AI in Gaming Thread - EA AI Oh.

[Monkey Man]

Going to be a lot of AI news over the coming years so here's a thread to discuss it.

AI Content on Steam

Back in June, we shared that while our goal continues to be shipping as many games as possible on Steam, we needed some time to learn about the fast-moving and legally murky space of AI technology, especially given Steam's worldwide reach.

Today, after spending the last few months learning more about this space and talking with game developers, we are making changes to how we handle games that use AI technology. This will enable us to release the vast majority of games that use it.

First, we are updating the Content Survey that developers fill out when submitting to Steam. The survey now includes a new AI disclosure section, where you'll need to describe how you are using AI in the development and execution of your game. It separates AI usage in games into two broad categories:

Pre-Generated: Any kind of content (art/code/sound/etc) created with the help of AI tools during development. Under the Steam Distribution Agreement, you promise Valve that your game will not include illegal or infringing content, and that your game will be consistent with your marketing materials. In our pre-release review, we will evaluate the output of AI generated content in your game the same way we evaluate all non-AI content - including a check that your game meets those promises.

Live-Generated: Any kind of content created with the help of AI tools while the game is running. In addition to following the same rules as Pre-Generated AI content, this comes with an additional requirement: in the Content Survey, you'll need to tell us what kind of guardrails you're putting on your AI to ensure it's not generating illegal content.

Valve will use this disclosure in our review of your game prior to release. We will also include much of your disclosure on the Steam store page for your game, so customers can also understand how the game uses AI.

Second, we're releasing a new system on Steam that allows players to report illegal content inside games that contain Live-Generated AI content. Using the in-game overlay, players can easily submit a report when they encounter content that they believe should have been caught by appropriate guardrails on AI generation.

Today's changes are the result of us improving our understanding of the landscape and risks in this space, as well as talking to game developers using AI, and those building AI tools. This will allow us to be much more open to releasing games using AI technology on Steam. The only exception to this will be Adult Only Sexual Content that is created with Live-Generated AI - we are unable to release that type of content right now.

It's taken us some time to figure this out, and we're sorry that has made it harder for some developers to make decisions around their games. But we don't feel like we serve our players or developer partners by rushing into decisions that have this much complexity. We'll continue to learn from the games being submitted to Steam, and the legal progress around AI, and will revisit this decision when necessary.

https://store.steampowered.com/news/gro ... ?l=english

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Ubisoft and MiHoYo Among Publishers Signing Up for Nvidia's AI-Generated Video Character Tool

Ubisoft and MiHoYo, the developers behind Assassin's Creed and Genshin Impact, are among the first studios to sign up for Nvidia Avatar Cloud Engine (ACE), a new AI-driven tech platform said to create more lifelike video game characters.

The technology works by passing players' voices through a speech recognition model to create text, according to Nvidia, which is then added to a large language model (LLM). The LLM's response is moved through text-to-speech and animation models to create the final product: in-game characters that can "speak" dynamically with players.

In a video demonstration of the technology shown at CES 2024, Nvidia showcased dialogue between two NPCs, who unsettlingly muse on the possibility of being AI-generated constructs, before the characters begin interacting directly with the human demonstrator's speech. The demo was created by Nvidia in collaboration with Convai, a company working on conversational AI.

Other notable developers exploring the utilization of ACE include China's two biggest gaming companies, Tencent and NetEase.

The technology, first revealed at Computex 2023, is trained on "safe and secure data," according to Nvidia. It can be used "across any engine," including Unreal Engine 5, and can run in real-time through the cloud or offline on local hardware.

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SAG-AFTRA Signs Deal With Voiceover Studio for AI Use in Video Games

SAG-AFTRA signed a deal on Tuesday with an AI voiceover studio that sets terms for the use of artificial intelligence in video games.

The union announced the deal with Replica Studios on Tuesday at CES in Las Vegas. Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union’s executive director, said that the terms include informed consent for the use of AI to create digital voice replicas, as well as requirements for the safe storage of digital assets.

At a press conference, Crabtree-Ireland said the union wants to channel emerging technology to benefit performers — rather than trying to stand in the way.

“These are the kind of terms that producers can agree to without disrupting their ability to make content,” Crabtree-Ireland said. “This is an evolutionary step forward. AI technology is not something we can block. It’s not something we can stop. That’s not a tactic or a strategy that’s ever worked for labor in the past.”

AI was a major issue in the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. The union ultimately reached a deal with the major studios — represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers — that established consent and compensation requirements for the use of AI to replicate actors’ likenesses. The deal did not block studios from training AI systems to create “synthetic” actors that bear no resemblance to real performers.

SAG-AFTRA is now engaged in a similar negotiation with a coalition of major video game studios. The union has obtained a strike authorization vote, though talks continue.

Crabtree-Ireland said that agreement with Replica Studios could help spur those discussions.

“I hope the video game companies will take this as an inspiration to help us move forward in that negotiation,” he said. “I’m hopeful we will be able to reach agreement with the video game studios imminently.”

Replica Studios launched its AI platform in 2019. The company sells AI voices to video game developers from its library of “ethically licensed” voices. Last year, the company announced a new iteration of “Smart NPCs” — non-playable characters — that could use OpenAI or other language models to interact with video game players.

Shreyas Nivas, the CEO of Replica Studios, said at the press conference that the firm has been working for years on standardizing contract language for AI voice licenses.

Crabtree-Ireland said the agreement will open up new employment opportunities for voiceover performers who want to license their voices for use in video games.

The deal pertains only to “digital replicas” — using AI to re-create the voice of a real performer, living or dead. It does not apply to AI training to create synthetic performances.

In December, SAG-AFTRA members voted 78% in favor of ratifying the contract with the AMPTP. The opposition centered on the AI provisions, which the detractors felt did not go far enough to protect actors from losing their livelihoods to AI replicas.

Crabtree-Ireland highlighted the provision for safe storage of voice assets in the Replica agreement, which was not included in the deal with the AMPTP.

“That’s the kind of thing we’ll see evolving over time,” he said.

https://variety.com/2024/biz/news/sag-a ... 235866313/

[Monkey Man]

CES had a monitor (which will make it difficult to detect as cheating) which uses AI to highlight enemies for you in MP from visuals or sound -

[jawa_]

Foamstars, Square Enix's new online multiplayer shooter, is going to be free with PlayStation Plus (Essential) from 6 February. It'll cost £24.99 after that month.

Oh.

Rumours arising that Foamstars includes "some" AI-generated art:

twitter.com/Andy_VGC/status/1747277692511068245

A small amount, then... but, yeah, it's probably now a thing that many "big publisher" games could feature elements of AI-created content.

[jawa_]

Foamstars already looked incredible. Finding out it uses AI art has somehow made me even more excited about it.

Or possibly the polar opposite.

... .

I had thought that Foamstars looked to be a less attractive version of Splatoon and this AI-created art - even though it's "only" a little bit - has made me think I shan't download it even though it's "free" on Plus.

So this is being viewed as a negative I take it? I guess you could view it as the thin end of a wedge, but I can't get too excited about some icons being AI-generated...

This is just the start, Preezy. Yeah, at the moment it's "just" a small amount of art in the game that is built by AI... but, bit-by-bit, developers will incorporate greater volume of AI-created elements until all art/music - and then gameplay - is generated that way.

Of course, games will then become a lot cheaper (to rent) because of the lack of humans needed to make them .

Err... right?

[jawa_]

EA says generative AI could make it 30% more efficient and boost monetisation by 20% over 5 years

Speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference on Wednesday, EA’s boss said advancements in the technology are allowing the company to create richer, more personalised content increasingly rapidly.

Greater efficiency coupled with “deeper, more immersive experiences” will lead to significant audience expansion over the next few years and provide a “multi-billion dollar” growth opportunity...

Wilson said that in the past it might take six months to build an in-game sports stadium. Over the last 12 months, that time has shrunk to six weeks, and over the coming years it could maybe be cut to six days...

...Over the next five years, Wilson hopes that generative AI will make EA’s development 30% more efficient, help grow its 700 million-strong player base by “at least” 50%, and lead to players spending 10-20% more money on its games.

“What we’ve seen every time there’s been a meaningful technological advancement in media and in technology, where you are able to democratise an industry and hand it over to the population at large, incredible things happen...”

Source: Video Games Chronicle

So... all these incredible AI savings could lead to cheaper and better games? No, it leads to players spending more money on games .

[Trelliz]

I can see some good points in maybe letting smaller indie/one person developers add a lot more to their projects if they can't afford artists, voice actors etc or to produce bigger titles themselves, give procedural games like roguelikes more depth in their randomness, but it also means that EA etc can make more games with fewer people which from a money chart perspective must be appealing.

[Ironhide]

AI itself isn't really the issue here, it's more about how big companies like EA, Ubisoft and a few others are intending to use it as a lazy method of maximizing profit and a big "strawberry float you" to both the people making the games and gamers themselves.

[BID0]

Yeh it’s more about how it’s used that is the problem

Smaller projects with smaller scopes, AI support is really beneficial. Just look at the recent Tomb Raider remaster to see how much of a positive it is to have up upscaling available to developers.

[SEP]

Absolute top marks for the new thread title.

[Tomous]

Absolute top marks for the new thread title.

Indeed!

[Trelliz]

Absolute top marks for the new thread title.

It's also the tagline of the PCGamer article talking about it from a few days ago:
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/ea-ceo-talks-ai-says-the-usual-stuff-before-the-bong-rip-hits-and-he-starts-blabbing-about-a-future-where-3-billion-people-are-creating-eas-games-with-it/

[Monkey Man]

Thanks all, I thought of it all myself.

[Carlos]

Whilst the use of AI for the creation of game assets is highly dubious, it will be interesting to see how it develops running NPC routines and making their reactions and speech more realistic.