By Gavin Boyle
As AI technology continues to integrate into the entertainment industry, the video game sector will undergo a massive transition because of the tech that will result in the shuttering of some studios.
“Some of these game companies are going to make it, and some of them are not,” Jack Buser, the global games director at Google Cloud, told Decrypt when discussing how AI will impact the industry. “And some are going to be born through this revolution.”
While those in the industry who lose out see AI in video games as a negative, Buser believes its integration into gaming is the next step in the industry’s evolution. He argues that though previous changes led to similar mass closings of studios, they were good for the industry as a whole. For example, when gaming moved primarily from cartridges to CD-ROMs, not every studio made the switch.
Related: Disney Resurrects James Earl Jones’ Darth Vader for Fortnite
“You will see some companies that did not make it,” Buser said. “And then you see other just massive game companies today that were what I’ll call CD-ROM-native. This is the exact same thing happening now.”
The integration of AI into games has already started to take place at major studios, such as Epic Games — the creator of Fortnite — who introduced an AI-powered Darth Vader while working in a Star Wars launch with Disney.
“Disney and Epic are pioneering the future of social entertainment together, and this expansive Star Wars collaboration offers a glimpse into the type of interactive experiences we envision,” said Adam Sussman, the president of Epic Games. “We are reimagining what’s possible with immersive storytelling in Fortnite with one of the world’s most beloved franchises — stay tuned for a lot more to come.”
Gaming has arguably the most to gain among all sectors of the entertainment industry by incorporating AI into its products. Similarly to TV, movie and music production, gaming’s development time could be sharply cut down through AI agents that handle tedious work, but gaming also has the potential to include AI chatbots in the final product that could adapt to players in real time. This could create new, personalized experiences for gamers, making their experience even more interactive.
“What we are doing is giving these NPCs (non-playable characters) a mind. So much so that they’re able to have a natural conversation with us,” explained Purnendu Mukherjee, founder and CEO of Convai, a platform that allows game developers to integrate AI into their production. “You can talk to them about anything. Not only can you do a voice-to-voice conversation, they show emotion. They have the right facial expressions. And in a 3D environment, the next level of cognition is they can perceive the environment and interact with it.”
As this level of personalization becomes the industry standard, some will embrace this technology, while others will not. Buser’s prediction is that, for the most part, those who engage with AI will succeed, while those stuck in the past will struggle.
Read Next: How AI Will Make Video Games More Real
Questions or comments? Please write to us here.
– Content: +3Share:
– Content: +1