Whether you’re an avid gamer or you spend most of your limited gaming time on your phone, you’ve probably experienced firsthand the sometimes slow progression of gaming technology. When used properly, AI can help speed up video game advancements that offer more streamlined creation processes, enhanced player experiences, and more seamless voice acting. In this article, we’ll explore some of the main areas of gaming where you can expect to use AI.
Development
First and foremost, let’s discuss game development and AI. Today’s games are expected to be ‘immersive’ and cohesive. From iGaming titles such as Gates of Olympus to AAA games such as Skyrim, AI can create better games when used in conjunction with experienced human developers than games with the latter alone. AI can improve storytelling and plot exposition, for example, while also improving things such as animation and dynamic weather/lighting. It also allows developers to create games faster without sacrificing on quality, enabling them to continue sharing their stories at a rapid clip and optimising player engagement.
Player Experiences
AI in game development is used in a few different ways. First and foremost, it can help developers give life to NPCs. In the past, non-player characters (NPCs) haven’t always been the most logical. They were programmed to say specific words to the players regardless of their reputation or their present circumstances.
Consider a game where the player has been arrested and is wasting away in jail, for example, and guards come over to make some small talk. Instead of talking about the current events, however, they praise the player for the heroic deeds they’ve completed in other cities, thanking them for their efforts to keep the world safer. The NPCs in this particular game were clearly programmed to provide random encouragement for the player’s efforts, but they don’t make much sense given the player’s current predicament.
AI makes it easier to create more logical NPCs with greater emotional intelligence and event-specific dialogue. Instead of pulling players out of the zone with nonsensical actions, developers are using AI to enhance player gameplay via better NPC interaction.
In addition to NPCs, AI in gaming also offers personalised player experiences by analysing player behaviour and tailoring the game as a result. 
Players who engage with every NPC in sight and run through every dialogue choice, for example, might find more AI-voiced NPCs with randomly generated quests to offer more lore than what other players experience. Players who skip the majority of this content and instead focus on fighting and looting, on the other hand, will likely encounter more random encounters.
Voice Acting
Another area where the emergence of AI has impacted gaming is voice acting. Voices are a crucial element in any successful game. With the right accent and tone, you can bring even historical games to life. You can also absolutely destroy them with the wrong pick, sending them down the drain regardless of how fun the title’s gameplay is. The secret to success here lies mainly in investing in vocal talents where it counts, and potentially saving money where it doesn’t to fund experienced voice actors.
There are two main categories of voice acting in question here: plot-adjacent and background. As you might expect, plot-adjacent voice acting refers to voices heard one-on-one while playing the game. The player’s voice, for example, as well as the voices of characters they interact with directly by sheer virtue of completing in-game objectives, are all typically voiced by real actors. Background vocals, on the other hand, increasingly are not. But what exactly does the term ‘background’ mean in terms of voice acting in video games?
Background vocals include nameless voices heard in busy pub or club scenes, as well as generic comments made by NPCs the player does not interact with directly for any length of time. A player’s wife will likely be acted by human professionals, for example, while their bartender probably won’t. Instead of investing in voice actors for background voices, developers are increasingly turning to AI to fill out the game. This allows them to create a vibrant, living experience for players without going over budget with voice acting for characters that don’t really justify the expenditure.
From streamlining the development process to tailoring games to suit specific player needs and wants, AI in gaming has a huge impact on both mainstream and indie video games. Are you interested in learning more? Keep the information above in mind and do a bit of independent research! There is a lot to discover in the world of AI and game creation.
