A Chat with the Game Modder Making Waves with Generative AI
Generative AI is all the rage across countless industries, thanks to the mindblowing advancements spearheaded by OpenAI and its ChatGPT product. Needless to say, this is soon going to affect the gaming industry, which has always been very technology-driven due to its very nature.
So far, we've heard of publishers like Ubisoft using AI to squash bugs or, more recently, to help them write backgrounds of some non-player characters. Companies have created AI-based tools to massively accelerate the creation of art assets like character models. What gamers have been really dreaming of, though, is seeing generative AI integrated directly into games so that they might have realistic chats with NPCs instead of being forced to select from a handful of predefined options.
Given the ever-expanding development timeframe of games, especially the triple-A ones, we're probably a few years out from seeing that. However, a veteran Mount and Blade modder calling themselves Bloc has provided a groundbreaking first look at the incredible potential of generative AI integration into sandbox games. Earlier this year, Bloc released a few videos demonstrating a full ChatGPT integration into Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord, where the modder now had the option to discuss nearly anything he wanted with any NPCs roaming the world of Calradia.
Last month, Bloc actually shared a playable mod using a different but similar system from Inworld, a development platform (with plugins for Unreal Engine and Unity) that creates real-time generative AI characters in games and other entertainment. Amazed by the modder's work, I reached out to Bloc to discuss the pros and cons of each implementation, whether this could be applied to a game like The Elder Scrolls V:
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