Convai aims to put an end to basic 'one-line' NPCs with AI but says it 'needs more high quality writers and artists, not less' to get it done
Convai aims to put an end to basic 'one-line' NPCs with AI but says it 'needs more high quality writers and artists, not less' to get it done
I chat to the CEO of Convai, an AI platform that empowers videogame NPCs with personalities.
I'm looking forward to games that really do take advantage of AI effectively. Having almost infinite variations of characters and plots would make each play through a new experience. I reckon some interesting games will be coming out in the next few years.
The first thing that came to mind when AI language models first hit the scene is how it could be used to make NPCs so much better.
I'm picturing games where you talk to them through the mic and they actually respond with a relevant reply. You could still do prerecorded lines, but being able to respond to what they're saying with anything you want – even things the developers didn't intend – would go a long way towards feeling less like playing a game and more like being immersed in another world. Can't wait for someone to actually implement this in a game.
It would be nice to never be forced to choose between n options that I hate. Though it might open up possibilities to break plots. Like if an NPC is a secret spy, what happens if you tell everyone about it before the reveal is supposed to happen in the plot?
There are already a few games that do this. Though they have practically zero production value since they're more proof of concept type dealies. They are pretty cool regardless, but there are some flaws in the ones I've tried where it has to construct a logical mystery to solve. It doesn't always follow logic.
But a lot of NPCs one-lines, when done correctly, delivers valuable plot. I'm thinking classic RPGs.
A lot of open worlds made it shitty with garbage like, "Looks like rain today" or "I need a vacation", which honestly I could do without.
But isn't that what they're saying they're trying to address?
Imagine if the stray looks like rain today actually preceeded rain? Or you could ask them follow-up questions about how they know, which could lead to vital information about their family history of wizardry and a location of a lost item or something.
For me, I love immersive open world games and this is the most exciting potential ai use-case.
Or you could ask them follow-up questions about how they know, which could lead to vital information about their family history of wizardry and a location of a lost item or something.
Imagine AI suddenly giving backstory that was not at all related to the story the developers were trying to tell. The quest to defeat the Demon lord, and this AI creates unrelated lore?
Sounds like a major mistake.
I could see this. In order for an npc to have a specific personality, it needs to be trained on sets of text with that character personality, right?
Or at least instructions specific for that character.
Before: "greetings adventurer"
Now: "you are a guard in a small town, you started in this career from the age of 15, and are now 35, you have a wife and kid, and you a are not prone to taking risks..."
If you think about it, this makes perfect sense. You need these NPCs to fit the world, you don’t want a medieval world filled with talk of tech and cell phones. And similarly, you can’t have a married NPC talking about how they lament being single.
Meaning the NPCs will need backstory, and honestly likely a lot of it to make sure things roll properly. They will likely also need history with other NPCs, understanding of their past to an extent, and more. And that’s just for the background characters.
Even writers haven’t heard of the word ‘fewer’?
Less has been used this way for over a thousand years.
Incorrectly? Just google less vs fewer. Every single source cites their correct usage and some mention how they’re used incorrectly but aren’t interchangeable.
Internet connection required at all times? No thanks
tbf you would need a pretty beefy gpu to do both rendering and ai locally.
as much as i hate to say it (because this idea sounds awesome) the tech is not there yet, and depending on the cloud for this always goes wrong.
I limited LLM would run on a lot of newer gfx cards. It could also be done as a semi online thing. If you have the grunt, you can run it locally. Otherwise, you can farm it out to the online server.