August 29th 2024.
Is this a sign of things to come? In a major leap forward for video game development, Google has successfully recreated the classic shooter game Doom using artificial intelligence (AI). As AI continues to gain popularity in our society, its impact is also being felt in the video game industry. In fact, many voice actors are concerned about their future job prospects following a partnership between their union and an AI voice technology company.
These worries were only heightened by a recent report revealing that developers are now using generative AI to create games. This trend has particularly affected artists and graphic designers. And now, Google has taken it a step further by using AI to generate real-time gameplay for Doom. Although the AI version can only run at 20 frames per second, it is still a significant achievement.
The Google research team behind this project used a neural network, which is a technology that mimics the human brain, to create the game using their own engine called GameNGen. Unlike traditional game engines that rely on code, GameNGen uses an AI-driven generative diffusion model to simulate the entire game environment. According to the team's paper, this makes GameNGen the first game engine to be entirely powered by a neural model, allowing for high-quality real-time interaction with a complex environment.
The AI was trained in two phases to replicate Doom. First, it learned how to play the game, and then it used its diffusion model to generate the next frame based on previous frames and actions. Google DeepMind's Shlomi Fruchter even uploaded a video on YouTube, showcasing people playing the AI version of Doom. According to the team's paper, the AI version was able to fool people into thinking it was the actual game more often than not.
However, the AI still needs a human player to teach and replicate the game, much like other forms of generative AI such as ChatGPT and image-generating tools. AI has been used in video games since the beginning, but as its capabilities continue to improve, there is growing concern within the industry about its impact on job opportunities and game quality.
An incident that highlights the sensitivity of this topic was when developer Pocketpair received death threats after being accused of using AI to create Pokémon-like creatures in their game Palworld. This shows that the future of AI in video games is still uncertain and raises questions about its ethical implications.
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