The backlash following Larian Studios’ CEO Swen Vincke admitting that his studio is exploring the use of AI, particularly Generative AI, during development of the recently-announced Divinity continues to dominate the gaming industry. That said, a fellow CEO and developer has offered a bit of defense for what has been an increasingly tricky situation for studios and publishers to navigate.
The Astronauts CEO Adrian Chmielarz, head of the team that has brought the likes of The Vanishing of Ethan Carter to gamers, recently spoke with TechRaptor about the unenviable situation that Vincke found himself in.
Specifically, Chmielarz asserted that Larian “got a bit unlucky” with its messaging that it later clarified.
“[Larian] got a little bit unlucky,” Chmielarz said. “I think that Larian is definitely not evil. I’m seeing from what they wrote [on Dec 18] that they’re… doing deep soul-searching of what exactly is that going to mean for Larian going forward, and so we’ll see what happens.”
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For what it’s worth, Vincke has asserted that the final product of Divinity will be free of AI, but that it is being utilized for jobs “nobody wants to do,” including things like “cleaning of the motion capture data” and “automatic retargeting” that ultimately help streamline processes.
In a follow-up, Chmielarz noted that when the day comes that AI-generated concept art becomes “excellent,” it’ll be up to “a studio to decide how much AI they want to invite into their development process.”
For Chmielarz, though, that invitation is non-existent.
“With Witchfire, that door is firmly closed,” Chmielarz said of his studio’s in-the-works game. “We started the game before AI was even a thing, and we’ll finish it without a single element being created by AI.”
While Fans Were Understandably Upset, Other Studio Heads Were Far Less Critical Of AI Use
Following the comments that set the collective gaming world on fire, other studio heads had their own take on the AI debate, including Warhorse Studios boss Daniel Varva, who’s team shipped Game of the Year contender Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.
“I’m no fan of AI-generated art, but anyway, it’s time to face reality. AI is here to stay with us,” Vavra wrote in part on Twitter. “As frightening as it may be, that’s the way it is. … If AI can help me make an epic game in a year with a smaller team like in the old days, I’m all for it.”
Elsewhere, CD Projekt Red’s joint CEO Michał Nowakowski noted in an earnings call that there were “meaningful” benefits to using AI before noting that the studio is using it in “productivity areas.” That’s just a sampling of what was said in the hours and days following Vincke’s comments.
While we’re likely no closer to AI being accepted on a wider scale, it seems like studios will be forced into the position of admitting which side they will be on.
- Released
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September 14, 2017
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Sexual Themes, Violence
- Engine
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Divinity Engine 3.0
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer
- Franchise
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Divinity
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