Some of the most prolific video game studios are using generative AI to automate tedious elements of game design like creating new levels of detail for NPC interactions and in-game rendering. These are all efforts to speed up development and focus human talent on more important areas. element.
Generative AI is artificial intelligence that can use prompts to create new content such as text, images, and music. It learns from massive amounts of data and uses that data to generate new and complementary content, from simple texts to videos to complex works of art.
While this technology has only recently captured the imagination (and concern) of the mainstream, here’s how some game developers are already using AI.
blizzard entertainment
Diablo, Overwatch and World of Warcraft studio Blizzard Entertainment reportedly revealed in an internal memo in May that the company had begun experimenting with AI to create in-game character renderings. .
according to new york timesBlizzard has introduced its own in-house AI tools and warned employees against using third-party AI platforms to prevent leaks of sensitive company data and intellectual property. Blizzard executives were excited about the potential use of AI in next-gen games, but some employees said the company’s AI didn’t pick up on bugs and issues in the games it tested. Stated.
square Enix
In April, Square Enix’s AI division released a demo of an AI-generated update to the 1983 text adventure game The Portopia Serial Murder Case, showing how large-scale language models can be applied to text-based games. emphasized.
The companies behind Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts have been eyeing AI for some time. In May 2022, Square Enix announced that it would sell several subsidiaries and the Tomb Raider franchise (among others) to Sweden-based Embracer Group AB and use the funds to invest in artificial intelligence and Web3 games. .
roblox
Online gaming platform Roblox announced in February the release of two new generative AI tools, Code Assist and Materials Generator, to streamline game creation.
Now in beta, this tool automates basic coding tasks by generating helpful code snippets and creating object textures from your prompts. Roblox says using generative AI will make the creative process easier and faster, and plans to also enable third-party AI services in hopes of attracting AI developers and creators to the Roblox platform. I added that there is.
ubisoft
Ubisoft, the creators of the Assassin’s Creed series, announced the release of Ghostwriter in March. This AI tool allows game developers to generate first drafts of non-player character (NPC) dialogue, colloquially known as “barks,” so writers can focus on story development.
According to Ubisoft, the ultimate goal is for designers to create AI systems tailored to their specific needs, using a backend tool called Ernestine to create their own large language models like Ghostwriter. to make it possible.
NC software
That same month, NCSoft, creator of Aion, Guild Wars, and Lineage series games, unveiled digital human technology in a trailer for its upcoming game, Project M, powered by Unreal Engine 5. The company used his AI text from NCSoft to create digital human dialogue. – Text-to-speech technology. Translate text into human speech and recreate actors’ speaking styles, accents and emotions.
Beyond the AI-generated voice, NCSoft also used “voice-to-face” technology to add facial expressions and lip-sync dialogue.
Nvidia
Tech giant Nvidia released a demo of its NVIDIA Avatar Cloud Engine (ACE) for gaming in May. The demo showed an AI-generated rendering of a ramen shop and a non-player character (NPC) behind the bar talking to the player.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang explained that using AI will allow NPCs to make sense with better interactions. Created in partnership with Melbourne-based Convai, his ACE incorporates several of his Nvidia services including NeMo, Riva and Omniverse Audio2Face.
there are always pitfalls
Developers are pushing the use of AI in their games, but that doesn’t mean those games will be available to the public.
Last week, game developers announced that Valve Corporation’s Steam PC game marketplace had rejected their game because the game contained AI-generated content that they believed was copyrighted.
“We welcome and encourage innovation, and AI technology should create new and exciting experiences in gaming,” Valve said in a statement. “The developer can obtain the appropriate commercial license to use these his AI technologies in his work, but he cannot infringe existing copyrights.”
