Games with user-supplied artifical intelligence (AI) engines?

Question

I remember Microsoft used to have this AI game for the .NET framework which allowed you to program a species and this species could be introduced to an "ecosystem" full of species that other people had programmed and they could interact with each other, etc.

I can't remember what it was called, but I remembered thinking it was a pretty good idea.

Are there any other similiar sites like that, which allows you to design some sort of AI engine and pit it against other programmer's creations? It could be an ecosystem type thing, or it could be a card or board game.

Answer 1

Well, what you are remembering is .NET Terrarium, and it just so happens to be alive and kicking on codeplex!

http://terrarium2.codeplex.com/

Answer 2

Notch, the creator of Minecraft, is releasing a new multiplayer space game called 0x10c which might be what you are looking for.

Besides the usual space battles, trading and mining we have come to expect from these kinds of games, 0x10c will also feature a fully functioning emulated 16 bit CPU that will control your spaceship and which will be fully programmable by the player. [...] It’s worth noting that users will also be able to share their programs, which will surely give rise to a whole new real-world ecosystem around the game and, as Notch himself acknowledges, maybe even viruses.

http://techcrunch.com/2012/04/04/0x10c-minecraft-developer-notchs-next-game-will-be-a-mmo-space-epic/

Answer 3

There is also a game called Colobot made in Switzerland, in this game you program the code executed by robots in a 3D environment.

http://www.ceebot.com

There is also an open source game where you can code the AI of a tank that will fight against others.

http://robocode.sourceforge.net/