Yufeng Huang
Building intelligent NPCs and AI companions for virtual worlds.
AI and Tools Lead, Tencent SGRA Studio
Hi, I’m Yufeng Huang — I build intelligent NPCs and AI-powered tools for video games. I currently lead a small AI and tools group at Tencent SGRA Studio, where I work on NPC intelligence, agent behavior, and AI-assisted production workflows for an upcoming cozy life-sim title.
With 8+ years across Tencent, ByteDance, and NetEase, I’ve shipped real games that millions of players have actually played — from MOBA combat AI to open-world NPC behavior to LLM-driven autonomous characters. Lately, I’ve become deeply interested in human-centered AI agents: how to build virtual characters that feel emotionally aware, remember who you are, and grow alongside you over time.
Research interests
- Emotionally aware and personalized AI agents with long-term memory
- Autonomous character behavior in interactive virtual environments
- AI-assisted authoring tools for narrative, dialogue, and behavior design
- Evaluation and alignment of agent behavior in interactive settings
Titles I’ve worked on
Animula Nook
wishlists openA cozy miniature life-sim where you shrink down and build a whimsical world on your desk. I lead the AI and tools team, responsible for NPC intelligence and 10+ LLM-powered authoring tools.
Dragonheir: Silent Gods
launched 2023An open-world high-fantasy strategy RPG with D&D content. I built the tactical combat AI and an event-driven NPC narrative system powering 1,000+ concurrent NPCs per scene.
Onmyoji Arena
launched 2018NetEase's flagship MOBA with elegant Heian-era aesthetics. I shipped various gameplay systems including hero skills, activities, battle pass, and more.
Background
Before Tencent, I was at ByteDance Nuverse (2021–2024), where I worked on tactical combat AI, open-world ambient NPC behavior, and generative AI for game production. Before that, I was at NetEase Games (2017–2021) working on gameplay systems and companion AI for MMORPG and MOBA titles.
I received my M.S. in Pattern Recognition and Intelligent Systems from Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), where my thesis focused on CNN-based visual place recognition. My B.E. is also from HUST.
Beyond work
Games (lots of them — Souls-likes and CRPGs like Baldur’s Gate 3 are my favorites), anime, novels (I’d love to write one someday), rock & electronic music, and traveling to places I’ve never been. Also: I have a Maltese named Latiao (辣条) — he’s small, fluffy, and fully in charge of the household.