itch.io

Oh I agree with your comment, you know how people are now about AI? Well I was the same about the easy mode game editing systems such as Unity / Unreal and so on. That said, that did not ruin the app stores, greed and stupidity ruined the app stores. When the only way to compete was to make your game free and then attempt to screw money out of people with in app purchases and ads. The whole thing has been a race to the bottom benefiting only those with large amounts of cash that can push the games into visibility. Those are the ones that the likes of Apple and Google will bend over backwards to help. AI is just an additional layer of mess on top of an already massively broken system. That there is where I give up, I no longer care about how a game is made, my craft has been demolished and made easier and easier for millions of laymen already, so what's wrong with a few million more?
The issue with AI is that it has been unfairly demonised, we di not demonise any of the previous tools that allowed the app stores to be filled with junk. Don't get me wrong, it will destroy my trade but the powers that be want it so they WILL have it. It will demolish my sector and many associated sectors. But there is a short time window right now (and maybe for next 5 years) where you can utilise AI to make something of your ideas. Why would I with insane amounts of knowledge waste my time working at my typing speed when I can get an AI to analyse my code base, adopt my style and do what I would have done but in 1/10th the time? (very heavily directed by myself of course). AI is not able to just take a comment such as "recreate me Minecraft" and actually do that, maybe in 5 years but not now. For those of using AI correctly, its not SLOP, its enhanced our existing skillset. Sure some people will create slop but most of us professional developers will not use it that way.
Working on games for years makes zero difference by the way (if you don't see it as a hobby then stop doing it), you either have to be very lucky and find a nice niche such as Stardew (these are disappearing daily) or you need big publisher backing which means giving a lot of your money to someone else. There is no other way anymore. Those days of Flappy Bird are gone and never to return.
I will add that I am coming at this more from a professional development point of view where this is my livelihood, if a pro dev does not use AI now he / she will fall to the bottom and lose jobs quicker than the rest as AI pushes people out. AI allows me to do the job of 5 coders, why would someone hire someone who would not use that efficiency boost? I'm hoping governments restrict AI use but they won't, too much money to be made and at the end of the day they care far more for money than they do people.