Goal-oriented action planning can form flexible action sequences from small building blocks. The technique works when world state is compact and actions have honest preconditions and effects.
Model decision-relevant state
Represent facts that change feasibility or cost: has key, target visible, cover available, alarm active. Copying the whole world expands search and makes plans expire quickly.
Keep actions truthful
Execution must validate the world because another character may take a resource or block a route. When reality diverges, fail with a reason and replan from observed state.
Preserve authorial control
Designers define goals, action vocabulary, costs and hard constraints. Planning selects among authored possibilities; story-critical beats can remain scripted.
Budget search
Limit expanded nodes, planning time and replans per frame. Instrument search cost and failure causes, and provide a fallback when no plan exists. Continue with Stories and Planning.