How to earn the no-ai tag

I want to declare that I didn't use AI to make this game. What does that mean, and why is it important? These are the questions I will try to work through.

AI is everywhere. What makes something AI? If I do a global replace of a word in a document, is that AI? Probably not. But when does an algorithm become AI? And when can it be said that AI helped me build my game?

What if I use AI to summarize notes for a meeting I have? If I look at those notes later, does that mean I used AI to help build my game? 

What if I search for a technical question on Google or Brave, and I use the AI summary rather than clicking a link? Does that mean I used AI to help build my game?

What if I use Copilot to help me write code? I'm about to write a loop, and Copilot suggests 7 lines of code based on a common pattern I have already done. Does that mean I used AI to help build my game?

These examples show the problem. Claiming you made a game without any AI assistance is as hard as saying you didn't use the internet. It's impossible to be clear. But the good news is people typically have something in mind when they say they want no-ai games.

The analogy I use for AI is the nail gun for a roofer. When hiring a roofer, you care about their expertise. Can they do a quality job on the roof for a fair price. If they use a nail gun rather than swinging a hammer, that's seen as smart. The nails can go into the wood faster. The downside is that fewer roofers are hired for a job because each roofer can do more. While this is a negative to roofers, it is a positive to everyone else. I use this analogy to categorize the "why" for a no-ai game. I am not making this game without AI because I am trying to protect the people who create assets. While I am sympathetic to the dire straights of tech people, I cannot change the lives of anyone with my one-man studio.

When I claim no-ai, I mean I did not go to any AI tools and ask it to generate images, videos, sounds, or code that are used in my game. What about character names? Plot beats? That's fair too. I have not opened a Chat GBT session since I started this video game, so I am definitely clear. But am I like a roofer who insists on swinging a hammer instead of using a nail gun? Nobody is asking for that. That isn;t the standard.

So where is the line? I can ask Chat GBT to make the game for me. It would do most of the heavy lifting. I probably couldn't release it exactly as is, but I could let it do the heavy lifting, and just tie off the loose ends. This clearly falls into AI assisted development. But where is the other end on the spectrum?

Here is my declaration of intent. I believe that using AI to assist with the creative process produces a bland story with bland visuals and bland ideas. I saw a behind-the-scenes clip from the making of the Star Wars prequels. One producer described how every frame was "dense". They used blue screens and CGI to pack shit on the screen. Fast moving, colorful shit. AI is good at that. Faced-paced pointless distractions. Soulless. Visuals and experiences that lack purpose. They aren't there to make the player feel anything more than "oooh, this game is modern."

Here is an example of how to elevate the story — in Saving Private Ryan, the captain discusses the hard decisions he has to make that send men to their death. His calculation is that for every man he sends to their death, he saves the lives of many more men. But the mission they are on is all about how many men die to save the life of one man. This scene is the heart of the movie. In a movie about a world war, where people die by the hundreds of thousands, this movie is about each individual. Spielberg did the same thing in Schindler's List. He spends the whole movie showing the massive scope of the atrocities of the same world war. And at the end is the scene where Schindler laments how he could have saved one more person. I don't know what to call this. Is the word literature? I want to call it more than just "good storytelling". But fuck it. Let's call it good storytelling for now. The think that sticks with you for hours, days, decades.

AI can't do that. AI can write an episode of The Big Bang Theory. Characters with names. Who treat each other badly and write jokes about how how stupid people are. But it can't make a story that changes you. Maybe it will be able to one day.

I know what you are thinking. "Nick, are you comparing your bird poop game to Schindler's List?" What if I said yes? It's a less important story for me to tell. But I still want to tell a story. I want people to feel something. And have that something be earned. I don't want contrived moral dilemmas.  I saw a TV show where a newly wedded  couple were in a car accident. A beam lay across them. The beam was in a position that was keeping one of them alive and killing the other one. There was a decision to be made. Which person should die. That's contrived. It isn't a real moral dilemma. It's emotional blackmail. Contrived dumb luck. AI can do that.

I can give countless examples of bad writing that trick you into thinking they are clever or poignant.  

My intent is to run every single idea through a human filter. Am I impressed? Does an idea make me laugh or feel something? How do I represent that idea visually? Is it working? What do other people think? Is this idea universal? Is it offensive in the wrong ways?

So, this is my promise to the people who would consider buying my game. I am taking the time to make a good game. A game that is worth the time you spend playing it.

This is a nebulous definition of when to use AI, but maybe it is good enough for me. I can use AI to make sure i didn't make stupid mistakes. But I cannot use AI to generate assets, help craft the story, or steer the direction of my artistic expression. And that will have to do for now.