Augmenting NPCs with LLMs (GDC 2026)

NPCs are evolving from scripted dialogue trees to intelligent agents that can converse, plan, and act in context. From GDC 2026, Arm shares practical lessons from an Arm Developer Labs collaboration with North Carolina State University (NCSU), where a team of master’s students is building a proof-of-concept puzzle game featuring LLM-augmented NPCs running on Arm-based devices. This session shows how developers can add real AI-driven intelligence to gameplay while maintaining smooth frame rates. 🤖 What you'll learn How to select and size large language models for on-device inference How to apply quantization techniques to meet 30–60 FPS performance targets How to structure generation so model outputs map deterministically to in-engine actions How to balance intelligence, latency, and power constraints on Arm-based hardware Lessons learned from building a real student-led prototype 🔔 Subscribe for more insights from Arm at GDC 2026 🌐 Learn more about Arm Developer tools: https://developer.arm.com #GDC2026 #GameDevelopment #AIinGames #LLM #NPCDesign #OnDeviceAI #Arm #MobileGaming #GameAI #DeveloperLabs