Game news “It’s scary” We can now chat in person with people in our video games…
If the use of AI in the video game industry is not a surprise to anyone, certain advances continue to amaze and intend to truly transform the way we play. Focus on a new use of AI that is as impressive as it is terrifying.
Do you remember this viral video of an NBA 2K14 player who, after uttering profanities in front of his Kinect, had seen his avatar being sanctioned in the middle of a match ? If the Player of the Attic had amused himself by imagining that our mood swings could soon make the characters in our favorite games cryit is clear that, thanks to Ubisoft, this could soon be a reality.
An announcement full of promise
It was at the Game Developers Conference that the French publisher presented its new advancement. This aims to transform player interactions thanks to NEO NPCs, non-player characters who can be spoken to via a microphone and whose response adapts automatically, thanks to AI. The studio aims toraise the creative level necessary for narrative design well beyond what is usually required for scripted NPCs, in collaboration with Inworld.ai and Nvidia”’.
Every detail – personalities, stories, opinions and emotions – must be carefully thought out and programmed into the model of each NEO NPC. Each conversation with an NPC then becomes unique and reacts to players and their actions, resulting in fully personalized and immersive experiences. – Virginie Mosser, Narrative Director at Ubisoft (GDC 2024)
Ubisoft also tells us that these NEO NPCs are equally able to perceive their environmentallowing them to dynamically react to various points of interest, share information in real time, ask questions about current events or plan actions. Players can also influence their decisions, but also question those of their interlocutor.
Promises almost kept
Journalist Sean Hollister (The Verge) was able to try out the experience of NEO NPCs. Despite some delays in responses and occasional voice stutters, the experience still turns out to be astonishing. The AI manages to hold a conversation relating to the situation present before its eyes, advising the player and even sometimes questioning them about their motivations.
In this segment, Bloom (NPC name) and I watch as a drone infiltrates a facility. This demonstration aims to show that Ubisoft’s NEO NPCs can react to what they see. I have to admit that I had fun, even though I used to make fun of AIs pretending to be real people. – Sean Hollister (The Verge)
Some responses, however, remain clearly produced by AI, betraying a need for additional work. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, however, indicated that this demonstration was quite close to what the future of video games could hold.