BioShock and System Shock 2 developer Ken Levine has spoken in an interview about his new company's first game, Judas, and why he doesn't believe AI has any place in its development. The upcoming game is an ambitious take on humanity and the different philosophies that govern the way people think and behave. The game has been labeled by many as a spiritual successor to BioShock, but instead of being set in the depths of the ocean, the events of Judas will take place on a spaceship controlled by computers.
Considering the topics that the game touches on, it might have been ironic for Judas to utilize artificially generated assistance for developing the game. However, Levine has revealed that despite being incredibly reactive and interactive, Judas does not use AI in its development. In an in-depth interview with Games Industry, Ken Levine spoke about the process of making Judas, his general ideas about the state of video games as an interactive medium, and the merits of using AI in game development.
Developer Ken Levine Wants To Hand-Craft An Incredibly Interactive Experience
Ghost Story Games Is Not Using AI To Assist With Art Or Writing
Video games are unique among current media types for their interactive format. While some movies and other media have tried to apply some interactivity to the experience, none do it at the same level as games. The closest thing to video games, according to Levine, is interactive theater, but that has the benefit of having real human beings reacting to the audience in real time. Unfortunately, "computers do not know how to improv," so this has to be approximated using code and hard work.
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There’s A Very Good Reason Judas Just Looks Like Another BioShock Game
Ghost Story Games’ upcoming Judas looks a lot like director Ken Levine’s classic BioShock titles, but this shouldn’t necessarily be surprising.
Levine does see the merits of AI, saying, "I don't want to underestimate it. I think it's very powerful." His own company, Ghost Story Games, uses AI for various behind-the-scenes tasks like scanning and clearing bug and analytics databases. What AI can't do, according to Levine, is "tell me a really compelling story that has a three-act structure, or even tell me multiple scenes."
Levine states that Ghost Story Games has "not used any generative AI in the development of the product." The development team hasn't used AI in the writing or even concept art stage of the creative process. It's difficult going, but Levine seems determined to make the game as interactive as possible. He says:
"The approach we're taking with Judas is heavily based upon recognition of player action and response to player action. ... It's a huge amount of work because you have to think of all the things a player can do and then write in-character responses for different characters to those actions in a way that feels organic."
Levine and his team are working toward creating a game that responds to players in a meaningful way, and the entire experience will be hand-crafted with a human touch. His goal is to make a game that makes players "feel that their decisions are important." Ghost Story Games strives to make Judas a different experience for every player, one where the players shape the way the game plays out, "because otherwise we should just make a movie."
Ken Levine Believes The Games Industry Still Has A Lot Of Self-Discovery Left To Do
AI Does Not Yet Have A Place In The Creative Part Of The Industry
According to Levine, the games industry still has a long way to go before it completely figures itself out. The movie industry took about 50 years to understand what the medium could do, and has been making masterpieces since then that have been following essentially the same format. The games industry is now over 50 years old as well, but unlike movies, games are still evolving and changing.
Levine doesn't believe this is a bad thing, seeing it as a feature and a chance to experiment and keep trying new things. His mentality is "Let's try s*** and see if it works," and he thinks "that's incredibly exciting." Levine's approach to experimentation with Judas is time-consuming and requires a lot of work, but it's an exciting next step for interactive storytelling through video games. And, at least for now, Ken Levine doesn't believe that AI has a part in the development process of Judas and games like it.
Source: Games Industry
English (US) ·