Nvidia’s talking NPCs are coming to speedrun menus for you
Nvidia has gotten ahead of Gamecom’s opening show with a new demo of its ACE technology. The tech allows players to interact with games through AI.
Originally debuting last year at Computex, it has since evolved from a vertical slice example. Now, Nvidia and developers Amazing Seasun Games have integrated artificial intelligence tech into the upcoming game, Mecha Break.
The aim behind ACE is to add a “more dynamic and immersive gameplay experience”. This involves talking with the game to navigate menus or get advice on an upcoming match.
The Mecha Break demo showed how quickly you could navigate through its menus. While the robotic voice is a little eerie, seeing it fly through the menus was fascinating.
In the video, the user asks if the mech can be repainted white and gold. Mecha Break follows in the grand tradition of mech games, in that the customization options are deep. Colors, style, and parts, from the menus we saw an intense amount of choice.
The AI speed runs through choosing various options to meet what you said. All the while, it’s responding and answering your questions.
Welcome back, Xbox Kinect’s Milo
Another demo felt like being slung back fifteen years into the past. Perfect World, developers of various online games, also demonstrated their implementation of ACE.
Similar to Microsoft’s infamous Milo demo when it debuted the Kinect (then Natal), the demo interacts with the audience via cameras. It’ll supposedly recognize objects and people but has an additional layer.
The camera is powered by ChatGPT-4o, the latest and greatest model from OpenAI. Nvidia states that this adds depth to the immersion, with an “augmented reality layer”.
There’s no real discussion about how this would become a full game.
Generative AI game demos build on the new normal
Of course, ACE wouldn’t be the first time AI has been used in video games. While not at this level, generative AI has been found in multiple games.
Last year, NetEase said it would begin generating dialogue with AI for its MMO, Justice Online. Earlier this year, it was revealed that Call of Duty had sold items in its cash shop that had AI-generated images on.
Blizzard has also patented tools incorporating generative AI. Microsoft also enraged its Xbox users when it announced it’d be using generative AI in its development. Ubisoft’s NEO demo was “roasted” online.
NvidiaNvidia’s AI boom has seen it become one of the most valuable companies in the world. However, not all game developers are on board with Nvidia’s vision of the future.
Earlier this year, we spoke to Paradise Killer’s developer, Oliver Clarke-Smith. The developer was unimpressed with an earlier ACE demo:
“I think the technology solves a content production problem but doesn’t fulfill the need to have quality content.”
Outside the gaming space, the art app Procreate recently took a hard stance against implementing generative AI.