AI creates ‘magical moments’
For example, in the role-playing game “Dimensionals,” developed by Sasha MacKinnon’s studio, AI is built into a particular character who is a slightly crazy nice guy, brimming with creativity, who always joins the others at the table and keeps making one funny suggestion after the other.
AI can generate characters, fights and dialogues: “We’re using AI to have these magical moments where the characters just say something that you totally didn’t expect that really isn’t scripted and is based on your history of playing with them.”
For now, AI quickly reaches its limits: 40-50% of its suggestions are unusable, says MacKinnon. So at Mino Games, AI serves as creative collaborator who provides ideas that are then implemented by humans.
The sketches of the monsters for “Dimensionals” were generated by AI, but the monsters that appear in the game were created by human designers.
Game developers don’t have to worry about their jobs, says MacKinnon. They cannot be replaced by AI, he believes, adding that “games are the purest form of human expression,” as they not only combine story, art and sound, they also offer “an experience for people. AI will never, ever be able to do that as well.”
