First Steps with the AI Correspondent Companion in Unreal Engine

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FALL QUARTER 2025

11/23/2025

My Early Experiments with AI-Driven News Reporters

In my first experiments with AI inside Unreal Engine, I began developing what I call the AI Correspondent Companion — a virtual news reporter with behavioral and narrative intelligence, capable of following the player across the scene to explain details of an unfolding news event in an interactive and immersive way.

The initial goal was simple:
Make the reporter follow the player from one location to another smoothly, realistically, and fully connected to an animation system.

To achieve this, I went through three main steps — each illustrated with an image.

Blueprint: AI MoveTo Looping System

In this setup, I used a simple yet effective Blueprint:

  • The system starts with Event BeginPlay

  • The AI is driven toward the player using AI MoveTo

  • Once the reporter reaches the acceptance radius, it waits for two seconds

  • The logic then loops, continuously updating the pursuit behavior

This forms the core mechanic that allows the reporter to follow the player, get close, and then continue moving with them as the story unfolds.

Animation Blueprint: Calculating Movement Speed

This image shows how the AI’s movement is linked with the animation system using an Animation Blueprint:

  • The Event Blueprint Update Animation runs every frame

  • Try Get Pawn Owner retrieves the AI character associated with the animation

  • The character’s velocity is captured

  • The velocity vector is converted into a single float using Vector Length

  • That value is stored in a variable called Speed

This Speed value determines the animation state — for example, whether the reporter should be idle or walking.

BlendSpace: Transitioning from Idle to Walk Based on Speed

Here, I created a simple BlendSpace:

  • Speed 0 = Idle

  • Speed 600 = Walk

The Speed variable coming from the Animation Blueprint drives the blend automatically, allowing the movement to look natural and believable.

With this system, the reporter can:

  • Stand still naturally when not moving

  • Walk smoothly when following the player

  • Behave like a “living” character that reacts to the environment and player positioning

Conclusion — The Correspondent AI Companion Begins to Take Shape

This early experiment marks the starting point of a fully interactive virtual news reporter:

  • Following the player dynamically

  • Moving across the scene intelligently

  • Explaining events and giving real-time narrative context

  • Demonstrating a new direction for immersive 3D journalism

Step by step, this NPC evolves into more than a character — it becomes a news correspondent powered by AI, capable of movement, storytelling, and interaction.