Microsoft wants AI to solve problems devs say they don’t actually have

10.11.2023 - 16:07 / polygon.com / Ai

Microsoft is imagining a world in which a game developer can sit down at their computer, pull up an artificial intelligence-powered design “Copilot,” and enter a brief prompt to quickly produce everything from scripts and dialogue to quest lines and NPC barks.

But there are big questions that remain: What’s the problem these AI tools are looking to solve? For some developers, there isn’t one. AI is a solution for a problem that doesn’t exist, one writer with 10 years of experience in the video game industry told Polygon. (The writer was granted anonymity, as they were not authorized to speak to the press.) And could AI actually create interesting content, when it can only really retread data it has scraped? Video game executives seem to think so; in a survey of 25 gaming executives, Bain & Company found that leadership believes “more than half of the video game development process will be supported by generative AI within the next five to 10 years.” The people who actually make games aren’t so sure.

On Monday Microsoft announced its partnership with Inworld, an AI game development company that’s creating AI tools, including an “AI character runtime engine” that’ll essentially give NPCs endless dialogue and quests in real time. Microsoft says these tools are assistive, a way to “empower” developers in the game design process; Inworld said these tools could “reduce the time and resource constraints” to ship games faster, with “more expansive and immersive worlds and stories,” according to their respective posts on the subject. (Representatives from both Microsoft and Inworld declined to be interviewed for this story.)

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Video game studios both big and small have begun experimenting with generative AI tools like the ones Microsoft and Inworld have proposed: Ubisoft announced its Ghostwriter tool in March, used to generate “first drafts of barks,” like when a character shouts “Grenade!” or “Fire in the hole!” in a multiplayer shooter, for instance. High on Life developer Squanch Games used AI art for set decoration and voice acting. CD Projekt Red used AI to recreate a voice actor’s voice after death, with family permission. And there’s only more buy-in expected, as companies like Riot Games and Nexon America look to hire AI specialists to build out their own internal tools.

AI as a concept is nebulous to pin down; it means something different to most people you’ll ask. But it’s safe to say that game developers have used AI before, to create dynamic NPC reactions in combat, for instance. But generative AI is something entirely different, with different applications. “AI in general has been utilized by game developers since the dawn of the medium, but usually in terms of things like enemy behavior