The gaming industry has shown a consistent interest in emerging technological trends. Among other things, developers, providers, and gamers have embraced blockchain, VR, 3D imaging, streaming, cloud gaming, and AI technology. The latter seems to have had the most widespread effect, finding applications in security, ad personalization, customer service, and even game development. Through AI, gamers can cut the time and resources used to produce games by more than half and automate the entire or parts of the development process. Here is a look at some of the newest tools enabling this.
Dream Studio
Dream Studio is a revolutionary AI game engine by stability.ai. It has many of the features you would find on Midjourney except here they are simplified and more intuitive. Typically, gamers can choose from built-in presets like fantasy, anime, and photography to get things started. The UI is then commanded through a text prompt and can generate a wide range of images through the “Dream” function. Game developers can use Dream Studio to render high-quality video, audio, languages, 3D, and images which can be infused into online games.
Godot
Released under the MIT license, Godot is a free and simple open-source, cross-platform engine that allows developers to create 2D and 3D games for web, mobile, and PC platforms. Its 2D leanings make it suitable for producing art for slot games like these https://www.gambleonlineaustralia.com/casino/games/pokies/ and while it has not been used in a formal production yet, a similar engine was recently used to render art for a slot game.
Charisma AI
The Charisma AI model is based on the newest form of AI to hit the market – Generative AI. The technology has already been used by big names like the BBC, PlayStation, and Warner Bros. to produce intelligent characters with rich storylines. These characters are so complex, in fact, that they have distinctive voices, can remember past encounters, and produce emotional responses to words and events. Charisma AI was most recently used to create human characters in Epic Games’ MetaHumans.
Hidden Door
Hidden Door’s engine uses AI to develop text-based adventures that allow for immersive roleplaying. It converts works of fiction into what you would typically experience in a D&D game. In this case, the end user or gamer can turn their favorite story into a text-based game with images and text generated through their choices. Hidden Door is also particular about exposing younger gamers to safe content.
GANimator
GANimator’s focus is movement generation. The engine generates motions that look like the key elements of the original motion while creating new and diverse movements. Additionally, GANimator allows developers to simulate crowds, edit frames, transfer styles, and control interactions with many skeletal structures. All of this is made possible through one input sequence. In fact, GANimator produces output using less than 1 percent of the input data.
Scenario
Scenario recently received seed funding to the tune of $6 million. The company’s generative AI model allows game developers to train custom art generators on their own content. Essentially, developers can create their own AI engine and train it using example environment, prop, or character images. Upon training, the proprietary software then functions as a text-to-image generator. The produced images belong to the developer and can be used outside of the game being developed.
Final Thoughts
Previously, game developers needed to perform every step of the game development process manually. Art designs were sketched and revised separately for weeks, for instance, before they could be combined with other elements of the game. AI gaming tools like these automate game development. And while there are concerns about what it means for creativity, there is no debate over the fact that AI makes the process cheaper, less resource-intensive, and more profitable.
