https://framerusercontent.com/assets/1giLBga8s2mQie6V3RqtArnE8I.mp4
;)
First, define what a “soul” is in a video game. No, seriously. Because “soul” is being used a lot to discredit anything some people don’t like, whether it’s made with AI or not. So, if it’s such an important factor, maybe we should define it, because right now “soul” sounds more abstract than precise. (I know I sound angry but I’m not. :-))
For me, my subjective opinion: yes, AI is just another tool in the toolbox, one you can even talk to in many cases, but still a tool that can’t do anything of its own will and will only do what you ask of it. In some cases, even in the way you ask it.
It won’t replace artists or programmers. Personally, I’m not an artist (at least not 2D), but sometimes I make sprites to play around in sillytaver, and in the process, to get good results, I mix traditional digital drawing techniques with refinement and AI post-processing to achieve an outcome similar to what a real artist would probably spend several hours making by hand. And I acknowledge that if I were a real artist, I could use AI more efficiently to get higher-quality results. How do I know? Because when I program and need help from AI, I don’t just say “Do this,” but I explain in detail the way I want things to work, also using more specific programming terminology.
I also use it in programming to analyze uncommented or lengthy code, or to quickly find out what certain error messages mean—faster and more concise than Google. Can it be wrong? Yes, so can Google. Nothing and no one is perfect. But it’s just another tool. Nothing more.
“What place should generative AI have in indie game development?” Whatever place it ends up having. If you need photorealistic sprites and can’t afford real actors, or want to create impossible monsters with a photographic style—maybe here’s a use case. If you want to make a game with a Paint-drawn style like the Cursed games, or an animation style like the 1920s (Cuphead), then maybe not. Do you need an overture for your game? You probably need a musician to compose it, no matter how much AI there is—that would be their tool, not so much yours in this case.
I think it should be embraced as part of the creative process. It offers fast prototyping, 24/7 idea debate or feedback, less time banging your head against programming code, or quick creation of concept art.
We are in a new industrial revolution. Many things will change, others will remain the same. Not overnight, but through a process that will take years. How many? I don’t know. But it won’t be immediate. Will some people lose their jobs? It depends. Some jobs will be automated by AI, as with any automation (like when “human computers” were replaced). Others will probably lose their jobs due to resistance to learning how to use it. In other words, some people won’t lose their jobs to AI itself, but to those who learned how to use it. And new jobs will also emerge, just like others did in the past due to technological advances. Which ones? I don’t know. But in any case, we must keep experimenting and learning to face that future. (I’ve been watching Libre para elegir and now I have that way of speaking stuck in my head, LPM XD).
And about video games? Same story. Now we can make games with technology that in 2000 not only didn’t exist, but also required lots of people working for a long time to get worse results. Now anyone can make games with PSX, PS2, or NES aesthetics without spending what a studio had to spend back then. The entry barrier for indies has lowered, while the standard for what counts as triple-A has gone up. And AI, I think, brings more of the same. For indies, it will be easier to reach a level of visual, sound, and design quality closer to a studio’s, while for triple-A, their standard or baseline will be even higher than today.
Both covers look good. The top one I assume was made with AI, possibly Text2Img. Like, prompt-to-image? Could be? There are several details that stand out, like the black hand on the boy, the reaper is missing a finger, and… is that a giant mushroom? I don’t know if they’re flaws, artifacts, or “hallucinations,” whatever you want to call them. Could they be intentional and I’m spoiling something by pointing them out? :-o The bottom one, in my opinion, looks good for a main menu, if the game has that kind of aesthetic.
Sorry for the wall of text. I got carried away.
