Ubisoft today announced a new project at GDC called Neo NPCs, "the first player-oriented generative AI (GenAI) prototype that could change the way players interact with non-playable characters (NPCs) in video games." The company was the first to unveil it.

To be clear, this Neo NPC is not yet ready for the spotlight; the GDC showcase was merely a way to showcase its "potential to create a deeper connection with players and provide new gameplay strategies and emergent storytelling opportunities.

This is only the beginning.

Even at this very early stage, the whole thing sounds to me like an overexcited sales pitch, if not incomprehensible:

Consider this passage from the announcement about the AI-powered NPCs in the GDC showcase:

"These NPCs For the team in charge at Ubisoft of bringing them to life, the use of GenAI tools can help raise and expand the level of creative work required for the demo's story design far beyond that normally required for traditional scripted NPC interactions. Every detail of personality, backstory, intent, and emotion must be thoroughly crafted and programmed into the NEO NPC model. In doing so, each conversation between the player and the NPC will be unique and responsive to the player and his or her actions.

My immediate question was, "Did the AI write this?" While the ultimate point that a great deal of effort was put into this project can be drawn from the effort, I can't help but feel that Ubisoft is overselling an experimental technology before it has proven anything.

Back to the press release: according to Ubisoft, these AI-powered NPCs have the ability to do everything that traditional NPCs do, such as giving quests, offering training, and accompanying you as a companion, but they can do so dynamically, with a "comprehensive understanding of the environment" that they are able to do.

"The game world actually listens to the player and reacts dynamically," says Xavier Manzanares, project director and producer. 'Social interactions and skills become part of the gameplay. Smart NPCs like our Neo NPCs have the potential to be a breakthrough addition to the traditional NPCs found in today's games. They can create more immersive worlds and emergent storylines.

Well, okay. I certainly don't mind technological advances, but I can't stop thinking about Baldur's Gate 3, a game that offers a full cast of rich and memorable NPC companions without pursuing these over-the-top technological trends. After all, these are all about the story and the player, and if any game can accomplish that the old-fashioned way (great script, clever design, immersive presentation), one has to wonder what the dive into AI is really going to give us. Will machines really create the next Carrack? [Enhanced with new neural capabilities such as unscripted dialogue, real-time emotion and animation, memory, contextual awareness, and collaborative decision-making, the NEO NPC will exhibit unprecedented cognitive and interactive abilities. While it is understandable that this is prototype technology, this is especially daunting coming from a publisher that launched "Skull & Bones" as its latest big idea for $70 and seemed genuinely surprised that VR games were not a big hit.

In a separate blog post, Ubisoft emphasized that the "personality" of Neo NPCs is created by writers, not machines. Narrative Director Virginie Mosser said that when writing dialogue, she is "accustomed to building a character's backstory, hopes and dreams, and experiences that have shaped their personality."

"It's very different," Mosser said. 'But for the first time in my life, I get to talk to a character I created. It's something I've dreamed about since I was a kid. 0]

Ubisoft also states in its post that it has "filters to catch toxic or inappropriate input on the part of the player" (basically, if you're a jerk, the NPC will stop interacting with you) and also has "a keen sensitivity to prejudice and stereotypes" It also states: "I created a physically attractive female character, but had to reprogram her because her responses leaned toward flirtatious and seductive."

Frankly, this story reminds me of Ubisoft's back-and-forth relationship with NFT. Maybe this really is the first step toward next-generation video game AI, but maybe a similar approach is needed here: make big claims only after proving that they actually work.

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