I mean, AI in games can be neat.

As a specific example, consider Rimworld mods that generate conversations for characters, flesh out bios, make portraits based on their in-game traits. For free, on lightweight community finetunes that run on your PC.

…I like that. I like how it’s tightly integrated and a good fit, yet also “optional flavor,” not the foundation of a game.

What no one wants is AI Bro bullshit like:

…A group discussion about how the games industry can "capitalize on shifting trends in customer engagement.”

I think it could be cool for background NPC dialogue in big open RPGs like Skyrim. Imagine if townsfolk could have realistic conversations and interactions like bartering over goods, etc. Nothing major or plot-dependent, obviously. Just something more natural than a handful of repeated, scripted and prerecorded phrases.

I would compare it to ray-tracing. Ray tracing means the artists don’t have to plan out every single light beam, and the result is actually more realistic than if they had. A tactfully used LLM could mean they don’t have to script out every line of background dialogue and also achieve a more realistic result.

Imagine if townsfolk could have realistic conversations and interactions like bartering over goods, etc. Nothing major or plot-dependent, obviously. Just something more natural than a handful of repeated, scripted and prerecorded phrases.

There’s already a in-development Skyrim mod for that. Many sandbox games have mods for exactly this.

I haven’t tried the Skyrim one though; haven’t been in the Skyrim scene for awhile. And TBH, some of the mods use pretty sad or sloppy LLMs by default.