The video game industry is booming, but a dark cloud hangs over game developers. Jess Hyland, a veteran artist with 15 years of experience, worries her job could be gone tomorrow. A surge in investment during the pandemic fueled rapid expansion, but now there are fears it was a short-sighted move. While gaming remains profitable, thousands of developers have lost their jobs and studios have been shuttered. Jess isn’t alone in her anxiety; “Everyone knows someone who’s been laid off,” she says.
AI: Savior or Villain?
Enter AI, the potential savior (or villain) on the horizon. Generative AI, the tech behind tools like ChatGPT, is being touted as a way to save development time, free up creativity, and personalize the user experience. Gaming giants like Electronic Arts and Ubisoft are pouring money into this new tech. It sounds perfect for the industry’s ever-increasing blockbuster budgets.
The Artist’s Skepticism
But not everyone is buying it. Jess, a member of a game worker’s union, is skeptical. She worries that AI is just a way for companies to cut costs by replacing human labor, the industry’s biggest expense. She’s already heard stories of artists losing work to AI, and fears for the future of entry-level roles like concept art.
“Jobs are going to change, but not in a good way,” says Jess. She worries that instead of creating original content, artists will be stuck fixing AI’s mistakes. “The stuff that AI generates, you become the person whose job is fixing it,” she says. “It’s not why I got into making games.”
Art vs. Automation
Games are a multi-billion dollar business, but they’re also an art form. They bring together artists, musicians, writers, programmers, and actors to create unique experiences. The fear is that AI will stifle creativity, not enhance it.
The Indie Developer’s Concerns
This concern is shared by Chris Knowles, a former developer who now runs an indie studio. He worries that AI could lead to a flood of cloned games, especially in the mobile market, where imitation is already rampant. “Anything that makes it cheaper and easier to churn out clones hurts the already difficult task of running a sustainable indie studio,” he says. He also raises concerns about the massive amount of energy required to run AI systems.
Copyright in the Age of AI
Copyright is another major hurdle for AI in gaming. These tools are trained on massive datasets of text and images scraped from the internet, which many artists see as “mass copyright infringement.” Studios are exploring ways to train AI on internal data, but legal battles are already brewing.
A Glimmers of Hope, A Wary Eye
There is, however, a glimmer of hope. Some composers believe AI could be a valuable tool for exploring new musical directions and freeing them up to focus on the emotional core of a game’s soundtrack. However, even those who see potential benefits agree that AI can’t replace the human touch.
Jess herself wouldn’t mind using AI to handle some of the more tedious administrative tasks that plague most game projects. But when it comes to creativity, she remains unconvinced. The future of AI in gaming remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the industry, and its workers, are watching with a wary eye.
Level up or lay off? Will AI in gaming become a developer’s best ally or worst enemy?
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