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AI is a very controversial topic in the gaming world. Join us today to discuss this idea of is there a place for it in modern gaming development on this episode of Hot Topic!
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0:00
Artificial intelligence has found its way into the gaming world, and some view this as a vital
0:05
tool to revolutionize gaming development as we know it, and some aren't the biggest fans of it
0:10
even existing within the space. So today we're going to argue this idea of, is there a space
0:16
for AI within gaming? Now with all that being said, join us today as we bring together some
0:21
of Game Sandwich's finest, and pit them against each other in some good old fashioned gaming
0:26
debates. Now, why are we doing this? Well, this is a Hot Topic
0:37
What's up guys, this is Kalo, and normally I'm here to give you the lowdown on all things gaming
0:42
but we are back for yet another episode of Hot Topic, and joining me today is a brand new face to Hot Topic, why don't you say what's up
0:50
Oh, Aiden here. So, we brought in Aiden today because we have a special topic to talk about, and that is AI
1:02
in gaming. Now before we dive into that whole rabbit hole here, I want to describe the rules
1:08
of Hot Topic for those of you who are new here. We're going to flip this here coin to decide
1:14
heads or tails, who is for and against this topic. So today, for AI in gaming
1:21
heads you will be for AI in gaming, and tails you will be against
1:26
So, in honor of you being a brand new guest here, you're going to be up first
1:31
to kind of put you on the spot, I like to do that, you know, kind of test the waters here
1:36
So, I'll flip the coin, and then this will be the side you're defending
1:40
All right, we are going to flip the coin, and you will be..
1:47
You will be for AI in gaming. Okay, that makes things easier for me
1:52
I mean, makes it more difficult for me, big deal. That's what we love to do here
1:57
My wife will be angry now, she's completely against it. We got to put people on the hot seat here, no pun intended
2:05
but I'm going to pass it off to you first. What is your first point to defend AI in gaming
2:11
I mean, first point to defend it really is just time consumption. I mean, when it comes down to
2:18
actually constructing everything, AI can really help like build out a world. I mean, really
2:27
there's instances where you can take like an entire set of data, feed it to an AI
2:32
and then it can just spit out like quests and everything for you, for instance. Or like fill out NPCs, create blank faces for you to work off of
2:41
You know, that way you don't have to like go and sculpt every last painstaking detail of the world
2:48
I know crunch is such like a big thing in gaming, especially as development goes
2:53
These companies want to hit their marks as far as like, all right
2:57
it's definitely coming out February 24th, 2024 or whatever. And if they miss that mark
3:03
it's like a moral sin here. But yeah, I do see that. But in the same sense too
3:10
I've always said gaming development adds that like handcrafted feeling to a game
3:17
Like it just feels more homey. Like there was more thought put into it versus an AI
3:23
which is kind of like binary ones and twos. So it just makes the world seem to lived in
3:30
you know, a game like Starfield uses that procedurally generated stuff. And you can kind of tell when you land on a planet, like this was generated by the AI
3:40
And like this hub city is definitely made like intricate, very well handcrafted
3:47
Some of it might be AI. I'm not too smart to talk on the technology side of things there
3:52
But I just want that handcrafted feeling in gaming. You know, it adds a level of like
3:59
appreciation. Like I'm not trying to sit here and be like, I'm a fine gaming commonsure, but like
4:06
it's the matter of, I just want to feel like there was some thought, some work put in by an actual
4:12
human. No, no, yeah, I get that. I mean like, okay. So think about it like this, like GTA 5
4:19
for instance, going on to GTA 6. I mean, if they end up putting AI in there in order to
4:27
generate an extra like a hundred people who are roaming the streets, not going to really tell a
4:33
difference as long as they're still people. Yeah. And let's be honest, those people are
4:37
probably getting run over. That's just the way people drive. Exactly. You're going to end up
4:43
hitting like a hundred pedestrians on your way to go complete whatever mission that you're doing
4:49
So really if they just give a bunch of sample faces and then go, hey, AI, sprinkle this around
4:56
nobody's ever going to know. I agree with that to a point. And it kind of leads me to my next
5:02
thing here is, you know, whenever we talk about gaming and I look to more of the Bethesda games
5:10
here, you talk about choice and AI, I feel removes again, that human aspect of crafting morality
5:19
You know, the Paragon system in Mass Effect is a great system, a great system of choices, good
5:26
bad in between. And I don't know, maybe this is just me watching too much Terminator, but it's
5:33
like, I don't think AI is going to get that whole feeling aspect to it all. Like the emotional
5:41
impact of these choices have, it's definitely, it's probably going to be removed. Maybe it learns
5:48
and that kind of scares me at the same time here, because then that's like a whole Ultron deal
5:53
This is where we get our tinfoil hats on. But yeah, at some point it just kind of goes off
5:59
the rails and just be just ones and twos pretty much. Yeah, I mean, you can, like, I get where
6:06
you're coming from with losing the feeling and everything of like, especially whenever everything
6:11
goes like full AI, and they're the ones who go off of your choice and everything. But also
6:17
when you when you really think about it, if you give it like a set amount of choices
6:21
and you give it like a set amount of data that it can go off of, it could also go into
6:29
more dynamic, like interaction, you know, like, let's say you make that one choice
6:35
And, oh, the AI picks up on it later on, hey, it shows, oh, hey, I'm going to start treating you
6:43
like you're evil because you made the evil choice, you know, and then therefore it changes how every
6:48
NPC views you and how every NPC interacts with you. And so therefore, like you can start hearing
6:55
more dynamic dialogue as you go, because everyone wants to treat you like you're evil
7:01
or everyone wants to treat you like you're good if you go on the good side, you know, I look at games like Fable, like Fable two back in the day, I remember doing and I never replay
7:11
games like that. I did two separate playthroughs, the good and the bad side, I was a devil
7:17
I was an angel. And it's like, I see the possibility there. And then at the same point
7:22
with AI making these games, and having that wide amount of things available to you
7:30
whether it be dialogue, whether it be maps, stuff like that, it can kind of get overwhelming. I know
7:35
whenever and I'm bringing up Bethesda games again, but whenever I played Skyrim first time
7:41
like you get through that tutorial, like area, you know, this is the game, this is your story
7:47
Now you go now we ball, I immediately could care less what was going on with the story
7:54
shot off in a random direction in the woods. And that was where I went to. And then that just
8:01
opens up more things to distract you. I guess that's what the classic RPG thing is, especially
8:07
nowadays, you got to make a big game. And at some point, maybe the wide range of choice
8:16
might overwhelm some people at some point, because it's like, how much time can I stick
8:22
into this game? Because I know it's quick. Nowadays, people got to get in, get out
8:26
And then there are people like me who buy Skyrim like six times. And that's just the way life goes
8:32
And I've played it all the time. But yeah, choice is so overwhelming with this stuff. I just see
8:40
layers keeping like going, especially as you develop a game. I don't view AI being a thing really in like RPGs. I don't know why when I envision AI
8:51
I don't think RPG games, because those for so long have been handcrafted. What I really think of it
8:59
in is like Final Fantasy 14, for instance, like anything that's a live service game, you know
9:06
where you have to constantly keep updating, you have to keep making it fresh and everything
9:11
I feel like AI could really shine there. You know, whenever you have to keep creating new
9:17
dialogue, or you have to keep creating new scenarios for people to like, invest their time
9:23
in. Yeah, like Skyrim, great game. Absolutely love it. But really, you set yourself with just a
9:30
sandbox there. Hey, you set the parameters, you're good. And you can go forever. In Fallout
9:37
four, for instance, you can go forever with having Preston tell you, hey, another settlement needs
9:42
your help. But that notification still haunts me to this day. But in a game like Final Fantasy 14
9:50
where, you know, they're going to have like another new update, you want friends to constantly
9:55
have something new to do with you and everything. Like AI can really shine there because they can
10:02
take Oh, everything that's already in the game, and basically just recycle it and then be like
10:08
Oh, hey, here's a new quest for you. Or like, here's another new scenario for you, or more
10:14
dialogue that it just came up with. You know, I never thought about it with live service titles
10:21
like that. Like, it kind of scares me at Fortnite gets a hold of it. Because that, that game has
10:27
evolved into something totally different. And that's gonna be like the new meta world
10:34
They got so many clubs, like, who, who approves all this? I need to know. But I wanted to touch
10:41
on one final point. And that's voice acting, you brought up this point about like new dialogue
10:47
trees and stuff like that. I look at a game like Indiana Jones, like yes, they're using Harrison
10:52
Ford's likeness Troy Baker, talented guy is voicing the character himself. But then I look at music
10:59
and what's going on there, I scroll tick tock, and I see these AI covers of songs, whether it be
11:06
plankton singing, like my chemical romance, or some other random cursed thing. But people getting
11:16
their jobs taken away voice actors, even developers at this point, too. I worry about that
11:22
Because, you know, if AI existed, well before Troy Baker ever came around, would we know about that
11:29
talent? No, probably not. I mean, that's a whole other again, system that could spawn a whole
11:36
different debate. But it boils down to voice acting. And I know lines get blurred here as far
11:44
as people who have long passed, and then using their voices to recreate them and then put them
11:50
into games. I don't know, it seems like there's going to be more legal problems there, especially
11:55
with voice acting, with music as well. It basically it's more trouble than what it's worth
12:02
See, I, I, I find it so hard to debate that because like, I, I agree with you so much on
12:09
that because like, I don't the last thing that I want, the one thing that I really draw the line
12:14
with with anything going forward with AI is I don't want people to lose their jobs over having
12:21
some AI take over. Really where I see AI could go well with voice acting, or even with artists
12:30
for instance, like because there's so many instances now with like, Foam Stars was the
12:36
most recent one where in game advertisements were made using AI. See, I don't like that they
12:45
used AI for that. But also at the same time, I feel like they could, if you get an artist
12:51
or you get a voice actor, somebody who is interested and wants to work with that company
12:57
so like, I'll just use Square Enix. But like, you get someone who like desperately wants to play a
13:03
Final Fantasy character or something. Well, I don't see the harm in getting a contract signed
13:11
where, hey, that voice, like not your voice in general, but that voice that you make is
13:20
like belongs to Square Enix. Therefore, they can simulate it. But you yourself, if it's your
13:28
natural voice, I do feel like there's a there's a line to be drawn there. Like, you can't take
13:35
someone just naturally talking and be like, Oh, your voice is mine now. You know, but if it's like
13:41
the same thing with artists, if you take a bunch of little sketches or a bunch of little, like
13:48
doodles or whatever. And you let the AI go off of those. I don't see where the harm is in that
13:55
But once you get to that point where it takes the job away, then I'm like
14:00
no, I can't do that. Yeah, speaking of like a job to do, and this is my final point here
14:07
Machine learning, it's gonna be hard to kind of balance that to be fun, because at the end of the
14:14
day, I guess the goal of the AI is to figure out how to beat the player. Now, it's gonna be hard
14:21
for the developer to like craft a proper route for the player to beat the AI because it's always
14:28
evolving. At that point, too, it's kind of like I the AI in like, imagine a machine voice, I've
14:36
beat you, like, mercifully, like, it's over, I've done it, I figured it out. And it's like, no matter
14:42
how many times you try, I have this alternative. I'm just very, very interested to see how they
14:49
balance AI, because it's again, it's a new technology. It's a brand new to most people. I
14:56
mean, this is the first time I'm really digging into it. But for a game development, too, it's
15:02
it's gonna make me question how they find balance and all this, especially not Casting Stones, but
15:11
EA is a company I look at that's gonna probably abuse this because they have Madden with ultimate
15:17
team and all that stuff. But it can be very easy to just press a button. And outcomes the next I
15:24
don't know Star Wars Battlefront three, I would love for it to go back to the OG formula. But
15:31
they're gonna press that button. And then it's like, alright, what do we do from here? You know
15:36
balance in this technology is key, you know, too much of a good thing
15:41
No, yeah, I agree. Like, you need to have balance and everything. And really, I see
15:46
going forward, I see AI where I want to see it go is really to the fundamental side and the like
15:54
be more of a tool to help aid rather than replace or to go beyond what a normal person can do. I
16:01
see it more as like a tool for like, like, say, for instance, like bug fixes. Like, if you program
16:07
an AI to scan for bugs in a game, it can outperform however many players you have currently
16:16
looking for those bugs. And like, so for instance, like PowerWorld for like PowerWorld, that game
16:23
came out, everyone loves it. There are millions of people playing it. But if you put an AI program
16:29
in there to test everything for the bugs, you'd be able to identify 90% of them within like an hour
16:36
And then there you go, you can run a program with it to help it aid you in fixing them. But you still
16:42
need those people to actually implement the bugs, like will implement the fixes for the bugs. But
16:48
the AI is just help there to help aid in the process of it. Same thing with like, like game
16:54
testing and everything. Like, you really if you want to hit it before the beta, yeah, still do
16:59
betas. But like an alpha stage, why not just let an AI like go crazy running around hitting walls
17:07
and see what breaks? You know, it makes you think if it was around for like cyberpunk when that was
17:13
coming out, like if AI was just given a chance to do a once over, could that game be in like a whole
17:20
different state and not require the Phantom Liberty DLC to just revamp the game like what
17:26
two, three years later, almost a year. And it's like, yeah, I agree with that point
17:32
use it as a tool to like round out the game instead of craft it. Like from the ground up. I
17:38
mean, there's some aspects you can do to that, like maybe the map. But I think the human aspects
17:44
of choice of getting around the map of dialogue, potentially some of it like the main story beats
17:52
I think that's got to come from a human. But if you got any more closing points, I'm gonna
17:57
give it to you. I mean, really, all I can say on it is just yeah, going forward, it just needs to
18:03
be more of a tool to help aid rather than anything to go beyond what normal people can do. Because
18:10
I mean, like I can view games like Dark Souls, for instance. If you let an AI go in that and
18:19
have it challenge you, you're gonna lose every time. That scares me. That scares me too much
18:24
There's no way. But like, if it helped aid in the process of like, crafting the world by adding in
18:32
a few extra like trees or like, you know, increasing the boundary and stuff that by all
18:37
means, implement that especially I mean, with Elden Ring 2 inevitably be inevitably on the
18:44
horizon. I mean, yeah, they're probably gonna need something like that. I know, as far as like
18:51
these open world games go, there are parts of the map that always just kind of feel empty. It's like
18:58
yeah, you need that spot to make travel seem realistic. And it's like, sure, maybe throw AI
19:04
and those patches. I know it's not as simple as that. But you know, fill it in with like, maybe
19:10
like in Red Dead Redemption 2 case, like, drop in a little like wagon with a character on it that
19:17
tells you a story. I don't know. It's like these little things you can kind of pluck in. It's like
19:21
the sprinkles on top of your ice cream. You know, it's the nice additive stuff you can get
19:28
I like that idea. Like, I mean, if it was just like, Oh, yeah, you take all these assets
19:34
people actually make them. But then just let the AI go wild a little bit and go
19:39
Hey, in this live service game, you know, this person hasn't done a quest for a while, you know
19:44
just NPC spawns and they go, Hey, why don't you go over here and go get something for me
19:49
At least like incentivizes them a little bit to like want to play rather than just stand around
19:54
you know? Yeah, that's a fair point. But I think at this point in time
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it's time where we pass it off to you guys, the viewers, who was right and who was wrong
20:04
Are you Team Kalo or are you Team Aiden? Let us know in the comment section down below. And again
20:11
feel free to join our Discord channel. Again, links to everything is in the video description
20:16
down below. If you enjoyed today's debate or want your weekly dose of gaming news content
20:21
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