Ubisoft, the French publisher behind Far Cry, Prince of Persia, and Assassins Creed has created an AI tool that generates conversations for non-playable characters (NPC).
NPCs are characters the player does not control. Ubisoft claims that the AI tool will not replace writers, but instead help them produce “barks”, which are trigger interactions based on inputs from the player.
Ubisoft claims this will enable writers to clear out the main narrative and preserve unique dialogue for each NPC in a game world.
Ubisoft stated in a blog post that crowds chatter and barks are key features of player immersion in games. NPCs talking to one another, enemy dialogue during combat, or exchange that occurs when entering an area provide a more real-world experience, making it feel as if the world around them is not their actions.
These interactions can be generated by Ghostwriter as first drafts. You would select a character and a type of interaction to use as a writer. The AI will then give you two choices.
The AI then learns from the selection. It is hoped that the AI will improve as it learns from writers’ preferences about how to interact with them.
The rapid rise of AI
As creators struggle with the implications of ChatGPT, AI tools are gaining more attention. Ubisoft’s Ghostwriter Tool, one of many AI tools in the gaming industry, is designed to simplify the tedious work involved in writing basic dialogue and cleaning up environmental assets.
Ubisoft has several games currently in development, including multiple Assassin’s Creed releases. Ghostwriters will undoubtedly be used to speed up their development.