The popular indie developer wants to prevent the technology from stealing his work, so to speak.

Return of the Obra Dinn and Papers, Please are two iconic, critically acclaimed indie games created by Lucas Pope. Since then, Pope has contributed to numerous other games, whether in a minor role, he received a “Special Thanks” mention in Twelve Minutes, or as the designer of Mars After Midnight, which was developed for Playdate. He is currently working on a project, but it’s unlikely he’ll reveal details before its release due to his concern that generative AI could steal his ideas. This information came to light during Pope’s latest appearance on a podcast hosted by his fellow indie developers Mike Rose and Rami Ismail. During the podcast, the three discussed Pope’s games, his work methods, and the current state of the gaming industry. Regarding AI and generative AI, Pope explained why these tools aren’t for him, offering a response typical of anyone who makes a living creating things.

“People talk about using AI for programming, art, or something similar. That’s the kind of thing where it would probably make things faster for me, but that’s not what I’m interested in. I’m not just interested in the end product. I want to enjoy working on it. Often, I don’t even know what I would tell someone else to do. AI is kind of like having a bunch of people working for you. I work alone, so I’m not set up to tell other people what to do. A lot of times, I don’t even know what I’m doing. It takes programming, design, art, and all that stuff mixed together to get me where I need to be. If someone else is doing it, I lose all that context and the various ingredients that go into creating something.

I have this curse where I really want to finish things. I’m production-focused, meaning I want the production to work. I want it to be efficient and finished. I want to produce something in the end. However, I also enjoy discussing the projects I’m working on. I feel that the current situation is different because people don’t usually talk about their work in progress. I’m concerned that it might be copied or used by AI. It’s not a hard rule; it’s just the general feeling, and I don’t feel as comfortable talking about the projects I’m working on,” Pope said.

It’s not surprising, and quite typical, that someone who loves to create isn’t a fan of the “make something for me” button offered by generative AI. Pope also revealed that part of his reluctance to release new games stems from his fear that he won’t surpass what he’s already achieved with Return of the Obra Dinn and Papers, Please. He explained that the success of these games has allowed him to live and work independently in Japan, creating only the things he wants, as he is still 100% focused on making games. It is unfortunate that Pope is reluctant to share his work, but his fears are not unfounded.

It’s well-documented that popular generative AI tools and LLMs were trained using data essentially copied from other people’s online work.

Source: WCCFTech