AI is a hot topic. No matter what industry you work in, this new piece of technology that has embedded itself in so many aspects of society is equally fascinating as it is scary. There’s, of course, the fear that AI will take over jobs, sending countless people out of work. At the same time, others have praised AI and its ability to streamline some of the workload. Recently, Glen Schofield spoke up about their views on AI in game development.
We’re seeing more games come into the marketplace that have benefited from AI tools. However, it’s not yet at a point that we’re seeing it become a primary workhorse in game development. That could change, and Glen Schofield seems to be keen on how this tool will help alter the future of their video game projects.
Glen Schofield Touches On AI Game Development
For those unaware, Glen Schofield is a game developer who is best known for the Dead Space IP. Their last work came in the form of The Callisto Protocol, before they eventually parted ways with Striking Distance Studios. However, recently, the developer spoke with The Game Business, where the topic of AI came up.
Someday, 10 years, five years, it’ll be here. But is it going to be an engine? Right now, it’s a whole bunch of things that just kind of suck it in… and into what? It’s going to have to settle down a bit before we actually use it. So, we got to continue to make games. I look for clever ideas to make games cheaper. But I’ll always be looking for tools. We’re always trying to make it cheaper, more efficient, faster and better.
As I’m sure is the process for a lot of development studios, there’s a push to find ways to reduce the cost of game projects. It’s not easy putting out these behemoth video game projects, and if AI can help keep costs down, I’m sure there are more than a few studios that wouldn’t mind testing the waters using it.
The creative profession is right in the cross hairs of this discussion. I remember when Photoshop was coming out. Now anybody who did airbrush or anything like that, they were out of work, right? Because computers are going to make it faster. I know how to undo. I now could add airbrush techniques within seconds and all that… but everything just got more complicated.
However, just as mentioned in our opening, there’s the fear of job losses. We can’t predict quite yet the effect AI will have overall on the industry. We’ll have to wait and see how AI evolves for game development. That said, Glen feels that this new piece of technology is similar to the rise of Photoshop. This particular software tool was another scare for a lot of individuals who suddenly found their artistic skills no longer being of use.
Of course, there’s no telling what the future holds quite yet. We recently reported that Xbox was investing in AI for its next console. Likewise, there was speculation that Grand Theft Auto 7 won’t take anywhere near as long or as much money to develop thanks to AI. There are even developers excited to see AI thrive, as it might mean they’ll have opportunities to develop projects that are currently too much of a risk investment-wise or just too long a process to see fully finalized.
