The Game Developers Conference (GDC) Festival of Gaming came to a close Saturday in San Francisco after uniting all facets of the international games industry for five days of learning, networking, and inspiration.
The week-long showcase attracted around 30,000 game developers, designers and executives. One of the big topics is whether artificial intelligence (AI) in gaming has become friend or foe.
In You vs. Zombies, developed by Welsh generative AI games studio 10six Games, AI takes into account all the human designed details, from the spell types, the artwork, to the tone of voice, and then personalizes the game each run-through.
"'Joshua Tree,' that was chosen by the AI. It's picked a location to put it in. It's picked one of our 3D environments to put it in, and then it's picked one of our objectives, and then it's created dialogue, to tell a story," said Susan Cummings, CEO of 10six Games.
As a result, she said, the story created for each run will never be the same twice.
For other game makers, the technology is helping increase the efficiency of long-held practices in 3D motion rendering. MoreFun Studios, a subsidiary of Tencent Games, is using AI to capture the motion of kungfu at its most advanced level.
Game makers used to need more than 100 cameras filming models wearing motion capture sensors in a large studio. Tencent's technology now doesn't need any sensors, but instead just seven GoPro-sized cameras and a martial artist in a small space.
"We use AI to generate those different schools of kung fu, praying mantis or tiger style. In the past when we used mathematical model to generate those transition motions, you may have foot sliding and you may have weapons clipping the 3D models. Now we improve that by using AI," said Elvis Liu, head of AI at MoreFun Studios, Tencent Games.
According to Liu, this application of the technology demonstrates how AI is not a replacement for human expertise and skill, but merely a supplement.
"It's not like you can shoot a video on the street to get the movement from those pedestrians on the street. It's not like that. We need high-quality data. For that, we need to hire specialists to do those kungfu motions," he said.
Global leading AI 3D generation platform Tripo AI has just released Tripo P1, which it says will allow game makers to create models and prototype designs nearly instantaneously.
"We are working on technology that allows everyone to generate a 3D model in five seconds by only inputting text prompts or image," said Simon Song, CEO of Tripo AI.
Technology like this allows game developers to spend less time on repetitive or low-impact tasks and explore more ideas and variations.
"Now, hundreds of people working for game companies only fulfill one person's idea. But later, everyone could use AI to fulfill their own ideas," Song said.
For all the optimism, the AI revolution is also spurring a level of resentment among a growing number of professionals. A GDC survey of gaming professionals found that 52 percent of respondents felt generative AI is having a negative impact on the industry. That figure is up from 30 percent a year ago.
"I think there's a lot of fear, a lot of concern about it from professionals who have been doing this by hand or other manual processes. But at the same time I do think these tools add a lot of value. For the most part, you don't see the generative AI tools touching the end user product. In other words, before it ships, the art is replaced by art created or audio created, assets that are created by individuals, by people," said Lewis Ward, a contributor for the gaming industry publication Player Driven.
While Ward understands the anxiety in the industry, he does not believe AI can replace human creativity.
"Yes, some cannibalization of existing jobs. But I think there will always be in a creative field in particular, like video games that no computer is going to be able to innovate to the level of a human being and to experiment and do something unusual and break the mold," he said.
AI enters video gaming world, enhancing gameplay and assisting in game creation
AI enters video gaming world, enhancing gameplay and assisting in game creation
