While generative AI (gen AI) has become increasingly popular and used by developers in games, it frequently gets criticism – something that Nexon executive producer Yongha Kim shares with fans.
The Nexon and Blue Archive producer sat down for an interview during the New Year to discuss how Nexon uses AI in their workflow, as well as the use of gen AI in their game releases.
Though it was revealed Nexon “extensively” uses AI for their enterprise services, internal translations, meeting minutes, and other tertiary things, Kim expressed concerns over “AI slop”, which is the unfettered use and publishing of media produced solely by AI.
“There’s the issue of AI slop—where indiscriminate use of generative AI lowers the quality of the output,” Kim said in the interview. “To use snacks as an example: if the packaging looks impressive but the actual snack content shrinks and is replaced with air, consumers will naturally react negatively.”
Kim went on to describe another major concern fans have with gen AI – that it simply transforms or diffuses works by actual humans and lacks intent or personality.
“Second, consumers of subculture genres have high expectations for the authenticity of creativity,” Kim said. “Conversely, current transformer or diffusion-based models are merely simulators, not entities with intent or personality. If we rely entirely on them to churn out results with a mere ‘click,’ it raises the question: ‘Can such an approach truly embody the creator’s authenticity?'”
Kim was naturally asked if gen AI content would ever completely replace human-made work, in the near future.
“While the definition of “near future” may vary, the recent acceleration of AI development suggests that AI will eventually be able to do everything humans can,” Kim elaborated. “Many experts predict that this will happen within five to ten years. While AI may possess something akin to personality and authenticity, this discussion will likely lead to a more fundamental question: ‘What is the meaning of human existence?’ Therefore, it’s not a topic worthy of a deeper discussion here.
“Based on the present, we can only estimate the next year. Based on this standard, my opinion is no. The core issue is that AI is not yet able to fully produce the results required in development settings. I predict it won’t reach the expected performance even next year. However, it is undeniable that its use as a useful tool is expanding.”
Other game developers and creators look at gen AI as a way to expedite existing workflows or to experiment with new ideas, though use cases vary wildly from studio to studio.
Larian Studios said it would be “irresponsible” to not evaluate new technologies like gen AI, some companies even said to assume “all game companies” are using genAI, and a popular company like Cygames even launched an entire subsidiary focused entirely on gen AI.
The response to gen AI use in games has also varied wildly depending on the use case and the type of game, it seems.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 won numerous awards though it had some award wins stripped over the fact that it used gen AI, period, during its game development. Some companies have canceled games over genAI use, and others like Arc Raiders still became popular despite openly using gen AI.
Blue Archive is available now on mobile devices and Steam. Get our review here!
