Larian Studios CEO Doesn’t See GenAI Replacing Devs; Wants To Use It For NPC Dialogue

In an interview with Eurogamer, Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke shared his stance on GenAI and all the talk about the topic. He says the studio does not see it as a replacement for devs. Yet, Swen does not fail to acknowledge the potential that lies in it to handle tedious tasks. He argues that AI can take care of many smaller parts of game development—like the example of background NPCs to improve their dialogue and reactivity.

We certainly don’t see it as a replacement for developers. But we do see it as something that allows us to do more stuff. […] We had this thing for the one-liner NPCs. There’s not a lot of creative accomplishment to be had by putting the camera on a singular NPC that only has a couple of notes – I’m very happy for AI to handle that,” says the CEO.

Swen claims that Larian Studios will not use AI in complicated scenes because “there, the artistry is going to shine through.” AI may touch on scenes to augment some reactivity to them. Like, the NPCs could react to subtle gameplay changes without devs worrying about every possibility.

However, despite ongoing experiments, Swen says the tech is far from usable on a large scale in its current state.

In-Game NPCs Would Feel More Natural With GenAI

Giant conglomerates like Ubisoft are already working on AI tools to take some burden off the devs. AI could enhance NPCs’ awareness to make them more realistic. However, it is best used as a tool instead of replacing human developers. A study has suggested that human talent cannot be replaced even if 400 AI tools are used together.

Related Content:

• Larian Studios Is Moving On From The Baldur’s Gate IP.
• Larian Studios Is Planning A “Very Big RPG” That Will “Dwarf” Baldur’s Gate 3.
• Larian Isn’t Done With Baldur’s Gate 3 Yet; A Bunch Of Added Stuff Still Coming.

Overall, GenAI could help game devs a lot if it is used moderately without affecting their creativity.