A formerBioWarewriter says that BioWare tried using AI to generate in-game quests and dialogue, but the results lacked the soul of human-produced work. While artificial intelligence has been used in the past to procedurally generate in-game environments for titles likeNo Man’s Sky, in the past few years such technology has advanced to the point where developers are now considering its use for things like writing and voice-acting. For example,Nvidia recently announced a new AI programthat can generate NPCs to speak with players in real time, and publishers like Ubisoft have expressed excitement at the possibilities of AI in the gaming industry.Not everyone has been as optimistic about using AI as a potential replacement for human writers and voice actors, and there has been plenty of controversy surrounding the idea. A few months ago,Pathfinderproducer Paizo banned the use of AI for art and writing in its projects. Meanwhile, noted voice talent likeBatman: Arkham City’s Tara StrongandThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s Patricia Summersett have pointed out that at the moment, AI isn’t capable of capturing the real human emotion of an actual actor’s performance.RELATED:Ubisoft Is Embracing AI for ‘Developers of All Levels’Former BioWare narrative lead David Gaider voiced similar sentiments on social media in response to a recent news article about how AI could be used to generate video game scripts in the future. In a lengthy Twitter thread, Gaider explains thatBioWarehad attempted to do this several times during his tenure, only to find that the results were “lackluster” and soulless. While his team truly felt that the technology could work, even with human assistance the AI failed to capture the humanity found in games likeMass EffectandDragon Age.
Gaider went on to say that the AI used in these attempts didproduce countless procedurally-generated sidequests, they ultimately amounted to little more than the standard “bring me 20 beetle heads” missions that BioWare wished to move away from in titles likeDragon Age. Gaider ended his Twitter thread by stating that while developers might think that AI could successfully substitute human writers someday, they shouldn’t expect anything more than the average fetch quests and item collecting of a typical MMO for the time being.
BioWare-developed franchises likeDragon AgeandMass Effectare legendary for their deep storylines and sprawling mythologies that carry over from one installment to the next, so David Gaider understands the importance of writing when it comes to video games. There may come a day when AI can properly recreate the spirit of a human writer crafting an RPG epic, but Gaider remains skeptical givenBioWare’s attempts to use the technology. In the meantime, fans of his past work can look forward toStray Gods, a musical RPG based on Greek mythology that he is working on for Summerfall Studios.
