Like many people at companies preoccupied with discovering the next “goose that lays the golden egg”, Half-Life 2 and Portal writer Erik Wolpaw has been “poking around” with generative AI. He and a small team at Valve have been testing out different applications, in what Wolpaw assures us isn’t a “concerted” effort at implementing the soul-regurgitating, workforce-abrading gadgetry in any particular new game.
Wolpaw’s current feeling is that generative AI isn’t very good at anything “creative”, like cracking jokes. But he does think Large Language Models could make for entertaining NPC voice reactions in games such as Grand Theft Auto and, indeed, Wolpaw’s own Left 4 Dead, because AI is marvellous at being a fawning little gopher. It is fantastic at “going along with whatever insane thing you say and kind of adjusting to the flow of that”.
This post raises some intriguing points about the potential of AI in gaming. It’s fascinating to think about how AI-generated characters could interact in unpredictable ways. The balance between creativity and the concerns surrounding AI is definitely a topic worth exploring further.
It’s definitely a thought-provoking topic! The idea of AI characters adapting to our actions could lead to some unexpected and wild game narratives. However, it also raises questions about player agency and how much control we really want to hand over to AI. Balancing creativity and unpredictability will be key moving forward!