It's creating this wild, wonderful world for you to be in." - Tom
Gareth Elis finds out how Thomas Mahoney, a games developer at 10six Games is using AI to enable everyone to become their own games designer.
GARETH ELIS: Tom wants to help you fight zombies.
He's a games designer and developer in Cardiff, and he's using generative AI to develop a game, putting you, the player, in the game.
So Tom, how has generative AI changed your role as a games designer?
TOM: Massively. Be it like the tools we use to actually make the game, but using generative AI, we're now able to create a really personal experience for the players as they play through our stories.
GARETH: Well, let's go see how it works.
TOM: Once a player gets into our game, the first thing they'll do is actually generate the character that they want to play as. So we'll just create one fresh.
Let's go with something like 'Fantastic Girl,' and we'll make a superhero character. You'll have to kind of describe what they look like. And we'll just go for, 'Lives in Cardiff.' One of the first thing you'll notice is it'll actually generate spells based on some of that information.
We'll get a backstory. It's all based on what information you give the game.
TOM: Now you're in the game, you're playing as Fantastic Girl, and the abilities are unique to this character now.
So this special ability, these are all pulled from that AI data. Not just the visual and the story are coming from the AI. The villains that you face at the end, that'll all come through the AI data as well. All from three very short, simple prompts as well.
SUSAN: It was really important to us to find new ways to use AI to make a game that simply weren't possible before. So, you could be literally anybody you want to be. We think representation is incredibly important, especially to kids. Being able to see yourself. There's simply no way that you can have a team big enough to create in seconds what a user has in mind.
It would just simply be impossible. All of the most successful popular games rely on the fact that people are creating, that they're empowered. And so, we felt that this was a way to bring the user onto our team.
GARETH: Do you think I can create my own character?
TOM: Yeah, sure. What we'll do is drop your name in and we'll give a rough description of you.
GARETH: So, that is me?
TOM: Yeah, that's you as a zombie.
GARETH: Me as a zombie. That is great.
TOM: A great part about developing it is you really want to try and push the boundaries. So like, seeing what the AI comes up with, because we're only giving it like a little bit of input, be it a name, a rough description, and it's creating this wild, wonderful world for you to be in. And it could change where it's taking place, who you're fighting…
You don't know where it's going to take you.
Tom's journey
The Bitesize Guide to AI team spoke to Tom to find out more about his journey to using AI tools in gaming.
How has AI impacted your job?
In general, I think AI has changed my work similar to most other jobs. It's like a smarter search engine that you can have a conversation with. Where I used to search for hours on end through countless forums for solutions to solve problems, AI is now one of the first places I look. I can explain my issues and brainstorm solutions, it's like another member of the team!
What have you always wanted to do in development that you couldn’t do before AI?
I think one of the big things AI offers us in terms of development capability is its ability to create unique stories and characters based on what a player wants to play, not what a developer thinks they want to play. Sure, AI is a great tool for helping develop projects and filling gaps in a team, but where it really excels beyond human capability is where it can deliver full stories and react on the fly to changing variables as the player is already engaging with the game. This is something that would be impossible to do without the AI as we know it right now, and it's only getting better and more powerful.
Where do you see the AI going in the future?
More and more companies are pushing the boundaries of what AI can do, so, honestly, I have no idea where it will go. In such a short time it's already become a huge part of development. I'd love to see it utilised more and more in real time applications, something to add a little depth to otherwise shallow elements, to enrich player experiences and entice curiosity.
What was your route into games design?
I'd always loved working with computers so originally I had started a college course to get into university with the intention of going into teaching once I'd gotten my degree. While on my course, one of my new friends said he was going to the University of South Wales to do the Games Development degree, to which I responded along the lines of "What? You can learn to make games?!"
Being a massive fan of video games, I was so excited at the concept, it was just something that had never been put in front of me before, so I never really considered it as a possibility.
Fast forward a little and by the time I'd unlocked my masters degree, I'd have already been working as a freelance developer for a couple of years. Mainly working on exhibitions and some small scale applications during my studies, and always grinding away on some personal projects in the background. A little while after that I got lucky and landed a job at one Cardiff's creative studios making some cutting edge AR apps, and the rest is history!
How the AI tool works
- 10six Games have developed a platform that allows players to input prompts to create user-generated characters, back stories and scenarios, and to customise the experience they have, including the villains they fight against!
- Generative AI has enabled games developers to create games that weren't possible before - they wouldn’t have teams big enough to deliver hundreds and thousands of characters and scenarios without it. AI has also given players the opportunity to see themselves in the game.
- The AI platforms also have secure databases and safeguarding in place to flag any inappropriate entries that users have made. They review prompts for anything deemed offensive or graphically violent. Thanks to the power of AI, you get to create your own zombie-slaying super-hero!
Did you know?
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