AI may integrate our video games sooner than expected. But is this good news or bad news?

Game news AI may integrate our video games sooner than expected. But is this good news or bad news?

Resistance is futile

ChatGPT, Synthesia, Sumo, Midjourney, Pika… Many tools using the power of artificial intelligence have changed our habits. Understand, today, anyone can create – in minutes – a text, an image and even music. An American company even goes so far as to offer an AI companion that accompanies us everywhere, while Hologram Mario is 100% managed by AI. haunted the corridor of CES 2024. What was science fiction in the movie HER (Spike Jonze) 10 years ago is almost real today.

This increase in the power of AI, the arrival of which was long promised, is evident today. Many companies want to harness this machine, which will be able to find cures for diseases but can complete a tremendous task in just a few seconds. Both Microsoft and Sony are banking on it like never before, with one investing more than $10 billion in OpenAI while the other opened a subsidiary dedicated to AI research. while key “Copilot” (Microsoft AI-powered assistant) will equip the keyboards of tomorrow, Big names in video games have already announced that they are opening the floodgates to AI. Among them: Square Enix, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts and Activision

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While the metaverse – only for a while – timidly interested curious investors, concrete examples of AI have finally convinced shareholders to invest in group banking on artificial intelligence. Since the Redmond firm invested in OpenAI, its market valuation has exploded To the point of briefly overtaking Apple. Who would have believed this 5 years ago?

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AI in games can be anything you want it to be

In the world of video games, some cases have made headlines like High on Life which used machine generated images as well as sounds in its final version. Until now, players didn’t seem receptive to the benefits of AI in their games, saw both laziness on the part of the producers and wanton penny-pinching. However, as recalled CNNThe rapid development of generative AI is opening up new frontiers in gaming with promise.Infinite open world“And NPCs”Truly autonomous“

As we write these lines, there are already tools that allow you to create characters capable of generating text with animations that match their mood.. Because some developers are convinced: more intelligent NPCs will make games more fun and more exciting. Various experts believe that the most difficult thing will be to create characters that have real interactions with other digital people, away from any script, or characters that are able to really modify the world in which the player finds himself. When it comes to infinite universes, AI can go far beyond the procedural generation we all know, as it will not be limited by the predefined algorithms and rules intended by the developers.

Of course, all these incredible promises are binding only on those who believe in them. But recently, At CES 2024, Nvidia presented ACE, an impressive technology that allows a user to chat/interact with a virtual character as if the latter were a real human, in a 3D world.. Journalists who were able to try it admit to being impressed, not hesitate to talk about it.Revolution” Ubisoft, Tencent and NetEase say they are very interested in what this tool can bring. Who knows, maybe in the not so distant future, walking around a city in an open world will feel like walking into a giant MMO where every visible protagonist is 100% RP Play? This can be exciting, but designers fear losing control of the beast.

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My friend’s enemy AI is my enemy

“They’ll replace me with AI, which will save the same amount as Kotick’s couch cushions” declared Sarah Arellano, Narrative Designer working at Ubisoft, Blizzard and Volition. “I’ll do something else until soulless games fail” she adds in a message where she explains her fears about the progress of AI in development studios.

Artists have long been promised that AI is just a tool that will make work more efficient by eliminating repetitive tasks so they can work on more complex problems.. “There is no question of changing individuals, human creativity will always be present in this process. So I look at these tools and wonder… how can they help teams?” assured Phil Spencer along the lines of the world. at home BFMXavier Poix, director of Ubisoft’s French studio, explained that AI allows “Evolution of artistic and technical talent” “We use it to make it better and more beautiful” he continued.

But at a time when the crisis is taking hold and where machines can create dialogues, create mini arcade games, deepen pitches, create complex images and even facilitate 3D modeling, fear is rising among our creators. is. One of the promises of AI is the potential to accelerate game development, and this may come at the expense of some professionals in the field. The first occupations involved writing, then imagery, sound, and perhaps soon game logic and level design. Additionally, Midjourney is already working on the firm open world Using the prompt.

In 10 years or 20 years, will it only take ideas to create games on Unreal instead of various technical/artistic knowledge? Could this be a bad thing after all? The developers we were able to contact are divided on the topic. Some are skeptical about AI’s abilities to create open worlds in just a few clicks, while others believe it’s an incredible opportunity for indies. “The AI ​​problem is not unique to AI, but to humans“says one developer. Before concluding: “It is probably just an exciting technological development that requires minimal regulation and that we need to adapt to“