CD Projekt RED (CDPR) has been experimenting with generative artificial intelligence (AI), but the Polish studio says there is still a long way to go before AI NPCs are as good as scripted characters.

Many companies are currently experimenting with generative AI-powered NPCs (non-playable characters). For example, Ubisoft’s presentation at the Game Developers Conference featured “Neo NPCs,” which have a lot of potential for game design. The French publisher was bold enough to claim that this technology could change the way players interact with non-playable characters.

However, Cyberpunk 2077 mission designer Pawel Sasko (who created several memorable NPCs in the game) does not believe that the technology can be put to good use in the short term. Sasko gave a statement to Aftermath. He admitted that CDPR has done some research and development on AI. He didn’t go into much detail about what exactly the developers were doing, but Sasko was explicitly skeptical about NPCs “born” of generative AI.

“I could definitely see how it could be used to get more responsiveness, but when it comes to writing and voice acting, there’s just a gigantic, really long way to go. I’ve seen a lot behind the scenes. There is a visible gap between authored content – the custom content that writers, quest designers, cinematic designers do with their own hands – and something that AI can provide,” Sasko said, claiming that there is a canyon of sorts that still needs to be bridged.

However, it is important to remember that the technology is still quite new and there is still a lot of potential for development over the next few years. Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, says that in ten years artificial intelligence will be able to create entire games. The question is whether they will dare to charge 70/80 euros for them.

Source: PCGamer, Aftermath