Game Industry Luminaries Debate AI's Impact on Game Development

Baldur's Gate 3 And Nier Automata Directors React To AI Hype

Some tech companies are running head first to embrace the hype around new large language model and generative AI tools. Shopify won't hire new people unless they can prove AI can't do the job. Duolingo is replacing all its contract workers with AI agents. What about game companies? Two veteran directors recently shared their takes on the emerging technology. Baldur's Gate 3 director and Larian Studios founder Sven Vincke told GameSpot, as part of a recent interview on the studio's future, that he doesn't think the AI race will upend gaming as much as some have warned. He noted that Larian already uses machine learning to speed up grunt work like polishing motion capture footage or voice editing, and said that he sees generative AI tools as potentially helpful for fast-tracking early prototyping when developers need to quickly see ideas put into practice in order to better evaluate them. The studio is also apparently exploring using narrative AI tools to flag potential plot holes or inconsistencies as human writers create scripts, but Vincke doesn't see a future in which AI tools are making finished products or replacing game developers. "I don't think you would have a competitive advantage if you do, because it's gonna be what's available to everybody -- if the baseline goes up because generation is available to everybody? Fine, that's a new reality that we're in. But you're still gonna wanna create something special on top of that, and I think that's where teams like us will make the difference. "I don't think that people in my position that say 'oh, we'll replace everyone with AI' are doing the right thing, they're doing the wrong thing. But what I do think is we're gonna jump forward in the kinds of games we make...we're gonna be making our games differently, but to say that it'll replace the craftsmanship? I think we're very far from it." Yoko Taro has a much less optimistic view of the tech. The director behind the Nier games, infamous for wearing a giant creepy moon-shaped mask in public, recently told Famitsu that he thinks the wave of generative AI advancements will lead to a grim future for game designers in which many roles once held by humans are eliminated. "I think that AI will make all game creators unemployed," he said, according to a translation by Automaton. "In 50 years, game creators may be treated like bards." The response was part of a roundtable discussion with fellow designers Kazutaka Kodaka, Kotaro Uchikoshi, and Jiro Ishii about the recently released visual novel strategy game The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy, which Kodaka, known for his distinct work on Danganronpa, helped make. The group was asked if AI tools would eventually be able to mimic the styles of human creatives. Taro suggested the tools would actually help players bypass game makers altogether, at least in certain types of games like text-heavy adventures. "I think that in the near future, we will move from an era where we have to imitate the style of our favorite creators to an era where we can have our favorite scenarios generated," Yoko added. "AI will determine the preferences of users and skillfully generate route branchings that they would want to read, and the recommendation capabilities will continue to improve." A fittingly grim diagnosis from the designer of Nier Automata, an action-RPG about machines with some very human-like tendencies in a post-humanity dystopia. The game requires multiple playthroughs to explore its story in full, culminating in a twist so unique that it's hard to imagine an AI prompt would ever come up with it on its own.

Nier director Yoko Taro worries that devs will lose jobs to AI and may be "treated like bards" in 50 years, but Danganronpa mastermind Kazutaka Kodaka says it still can't act like a real creator

It feels like the use of artificial intelligence in everyday life is becoming more and more commonplace, and Nier: Automata director Yoko Taro is concerned that it could end up causing developers to lose their jobs. As spotted and translated by Automaton, the Nier director appeared in a recent interview with Famitsu alongside Danganronpa creator Kazutaka Kodaka, Zero Escape director Kotaro Uchikoshi, and Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors producer Jiro Ishii. During the devs' conversation, Uchikoshi points to the "high speed" at which AI tech is evolving, and says: "I fear that there is a possibility that AI-generated adventure games will become mainstream." This is a concern shared by Yoko Taro, who adds: "I, too, believe that game creators may lose their jobs because of AI. There's a chance that in 50 years, game creators will be treated like bards." While these two devs seem confident that AI could create stories like their own, Kodaka has a slightly different view, noting that the technology can't act as a real creator, even if it can imitate others' work. It's a good point - after all, as things stand, AI can't act independently and think for itself (and here's hoping that doesn't change). It needs to feed on what came before it to actually function - any seemingly unique ideas it does have will ultimately be mashups of previous works, meaning it can't have the same originality as an actual person. While Yoko Taro suggests that in the future, AI could be used to generate scenarios in games tailored to individual players' preferences, Kodaka argues that doing so would result in the "phenomenon" of huge worldwide hits disappearing, as games would provide less of those same shared experiences we have now. It would be really weird to go through a game while getting a different version of the story as everyone else - you'd never be able to properly discuss it with anyone, and you might even end up playing a worse version than those around you, which would be very unfortunate. Here's hoping that real developers like Yoko Taro and Kodaka aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

Nier director Yoko Taro believes AI is coming for creators next, but also says his predictions are never correct, so don't worry about it

"People who want to create games will do so even if they can't make a living out of it" Nier director Yoko Taro recently said that he believes AI will one day put game devs out of a job and have them "treated like bards," and now he says he reckons all creators will also be unable to make a proper living. In a recent tweet (translated by Automaton), Taro writes, "Using AI, regular people will become creators. You won't be able to make a living as a creator anymore. However, people who want to create games will do so even if they can't make a living out of it." It's a sad prediction, but also a bittersweet testament to what drives artists: the art they create, not just the money it can generate them. Obviously, it would be great if artists could be paid properly, that way they can keep making art for us to enjoy, but as we've seen throughout history, they'll create no matter what. Fortunately, Taro also jokes that "my predictions about the future are almost always wrong so don't worry about it." AI is still nowhere near the level necessary to make a game or video to the standards we're used to, so it's unlikely devs and creators will be out of a job any time soon. Taro did predict that CG motion would be one of the first things AI could automate, and that still hasn't truly happened yet. One reply to Taro reads "you should make a game where humans go extinct and robots roam the land I think," referencing his Nier: Automata game all about robots and androids.

Yoko Taro Fears That 50 Years From Now, Generative AI Tech Will Replace Game Creators

Like many other creators, Yoko Taro, creator and director of Nier Automata, fears that generative AI technology will advance to the point where it could replace game creators. In an interview with Famitsu, Taro admitted his fears that game developers and creators could find themselves out of work in the next five decades, with how generative AI technology is evolving. While speaking to Yoko Taro, Kotaro Uchikoshi, and Jiro Ishii, the topic of generative AI came up regarding how it could influence the video game industry and what its impact will be on creative industry's overall. Uchikoshi began saying, "There are a lot of new games I want to create, but with AI technology evolving at such a high speed, I fear that there is a possibility that AI-generated adventure games will become mainstream." Taro added, "I, too, believe that game creators may lose their jobs because of AI. There's a chance that in 50 years, game creators will be treated like bards...I think that in the future, we will move from an era where we have to imitate the style of our favorite creators to an era where we can have our favorite scenarios generated." "AI will determine the preferences of users and skillfully generate route branchings that they would want to read, and the recommendation capabilities will continue to improve." It's understandable that Taro would have these fears, as it is for any creative to share these concerns, though it's not an inevitable fate. Generative AI may be constantly improving, but it's still a pipe dream to imagine that it would, in any genuine way, replace the best artists of our time. For video games, Yoko Taro is one of the best artists in the industry. He'll still be regarded as such 50 years from now, and there will be a whole new crop of creators pushing the industry forward. Generative AI technology can and will improve as much as possible. Still, it won't ever be able to create anything new in the same way artists like Yoko Taro can.

Nier producer: Game developers will be as irrelevant as bards in 50 years

Yoko Taro, the eccentric creator of (among other things) Nier: Automata, paints a bleak future for the gaming industry, to say the least. In an interview with Famitsu he claims that artificial intelligence will replace all game developers within 50 years, as the technology will have evolved to the point where it will be able to recreate any gaming experience. This will make human game developers completely redundant, whom Taro likens to bards - once important, but now relegated to the history books. "I also think that AI will make all game creators unemployed,In 50 years, game creators may be treated like bards" It's worth noting, however, that not everyone shares Taro's bleak vision. Take-Two's top dog, Strauss Zelnick, for example, believes that artificial intelligence will create more jobs rather than eliminate them. Others, like Daniel Vavra of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, hope that AI will help streamline game development without replacing humans.

NieR Director Yoko Taro Worries Game Creators Will Lose Jobs Because of AI, Leading To Them Being 'Treated Like Bards' - IGN

Several prominent game developers discuss the possible impact of AI. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in games has been discussed more and more lately. NieR series director Yoko Taro has weighed in too, expressing concern that it could lead to game creators losing jobs to AI. In a recent interview at Famitsu, as translated by Automaton, several Japanese game developers known for narrative and storytelling discussed their approach to game creation. Alongside Yoko Taro, there was also Kotaro Uchikoshi (Zero Escape, AI: The Somnium Files), Kazutaka Kodaka (Danganronpa), and Jiro Ishii (428: Shibuya Scramble). During the interview, the group was asked what the future of adventure games might be, and both Yoko and Uchikoshi discussed AI. "There's a lot of new games I want to create, but with AI technology evolving at such a high speed, I fear that there is a possibility that AI-generated adventure games will become mainstream," said Uchikoshi. He went on to note that current AI struggles to achieve "outstanding writing" comparable to human creativity, and that maintaining the "human touch" would be crucial to staying ahead of the tech. Yoko, though, also expressed concerns. "I, too, believe that game creators may lose their jobs because of AI," said Yoko. "There's a chance that in 50 years, game creators will be treated like bards." When it came to whether they thought AI could imitate the worlds and stories, including the twists and turns, of their works, Yoko and Ishii agreed. Kodaka, however, said that even if AI could imitate their work and styles, it wouldn't be able to behave like a creator. He drew comparisons to David Lynch, and how creators could write a scenario in Lynch's style, but Lynch could then change up his own style while still making it feel authentic and Lynchian. While Yoko posed the idea of using AI to generate new scenarios, like a route in an adventure game, Kodaka noted how this personalized nature would lead to games being less of a shared experience. Notable creators have been weighing in with their thoughts on AI, large language models, and other generative systems for a while now. Some have even been experimenting with it, including Capcom and Activision. Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa recently said generative AI can be used in "creative ways," but it would also raise issues with intellectual property rights. Microsoft and PlayStation have also weighed in on the topic.