If you made a list of some of the most controversial things in the games industry, especially this year, AI would be at least in the top five. Embark Studios, which used AI voices in THE FINALS, came under fire once more for implementing them in a similar fashion with ARC Raiders. Horizon Steel Frontiers emerged as an intriguing MMO spin-off to Sony’s long-running open world series…until NCSoft revealed that the development team was “most eager to utilize AI,” including for coding and art.
Beyond its lawsuit with the former Subnautica leads, Krafton announced an “AI-first company” endeavor with $88 million in investment starting next year. This was followed by a voluntary resignation program for its employees, which surely has nothing to do with this new endeavor and isn’t a reduction in workforce. No, I don’t know how that works either. Or why Krafton’s CEO allegedly used ChatGPT to “help him brainstorm ways to avoid paying the earnout” to Unknown Worlds.
With major companies like Microsoft investing in some form of AI to significant backlash (don’t even get me started on Activision and Black Ops 7), it’s interesting to see how a game like Where Winds Meet uses it.
You might be confused on hearing that. After all, the Steam page doesn’t indicate the use of procedural or AI-based tools, or really any AI-generated content. So what gives? The answer is AI Chatbots for some non-playable characters. Essentially, you type out responses, and they’ll respond accordingly. It may seem simple, but as players have quickly discovered, it allows for various kinds of shenanigans.
For example, there’s a guard named Zhao Dali in General’s Shrine, who trains hard but isn’t the most positive guy, going so far as to lament the point of training at all. You can type out certain responses to slowly raise his self-esteem, and if things go well, it contributes to the Affection system. Now, you could just leave things there and go about your merry way.
However, players are discovering hilarious and disturbing ways to mess with Zhao. One convinced him that they were the father of their child and demanded that he take responsibility. As you might imagine, this plunges him into despair, so naturally, the next response was to tell him that the child, now magically 25, has died. I don’t know who he crossed to discover such fresh pits of despair, but Zhao falls for it, even falling to the ground and crying (at least, per the chat).
Another has asked if he knows how to make “BIG” fireworks, and while he reacts in wistful fashion, that quickly turns to horror when they posit the possibility that it would be for an assassination. You could go beyond simply traumatizing NPCs – or forcing them to acknowledge memes like “And my axe – and provoke them to act. During an encounter with Fu Lubao to find some treasure, he’ll threaten you with violence if you don’t hand it over. Call him a “little guy” and say you won’t hand over anything, and he’ll attack. It’s even possible to convince some of the NPCs to complete quests for you (with the right phrases, of course).
Presently, these NPCs don’t supplant the actual narrative or replace the major characters, nor do they affect the game’s lore. And, let’s be honest, many players are simply using them for fun, even if there are some serious and meaningful interactions to be had. It’s not all that different from generative chatbot services except, of course, that the potential for affecting the world at large or your own personal journey is limited.
Granted, as with other such services, it’s far from perfect. Look no further than Zhao, going from believing that your character is with child to then believing they died at the age of 25. Others have noted responses where NPCs will tell you to use ketchup with your meals. You know, despite the fact that the first recipe for tomato ketchup was published in 1812. Where Winds Meet takes place in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period of China. Forget ketchup – even tomatoes apparently weren’t introduced to the country until the 16th century.
Nevertheless, there are other conversations to be had about the technology’s usage here. One could argue that even if it isn’t used for all NPCs, actual crafted dialogue would have made for better encounters. On the other hand, there are thousands of NPCs and crafted quests throughout Where Winds Meet, so what’s a few hundred AI chatbots for players to have fun with?
Of course, that’s a slippery slope, and the concern is that as AI gains more acceptance, it will be employed more invasively. However, that invasiveness is more or less already here, to the extent that even a US congressman is calling for regulations. We’re a long way away from AI-generated triple-A video games, much less their mass acceptance, but according to the likes of Genvid CEO Jacob Novak, “For all the anti-AI sentiment we’re seeing in various articles, it appears consumers generally do not care.” He pointed to a game called Steal a Brainrot and how it’s player count is several times higher than something like ARC Raiders.
“The upcoming generation of gamers are Bane in Dark Knight Rises, saying ‘You merely adopted the slop, I was born in it.’” Then again, considering that Genvid created the much-maligned Silent Hill: Ascension, it may be worth taking his statement on the state of Gen Z with a grain of salt.
All in all, as with most technologies, it comes down to the nature of its usage, the checks and balances are in place, and fair use. Would I be as interested in the various NPC chatbots in Where Winds Meet if they were more prominent, took over the narrative, resulted in actual writers denied work or infringed upon others’ creative works? No. But much like with character.ai, it’s a nifty little side attraction for generating interesting reactions and perhaps crafting little side-stories that don’t intertwine with the plot or replace the actually interesting stories.
Of course, that’s one of the biggest issues at present – that AI is being forcefully employed, against some developers’ wishes, and either resulting in layoffs or causing significant issues in development. And as for replacing voice actors in video games? As Dispatch creative director told Eurogamer, “Honestly, AI feels like a production solution, not a creative one. Maybe it’s a creative one if you aren’t creative.” And considering the game’s incredible performances, it’s hard to deny that no AI could replicate what the actual cast delivered.
However, maybe there’s a middle ground for the entire debate, as noted by Arrowhead CEO Shams Jorjani when speaking to The Game Business. “I find that anything that is [an] AI-related debate in the games industry ends up being on both ends of the spectrum. Maybe it could be that reality is somewhere in the middle? Could it be?” Besides, as he notes, “Almost every single game today – a big game – is [made using] middleware that automates loading and other assets that were used to be made by hand,” and there wasn’t a huge outcry over the loss of jobs.
Regardless, your mileage will vary. What are your thoughts on Where Winds Meet’s chatbot NPCs? Let us know in the comments below.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
