As in every other industry on the planet, discussions of the role of AI in the entertainment world have been increasing. The use of AI in the video game industry hasn’t sparked as much controversy as it has in the world of film, where in 2023 Hollywood trade unions such as SAG-AFTRA went on strike, mostly over the use of artificial intelligence in the industry, which has the potential to threaten jobs.
This is largely because the potential uses of AI in the industry are less likely to be problematic than in the film industry. AI has the potential to improve storytelling in games and may be able to help game developers produce better games on a faster scale. In this article, we’ll examine some of the ways in which AI has or will have an impact on game narrative and storytelling.
Guiding Development
One use of AI is to determine which stories and themes players are most interested in, in its role in data analysis. AI can trace game purchases and analyze data more easily than traditional analytical methods, which often involve long man hours and specialized marketing teams. AI can also be used to break down any information gained from surveys and advertising responses. Doing this allows game developers and studios to understand which games and game plots are holding players’ attention the best.
Tools like ChatGPT may also already be used in the actual writing of ideas for video game narratives, whether that’s helping writers brainstorm ideas or writing some of the narrative for games that are in development.
AI is also helpful in the online casino industry, particularly because the development phase for new games is so short. In the future, a wide array of online slot games may be partially generated by AI. Using AI algorithms also makes it easier for online casino brands to check which games are the most popular and which aspects of those games set them apart from the rest of the game library. The online casino brands can then work with developers who focus on games with the most popular themes, or with top features like progressive jackpots or mini games. Since most slot machine games don’t exactly have plots, this is the most valuable way for AI to be used.
Adaptive Games
Adaptive games are on the horizon, and AI will play a major role in their development and in how they function. Adaptive games are games that respond to what the player does to shape the storyline according to what the player is most interested in. Essentially, the AI learns from what the player is doing and responds to shape the game accordingly. These tools may be used in the upcoming installment in the Grand Theft Auto series, released on PlayStation 5, and partially made a debut in the interactive and player choice elements of Rockstar’s earlier Red Dead Redemption 2, where NPCs reacted to player choices.
In simple terms, this could be things as simple as increasing or decreasing the difficulty of puzzles to limit player frustration, or improving the scripting of the games to be more engaging and immersive. It can make the NPCs and enemies far more interesting because they will behave in a more intelligent and less formulaic manner.
There has been some concern that adaptive game AI will be used to more directly target advertising at players. For games with in-app purchases, the AI in adaptive games could make the ads for items the player needs to complete the level or to upgrade skills that the player needs to be successful. This could become a predatory system, and player protections will hopefully be put in place.
Improved Storytelling
Games used to have a fairly limited scale. Writing dialogue and crafting characters was still a lot of work, but it was an easier and quicker process because there were fewer characters and shorter plots. The rise in open-world gaming and in complex games with massive plots and long storylines has made the creative process much longer and more intensive for developers and writers. This could be why your favorite games often get delayed as they get closer to release, like Grand Theft Auto 6’s release date being pushed back to May next year.
If not done properly and with adequate development, the huge extent of these open-world games can result in NPCs and characters that feel repetitive, overly simplistic, or unrealistic. This is because studios often set impractical deadlines and don’t give their creative teams an adequate amount of time to fully build the dialogue, narrative, and plot. AI might come in useful in assisting these developers and speeding along the process of building giant and immersive open worlds for players.
Filling the Gaps Left by Humans
AI can be used to help fill the gap between what human creatives can do and what needs to be done to build a truly compelling game. AI is particularly useful in creating branching responses to player actions. This means that for each response that a player gives to an NPC, the NPC’s reaction can be entirely consistent with the earlier action instead of a basic response that doesn’t always make sense.
Another use for AI in storytelling is in analyzing player emotions and developing stories that are better for the players. Some games are meant to be stressful or difficult, but even so, you don’t want to overwhelm your player. On a less serious note, AI might even be able to identify points in online games where players become bored and engage less. Developers can then create narratives that minimize those boredom points, resulting in more engaging gameplay for players. All things considered, it’s an exciting time to be a player.