Akinator, the web genius who's developer must've been one very bored guy.

[Seraj]

I'm talking about of course http://uk.akinator.com

google it if your suspicious of the link...

but how could someone code such a thing, I mean, it must have one hell of a giant database!

I tried Gordan Freeman, Megan Fox, Chell (portal) and even Guybrush Threepwood: Mighty Pirate? (how the hell it got that last one without actually asking any in-depth questions about him beats me.)


So my question to anyone who has any experience of coding such things (or wild guesses from those who know nothing)...

How?

(Other than maybe a year of boredom, one hell of a big database and a lot of looking through Wikipedia)

Hope you have as much fun with this genie as much as I have, I've yet to beat it (legitimately)


Also, let me know who you've tried on the akinator


PS. It guessed Gabe Newell and even had a mugshot...wow.

 

[Zac Smith]

It works in the same way as 20 questions, so yes as you said a big database. It has a bunch of questions and when someone uploads a character that isn't there yet, they fill in the criteria, ie blonde hair, are they male, are they real / famous etc... with yes or no answers. When you do your character akinator asks random questions and just sees which one fits. It's almost like a huge virtual version of Guess Who

 

[DEAD34345]

You realise the guy who made this didn't fill the database?

Akinator learns from the responses others have given, which is why it asks you what you were thinking of when it fails. It then updates it's database with the new thing it hadn't heard of, and it knows the answer to all of the questions it asked you, so it will be able to get it next time.

Funny little web-toy nonetheless though, it's amazing some of the obscure things it's able to get.

 

[Neverhoodian]

Yeah, Akinator's a fun little diversion. I'll play a few rounds sometimes if I'm bored.

I've only been able to stump him a few times. He wasn't able to guess Rom Mohc (primary antagonist of Star Wars: Dark Forces) or Dr. Martin Harris (main character from the movie "Unknown"), though I think the latter was simply because the movie was brand new at the time and the character hadn't been added to the database yet.

 

[Seraj]

You realise the guy who made this didn't fill the database?

Akinator learns from the responses others have given, which is why it asks you what you were thinking of when it fails. It then updates it's database with the new thing it hadn't heard of, and it knows the answer to all of the questions it asked you, so it will be able to get it next time.

Funny little web-toy nonetheless though, it's amazing some of the obscure things it's able to get.

Ah, that make much more sense...

Well, in that case, I'm putting my name in the database!!

 

[Raijha]

Well it managed to Guess Madoka from Puella Magi Madoka Magica after only 8 questions, impressive, im gonna see if I can stump it

Apparently it isn't actually that bad with books, managed to get Rand Al'thor from the Wheel of Time series as well, double impressive!

 

[lacktheknack]

Considering how this thing got "Chzo" on the first try, I can only conclude that Akinator is a diehard fan of Yahtzee.

 

[Staskala]

You're a few years late to the party, but Akinator wasn't programmed with its current database from the get-go.
It's memorized all the characters/persons people fed it over the years, so nowadays it will even guess the most obscure character from a series you thought only you knew of.

Ah, that make much more sense...

Well, in that case, I'm putting my name in the database!!

Have a try and think of yourself while going though the questions.

But if you really want to beat it, go for lesser known historical figures, characters from lesser known novels and pretty much everything that isn't too popular with the 13-25 year demographic.

 

[trollnystan]

Hah! I defeated him! Mwahahahahahahaha! Ahem. Fun though =)

 

[DarkRyter]

Holy damn, it got Joey Tribbiani.

Dastardly toy, this is.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

Beat it the second time with Gail Kim.

 

[Chris Sandford]

it guessed Isoroku Yamamoto and laughing octopus.
-.-

 

[OutcastBOS]

Wow! This thing guessed She-Hulk, then Kano, then Commander Shepard, then Johnny Gat, and then Legate Lanius...this thing is awesome!

 

[Raijha]

Wow! This thing guessed She-Hulk, then Kano, then Commander Shepard, then Johnny Gat, and then Legate Lanius...this thing is awesome!

Your avatar gives me an idea, lets see if it can get any of the EGS cast

ETA well damn, it got Grace pretty darn easily......

 

[Myrmidawn]

My friend showed me this a few years back and I actually managed to stump it with the name of a member of a band that wasn't exactly very famous at the time. They've grown majorly in popularity since then and when I tried it again, Akinator guessed it. Just goes to show how stuff blooms with time.

 

[Skops]

It couldn't guess Clovis. Or any other Dragon Valor charcater.

 

[LtWiesel]

Phillip Lahm, Yoko littner, tristana, Magina the anti mage....Im impressed!

 

[OutcastBOS]

Wow! This thing guessed She-Hulk, then Kano, then Commander Shepard, then Johnny Gat, and then Legate Lanius...this thing is awesome!

Your avatar gives me an idea, lets see if it can get any of the EGS cast

ETA well damn, it got Grace pretty darn easily......

It got Tedd too.

 

[VaudevillianVeteran]

Oh yeah, this thing. A lot of fun actually, managed to get the characters from Rule of Rose, which impressed me. Showed this off to my brother and dad and they've played it quite often too. So yeah, a lot of fun.

 

[MrHero17]

It took him 40 questions but he eventually got Jax from League of legends. I thought it was funny, he asked if he was in Lol then two questions later asked if he was from the Elder Scrolls series.