AI as a Platform (Ep. 23)

About this episode

Mitch and Blake explore the use of AI as a platform in games, discussing various titles and the implications for the gaming industry.

Last season, Mitch and Blake discussed the implications of new Large Language Model Artificial Intelligence in games. In this episode, they return to the topic, this time focusing on games that are using AI as a platform -- meaning, the games are predicated on the use of LLMs to manage gameplay in some way. After introducing the central ideas, they list a series of games they have encountered that make use of these new technologies, from relatively modest text-based adventure and role playing games, to more sophisticated games involving dialog with digital characters, dynamic narratives, and adaptive game systems. They briefly discuss the vibe coding phenomenon, and offer some encouraging comparisons to the early PC modding communities as well as the vibrant Nordic "demo scene" they discussed in GameCraft S1:E3. Finally, they take a sidebar to discuss the labor implications of AI in gaming, and argue that the business is at a crossroads -- and that the choice of the path forward has massive implications for future growth and relevance. They end with a discussion of the highly relevant exchange on this issue between the great John Carmack and a Quake fanboi over the use of AI in…

People in this episode

Hosts: Mitch Lasky, Blake Robbins

Topics covered

• AI in gaming
• Large Language Models
• gameplay management
• dynamic narratives
• labor implications of AI
• PC modding communities
• Nordic demo scene

Keywords

• AI
• Large Language Models
• gaming
• dynamic gameplay
• dialogue systems
• narrative
• labor implications
• modding
• demo scene

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Quake

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