Video game companies are already dreaming of having AI make their games, but is it really possible?
If 2022 was the year gaming companies jumped on the NFT train and tried to convince us it was the future of gaming, 2023 looks like they’re doing the same thing again, albeit artificially. It’s for intelligence.
AI has technically been part of the game forever, as most single-player games cannot function without it. But companies are now talking about using AI to help. make game.
Artwork, writing, audio – thanks to easily accessible tools and enough people willing to use them, surplus AI-generated content is ubiquitous across the internet. All of these are already utilized in game development, and while not necessarily for the better, they have the potential to fundamentally change the industry.
Conceptually, the idea of AI assisting in any task, not just game development, is appealing. Having a machine that handles all the tedious parts of your job means less effort and more time for other areas of development.
For example, take a look at Ubisoft’s new Ghostwriter tool. Ubisoft presents this as a means of assisting writers rather than replacing them. Instead of wasting precious time trying to come up with random soundbites for your background characters to shout, the tool will generate them for you.
PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida also recently spoke positively about implementing AI, reiterating that AI is first and foremost a tool, and that it needs real humans to get the most out of it.
In an interview with The Guardian, Yoshida tells the story of a small team of students who used AI art generators in their games as an example of how these tools can make game development more accessible.
“It’s powerful that a few young people can create great-looking games,” he says. “In the future, AI will be able to develop interesting animations and behaviors and even debug programs.”
He is very optimistic about the potential of AI in games, stating that “AI will change the nature of learning for game developers, but ultimately development will be more efficient and more beautiful. It will be made by humans.
“If you learn how to use these tools of the future, you may not even need to learn to program. Creativity is more important, direction, how you envision what you want.
Game development is undoubtedly a difficult industry to enter, even for those skilled in programming and art. AI levels the playing field. Suddenly, beginners have as much opportunity to tackle the next God of War or Grand Theft Auto. Because they know how to use these tools. Or at least that’s the theory.
If Yoshida’s assertion that AI makes development more efficient is correct, it may lead to a reduction in development time. It’s no secret that today’s AAA games take years to produce. The result is higher budgets and higher expectations of making a profit. With the power of AI, could Microsoft actually complete Perfect Dark and Fable in a reasonable amount of time?
When people express fears that AI will put them out of work, the obvious counter-argument is that, as Yoshida puts it, AI is just a tool, and you need someone by your side to use it. about it. Others argue that the easiest way to avoid being replaced by machines is to do your job well.
But how many people does an AI tool really need? Does it take a full team of artists to fill in the art generator’s prompts? A full team of just a few button presses? This doesn’t even go into the fact that most, if not all, AI art involves lifting from existing artwork. This means that artists cannot share their portfolios online without fear that someone will repurpose their work to their own means without credit.
We have already explained that being good at something is not enough. Reports from China reveal that AI implementations are putting many video game artists out of work. A team of 10 he reduced to two, and one anonymous artist candidly said:
There are reports that some studios are tinkering with AI-generated voice work, potentially eliminating the need to hire professional actors. It doesn’t matter if the people behind such tools assure everyone that they are not trying to replace voice actors. That possibility still exists, and it’s enough to make voice actors (who already have to deal with low wages) fear their future prospects.
Plus, frankly, you shouldn’t trust what big companies say. While they can affirm that they will not use AI to replace human workers, they rarely have the best interests of their employees at heart. Let’s not forget Activision Blizzard fired its employees even though they went home with enough money to swim like Scrooge McDuck.
Businesses are driven by profit. If they can save money using AI, they will be happy to take advantage of it. Why pay multiple employees for the same amount of work that the CEO’s nephew could easily churn out with AI tools?
The worst part is that AI work quickly became almost indistinguishable from real human-created work. Companies would be reluctant to get involved if AI art looked terrible, but we are now in a world of deepfakes that make us believe that the Pope is walking around wearing a blowfish or that Donald Trump has been violently arrested. I live
This even delves into the more insidious side of AI, such as using AI to create deepfake porn or using a cloned voice to say things the original person would never say. plug. It may be amusing to hear President Biden bite Leon S. Kennedy in Resident Evil 4, but the technology has a lot of disturbing potential.
Maybe not at big companies like Sony or Microsoft, but I’ve seen enough nude mods and tasteless Steam games to know that there are far more conscientious amateur developers out there. increase.
Read how Avengers: Endgame co-director Joe Russo talks about his vision for AI-generated storytelling in movies, games, and more (via GameSpot). Change storytelling. So, whether it’s a game, movie, or TV show, there’s always an evolving story.
“You can walk into a house and store AI on a streaming platform.” Hey, I want a movie with my photo-realistic avatar and Marilyn Monroe’s photo-realistic avatar.Have a rough day. It mimics your voice, and suddenly a 90-minute rom-com starring you. Got it.
I doubt Monroe would be thrilled to learn that modern technology would allow complete strangers to act out kink fantasies in her caricature. You should consider whether you want to prevent this sort of thing from happening.
There are many pressing questions about AI technology, its uses, and potential regulation, but its biggest proponents seem to have no answers.
Perhaps the only real argument needed against the idea of an AI-generated work is that it lacks a soul behind it. AI tools can create anything a developer could want for a video game, but they still don’t create art, they just follow algorithms.
They’re also not the AI that everyone thinks they are. There’s no intelligence behind creating the work, it’s certainly not self-awareness, it’s just a deep learning tool that’s closer to predictive text than Skynet.
That’s why everything feels a little too perfect, a little too clean. All aspects are designed to tick boxes on a focused and tested list of requirements, not for artistic inspiration.
It’s easy to laugh off such efforts. Square Enix recently released an update to its 80s adventure game The Portopia Serial Murder Case. This could potentially allow games to respond to what you type as a preview of AI technology that will more easily recognize user input.
But it didn’t work, and the game quickly became a laughing stock of the company, as evidenced by the amount of negative user reviews on Steam.
Perhaps the scariest thing about the current state of what we call AI is the fact that despite being so rudimentary, the end result is already disruptive.
Companies don’t stop experimenting with AI just because they find it useful. They’re going to invest more in it until it gets stronger and saves them even more money.
Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk and leave a comment below. follow me on twittersign up for the newsletter.
Details: Teachers pay AI to write students’ term papers
MORE: Despite music industry crackdown, Grimes gives permission to use voice in AI songs
MORE : Schumacher’s family files lawsuit over AI-generated ‘interview’ with world champion
Follow Metro Gaming twitter Please email us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk.
For an easier way to send inbox letters and reader functionality without having to send an email, please use our Send Content page here.
Check out the game page for more stories like this.
Sign up for all exclusive game content, latest releases before they appear on the site.
privacy policy »
