Discussions surrounding the low-tech AI of Elden Ring reveal that the game's notoriously cryptic NPC questlines are built on primitive custom bytecode systems and early behavior tree implementations. These strict technical limitations result in janky design choices, such as requiring players to repeatedly exhaust dialogue to advance a quest. However, players and the market ultimately reward this abstruse approach, as it creates a deeply immersive world where NPCs feel driven by their own independent goals rather than serving as mere utilities.