I'll be blunt: I'm not entirely clear on what artificial intelligence is as we understand it today. I suspect it's similar to the metaverse—which is too loosely defined as a term to really be meaningful—though you might need hardware writer Nick Evanson to make that context more important. Let's take a look at this assessment of where things stand right now. The Race to “Artificial General Intelligence”.
Naughty Dog studio boss Neil Druckman seems a lot more excited about it than I am, however, saying in a new interview with Sony that the arrival of creative AI “will allow us to take on more adventurous projects and tell stories.” The game is opening the door to push the limits.”
Druckmann is quick to acknowledge that the increased use of AI “raises some ethical issues that we need to address,” but then quickly goes on to note that it ” Costs and technical barriers” are also reduced, and “truly empowers creators to envision life without their traditional constraints.” He encourages up-and-coming content creators to master the “basics over tools,” saying tools become obsolete quickly.
“With AI, your creativity sets the limits,” Druckmann says. “An understanding of art history, structure, and storytelling is essential to effective directing.
“At Notty Dog, we transitioned from hand-animating Jak and Daxter to using motion capture in Uncharted, which significantly enhanced our storytelling. AI allowed us to create nuanced dialogue and character creation, expanding our creative possibilities. However, directing these tools correctly is critical to achieving the desired results.”
Druckmann isn't exactly clear on how AI will enable all this subtlety and creativity: he says in a later interview that the development of sophisticated new tools “increases our efficiency, makes us less enables more to be done together,” referring to an engine that automates environmental design using predefined rules. But is this a step toward better storytelling, or just a way to keep a few house artists off the payroll? I don't want to be a reflexive Luddite, but “efficiency,” in my mind, is not an important part of creating a compelling narrative.
Technological progress is inevitable, and generally a good thing, but I think what I'm really getting at here, and in conversations about AI in general, is the implicit suggestion that AI is somehow Somehow it's different from what's come before: Evolution is not a new and powerful toolset, but something completely new and unique that's going to revolutionize the creative world in countless positive ways. I'm not so sure, however, at least when it's held to a higher standard than 21st century shovelware. Will AI automatic scut work? Sure, maybe. Is HAL going to wake up one morning and give a mournful paean to human frailty and longing that means Leonard Cohen will cry? I'm going to say probably not.
Of course, Druckmann knows a thing or two about effective storytelling: He's the creative director of Naughty's Dog The Last of Us series and co-directed Uncharted 4, and executive produced The Last of Us television series. also serves as producer, which he says “has brought gaming to prominence, reflecting the rich, immersive experiences it offers.” Naughty Dog also has some pretty big ambitions for the next game, which may or may not be The Last of Us Part 3.
“This visibility [of The Last of Us] I'm excited not only for our current project, but also for gaming's broader potential to captivate a global audience,” concluded Druckmann. “I'm eager to see how this new game plays out. resonates, especially after the success of The Last of Us, as it could redefine mainstream concepts of gaming.”