After criticism: Larian abandons AI concept art for “Divinity”
For the development of “Divinity”, Larian originally wanted to use AI to draw concept art, among other things. After criticism, the plans have now changed.
(Image: Larian)
No AI art in “Divinity”: The Belgian Larian Studios originally wanted to use generative AI to create concept art for their next title after “Baldur’s Gate 3.” After criticism from the community, they have now changed their minds, explains studio head Sven Vincke in a Q&A on Reddit.
“There will be no GenAI art in ‘Divinity’,” Vincke writes on Reddit. He has noticed the discussions in the community about his statements to the business newspaper Bloomberg. There, Vincke had said that developers could use AI tools to build PowerPoint presentations, “develop” concept art, and write placeholder text.
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The use of generative AI is causing ongoing discussions in the gaming industry. Gaming communities generally react allergically to AI content in their video games. Nevertheless, there have been several cases in recent months where AI-generated texts or artworks have made their way into finished games. This has happened, for example, with “The Alters” and “Anno 117”.
The developers of “Clair Obscure: Expedition 33” even had to return two Indie Game Awards (Indie Game of the Year and Debut Game Award) because an AI-generated placeholder texture was visible at launch. A prerequisite for participating in the Indie Game Awards is the renunciation of AI tools in game development.
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“Increase speed”
“Divinity” probably wouldn’t qualify for this award. Because although Larian wants to refrain from AI development of concept art, voices, and dialogue texts, artificial intelligence is still intended to play a role in the development of the game, Vincke explains on Reddit.
“We are continuously striving to increase the speed at which we can try things out. The more iterations we can perform, the better the gameplay usually is.” AI can help with this. “Our hope is that it will help us refine ideas faster, leading to a more focused development cycle, less waste, and ultimately a higher-quality game.”
AI for production and animation
Gabriel Bosque, who is employed at Larian as Machine Learning Director, elaborates on Reddit: “We are convinced that machine learning is a powerful tool to accelerate game development and make it more efficient and leaner. This means that our creatives have more time for the work that makes their tasks more fulfilling and makes the game a richer experience.” While Larian does not want to use AI for voices, AI tools could help with the production of recordings, for example, Bosque suggests. Furthermore, AI can create animations for dialogues for which no motion capture recordings are available.
While the gaming industry is struggling with its position on the use of AI in development, Larian is presenting a pragmatic approach, accompanied by the open communication for which the studio is known. Larian has been something of a darling of the gaming industry since “Baldur’s Gate 3.” The studio’s explanations could therefore actually lead to greater acceptance of the use of AI – at least if creative elements continue to originate from human hands.
“Divinity” is the new role-playing game from Larian Studios. It was presented as part of the Game Awards in December with a render trailer and, like previous “Divinity” games, is set in the world of Rivellon. Players were last able to visit Rivellon in 2017 in “Divinity: Original Sin 2.” There are still no gameplay scenes or a release date for “Divinity.”
(dahe)
