Uncanny Stardew Valley AI mod replaces its lovely villagers with '33 provided brains'

pcgamer.com:

Stardew Valley is a game known for its cosy homegrown feel, with complex, well-written characters populating a little village trying to scrape by under the looming shadow of a mega-corporation. So obviously, an AI company made a mod that scrapes out their personalities and replaces them with a large language model, with the appetising sales pitch: «By default, there are 33 provided brains.»

InworldAI promises to «craft characters with distinct personalities and contextual awareness that stay in-world or on brand.» Watching Pelican Town's civilians rattle off lines of inoffensive text, however, feels like I've stumbled into some alternate JojaMart bad ending, where all the textured characters of Stardew Valley have been body-snatched by clones.

Stardew Valley works well because it endears you to its cast of characters, walking you through charming slow-burn stories. Shane, for example, is a character who struggles with both his depression and alcohol abuse. Getting to know him means untangling a thorny exterior and helping him face his own demons. It's a heartfelt storyline for what's otherwise a decidedly cosy 'n' cute game.

But why sit comfortably with a well-crafted character for a limited time, when you could talk to a hollow shell of them forever? You can even program Inworld's faux-people yourself, who act based on the «profiles you create for them.» If you don't like Shane or his problems, you can just tinker them away. This is new-Shane, he talks with exclamation points about long walks in the forest. Don't ask what happened to the old one, it doesn't matter, new-Shane loves you. 

I don't mean to come down too hard on the players who buy into this sort of thing—after all, the prospect of actually getting to have a