Category: Video Games

Fuck’s sake I’m talking about AI again.

Last night I’ve just finished a game that will feature very highly in my “Game of the Year” blog post – The Roottrees Are Dead. It’s a wonderfully charming romp to map a family tree to see who stands to gain a large inheritance. It’s a classic detective game in the style of The Return of the Obra Dinn (my game of the decade) and, whilst it doesn’t quite stick the landing – it suffers the same fate as most of these games do in that once you get close to the end it becomes guessable – it’s well worth your time.

As with all of these games, once completed (there’s a nice little twist towards the end), I dived into the read more about the game. Whilst The Roottrees are Dead was released earlier this year, it is a “remaster” of a game released a few years back, and the previous version did use generative AI. Only when the original game was released completed and got a bit of traction did the original developer switch to use proper assets – which saw the game become a success.

Good AI in Gaming? Maybe?

It gave me a bit of an uneasy feeling when I read that, and I think I wanted to try and justify it. The game right now that is on Steam is guilt free – beautifully drawn images, great soundtracks, voice acting, it’s a wonderful game. The AI version? Well, it’s still in essence the same game (deciphering photography is a key part of the game), but I doubt I would have played it.

I then thought about would the game have seen the light of day with the AI version? Sadly, doubtful. But once the proof of concept was there, the author did the right thing by seeing it’s potential and investing in artists to see their vision cross the line. So I think I’m happy about it.

Rubbish AI in Content Creation

I awoke this morning to find a video on my feed from YouTuber icklenellierose, that helped crystalise my thoughts on Generative AI and why it’s bad. You should watch it all below. Grab a brew, it’s good.

The basic gist of some of the elements was the fact she was tricked (from an “Inspiration” tab) to get a few video ideas. Generative AI – particularly for artists and creators – can be a touchy subject. Some folks really don’t want to use it for their well optimised creation process, and I must say I can’t blame them. I was a relative late comer to AI within my code, and even then I use it sparingly, and I curse Copilot for auto”correcting” code I write at times. Just stop it.

I’m reminded of a quote from Homer Simpson where he talks about the obnoxious character – Poochie – being added to the Itchy and Scratchy Show:-

One, Poochie needs to be louder, angrier, and have access to a time machine. Two, whenever Poochie’s not on screen, all the other characters should be asking “Where’s Poochie”?

Homer Simpson – “The Itchy & Scracthy & Poochie Show”

I feel AI is being Poochiefied. There are some genuinely cool things out there, I use it in my job at times (I used it yesterday to come up with a small idea to extend a blog post as I was under a word count and was struggling). In fields such as medicine it could be genuinely useful.

I don’t think it’s the be-all and end all mind. Keeping up with developments is both tiring and nothing makes me want to switch off a podcast than saying “We’re going to talk about AI”. Nobody as of yet has come up with a cool reason why I should use it, beyond asking it for sorting arrays, working out where I’ve gone wrong with my code or finding a hook I can use within a plugin with code everywhere. As such, I’m not convinced yet it is the deserving of the amount of column inches it serves.

I especially don’t like it when AI is either front and centre (I had an “AI Summary” present itself in Slack yesterday without asking) or when people are tricked into using it with dark UX. I imagine situations like Ellen describes and experienced by us all during our days is used in board room presentations on how the adoption of AI has been a complete success and it’s what customers want. Using words like “uptake has been stellar”.

That then leads to situations like what was on before Google did put up their prices of business accounts that’s sold on “greater AI integration”.

Cheers for asking, dicks.

I think that’s the point I’m trying to make. I don’t necessarily mind AI if it is presented in such a way that it is an option to use, and there has been education on it and also it doesn’t lurch to “Yay Nazi’s are great!”.

However, I don’t want to work where my processes are having to change due to having AI forced on me.

That should be my decision.

In which I wax lyrical on the opening scene.

I picked up Life is Strange earlier on this year to play it on streaming in conjunction with The Playthrough Podcast with the full intention to play it on stream. Alas, I never got around to playing it on stream, but opened it offline for a new game to play in the evening.

The problem with narrative games is me getting invested into the story. I try to set up my system to minimise distractions as I play, to stop my mind wandering when playing. I did the same with Life is Strange.

The game begins with a tutorial teach you basic controls of movement, framed as walking to a lighthouse in a thunderstorm to find shelter. After lightning destroys the tower causing it to collapse on you, the scene changes to a classroom: the protagonist – Max – wakes up. It was all a dream.

Another brief tutorial introduces you to Max’s camera and journal, and you’re thrusted into a chaotic sequence where you have to answer questions and you weren’t paying attention. Discussions and arguments take place, and then – the school bell rings. Max is free for a break, and walks out of the classroom, into an equally chaotic corridor where you’re asked to complete the first mission: go to the bathroom and freshen up.

At this point, the game really hit me, as the sound design is excellent.

As Max puts on her headphones, the outside world dies out, and Max – takes a deep breath – and walks to the bathroom. You can interact with everybody outside, or you can go straight to the bathroom. At this point the game hooked me. Here’s the scene in full.

I don’t know why. It’s something about the music that plays, to go from the chaotic school hall, to a calming introspective. It feels a bit Dawson’s Creek or The OC. I think the tune that plays – “To All of You (American Girls)” by Syd Matters – is from one of them. It just made me sit up and take notice, and had me hooked. Also the framing on the title screen and introducing the title and the development house is done in a non obtrusive way. It was wonderful, and – now on episode 2 at the time of writing – it made me want to see this game through to the end. (UPDATE: I’m now on episode three and I love it). Although the voice acting can be a bit janky at times and the way in which people speak can seem a bit disjointed, the ambient sound effects/music and the way it interacts with the dialogue is perfect.

I often think about the openings of games that stuck with me. I have the nostalgia of watching Super Mario World, Sonic the Hedgehog and Street Fighter 2 on demo mode in Tandy. The first notes of “Baba Yetu” (Civilization 4) and “Vigil” (Mass Effect) make my heart skips a beat. But I struggle to think of a better opening segment of a game. Batman: Arkham Ayslum is decent (but only becomes important later in the game). The best I can think is Final Fantasy 7. The close up shot of Aeris’ face, zooming out to Midgar, only to zoom back into AVALANCHE’s exploits as they smash into the reactor is the only thing that comes close.

Although that came out 18 years prior, it shares the same publisher: Square Enix. I wonder if somewhere in Dotnod they were aware of Final Fantasy 7 and wanted to create a similar opening. If so, they nailed it.

What is your favourite opening to a video game ever?