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by earth_walker 1453 days ago
I don't have much time for gaming these days, and so when I do I want it to be good. So I browse the local buy-and-sell and pick up the classics every now and then.

This winter I picked up all three Mass Effects and played the first two through for the first time. Loved them, and will definitely get to the third when the snows come around again.

I think Deus Ex is one of those games every gamer should play through - it's like reading a classic - so what if the graphics and gameplay are a bit outdated, the philosophical debates with psychotic AI alone are worth it!
1 comments
kromem 1452 days ago
Just wait until the philosophical debates in games are with real AI.

The next 20 years are going to be quite the wild ride, even in contrast to the past 20.

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earth_walker 1451 days ago
I think that really depends on who has access to the AI, and what it will be used for. I've been playing computer games for 40 years, and have seen some highs and lows. But with all the technical advances over those years, the storytelling / character interactivity has generally stagnated or gotten worse.

Sure we've had a few gems here and there, but in general it's much more profitable for a company to cap any novel, exploratory gameplay or story at 10 hours, so that after a day of play it just becomes another online interactive generating subscription and DLC purchases.

Will AI be significant in improving game story quality and play-ability? Provide us with worlds we cannot even imagine, infinite explorations?

Or will AI be used as an excuse to avoid employing expensive and risky human imagination? Instead push everything to a bland middle-ground, lowest common denominator based on the safest and most profitable options determined from the training set...

We're already there, considering most games people play are some kind of optimized hyper-addictive candy crush with guns.

Sure, I can imagine a new Elder Scrolls installment where each npc was actually unique, with meaningful interactivity possible with every contact. Where every side quest is challenging, interesting, and fills out the story universe with depth.

But will we actually get that? Technology tends to be used to increase breadth rather than depth. Quantity, rather than quality. What we'll get is more of the same, Skyrims with ever bigger and more realistic (but not deeper) worlds, optimized to find the cheapest and easiest way to keep you subscribing.

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