Video games have been a beloved pastime for decades. From the early days of Pong to classics like Super Mario Bros. to highly-detailed role-playing games (RPGs) like Final Fantasy, video game design has developed into a true form of art. But what happens when that art is taken out of the hands of artists and placed into the number-crunching code of artificial intelligence (AI)?
The AI World of “The Amuletum Amoris”
To find out how AI could potentially change the gaming industry, fiber internet provider Frontier used AI to develop a video game and then surveyed avid gamers for their feedback. Using GPT-3 and Midjourney programs, AI created a 3D RPG titled “The Amuletum Amoris.” The fictional game features a quest-centered storyline in which a hero must solve puzzles and defeat enemies to retrieve a magical artifact and rescue an enslaved kingdom.
The highly detailed story and graphics include Aurora, a protagonist with an armory of magical weapons and amulets; Drakath, a dark lord with immense magical powers; and four bosses themed after fire, earth, wind, and water. The game follows an open-world format, with players roaming freely and encountering various battles and other obstacles along their journey.
Would Humans Play an AI Game
Once AI’s creation was complete, the concept and art for “The Amuletum Amoris” was introduced to avid gamers. The response was overwhelmingly positive. Almost 95% of gamers surveyed said they would play it, and 60% would pay an average of $40 to do so.
As for how gamers would play, 73% said they could see it as a console game, while only 27% thought it would work well on mobile. Granted, the vast majority of role-playing games are console games, so it’s not surprising most gamers felt that way.
Originality is a key aspect of any successful video game. With thousands of video games to choose from, developers have to work hard to set their game apart. Was AI’s creation fresh enough? Absolutely: 86% of gamers said they thought the concept of “The Amuletum Amoris” was original. Furthermore, over 74% thought the title, storyline, characters, and overall game were “high quality.” That’s pretty impressive for any game, let alone one developed by a computer.
The Future of Game Development
So what does the success of “The Amuletum Amoris” mean for the future of game development? As impressive as these results are, it’s important to remember that all of the information gathered by AI to develop the game was initially created by humans. AI is only as good as the content it’s fed and—for the time being—computers still need creative and capable humans to feed them knowledge for fresh ideas.
Human video game developers will still be around for a long time, but maybe AI can help bring their ideas to life more quickly. With the creativity of capable humans to feed them knowledge of AI, video game development could reach a whole new level of originality, playability, and art.
