed of their vehicles compared to when when humans are driving them. They also don't hit traps when off-screen.
Mario Kart series	1992-08-27	The series makes blatant use of rubberband AI by allowing computer-controlled opponents to accelerate faster than and exceed the max speed of their vehicles compared to when when humans are driving them.
Mortal Kombat series	1992-10-08	Several problems: The AI can perform charged moves without needing to charge them. The AI can turn and respond to teleport attacks before the human player can. The AI can see Reptile even when he is invisible.
Street Fighter series	1990-12-16	Most early games in the series allow the AI to instantly perform special moves which human players cannot. Charged moves (like Guile's flash kick) and multi-press moves (like Blanka's electricity) can always be pulled off instantly.
Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness	1995-12-09	The AI is not affected by fog of war, so it can always sees the whole map. The AI can also control all units all the time, while the player must find, select, and command each unit.

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