The director of #BaldursGate 3, GOTY 2023 strongly criticized #ElonMusk for creating a game with AI, as he believes technology should not be above human talent.
“AI has its place as a tool, but we already have all the tools in the world and they’re not making up for the incredible lack of coherent direction. AI is not going to solve the industry’s big problem, which is leadership and vision,” Douse wrote.

The industry doesn’t need “more mathematically produced, psychologically trained gameplay loops”

(Image credit: Larian Studios)

Amid the rise of AI-generated actors, materials, movies, and now games, one Baldur’s Gate 3 developer has shared his thoughts on the use of artificial intelligence within the gaming industry – and it’s safe to say he doesn’t exactly see it as a positive thing.

We’ve done it, folks – we’ve reached that unfortunate point in humanity’s timeline in which AI is apparently capable of generating full-blown games, as Elon Musk is setting out to prove with his xAI studio and its first release in 2026. Unsurprisingly, many folks don’t feel great about any of this, developers like Larian Studios’ publishing director Michael “Cromwelp” Douse included. A recent thread in response to Musk’s new “game” proves as much.

“Genuinely, what this industry needs is not more mathematically produced, psychologically trained gameplay loops, [but] rather more expressions of worlds that folks are engaged with, or want to engage with,” writes Douse. “AI has its place as a tool, but we have all the tools in the world, and they aren’t compensating for the incredible lack of cogent direction. AI isn’t going to solve the big problem of the industry, which is leadership and vision.”

He continues: “Idk why nobody ever talks about this, but before the collapse of retail, it was retail itself that set the rules: quality (lest buyback), price, availability, etc. When it crashed, the sensible default would be to enjoy cutting out the middleman and connecting directly with audiences in a sort of 1:1 relationship. That did not happen. It became a game of headless chickens racing to the P&L sheet. AI isn’t going to solve that.”

Douse then states, “Those who will succeed are those who are people building something for people.” As he explains, though, none of this is exclusive to just gaming. “Like all growing markets, cloud, sub, etc, it will be a matter of time before there are roots. There will be roots. But not necessarily in the direction the industry as it currently stands needs to heal from the rug of retail being pulled beneath its feet.”

He goes on, saying something I think all of us can agree with: “We need more human-human expression, not less. So much of tech (VR, cloud, etc) has been a VC cash grab. We don’t need another cash grab; we need sustainability. That’s what the tools could be good for. Definitely not replacing people. There simply is no resonance without mutual respect. There is no mutual respect without respect for craft.”

As the publishing lead concludes, “There is no craft without the human touch; the relative skill issue, or ‘the exhibition of otherness.’ To turn games into digital, emotionless content is to abandon all resonance… which is why people play!”

He isn’t wrong – although I’m on the “gamer” or “consumer” side of things rather than being a developer myself, I’m frustrated with the rise of AI-generated content and agree with Douse’s thoughts.

This isn’t the first time Douse has shared his thoughts on the industry, either, and he’s not the only Baldur’s Gate 3 dev to have done so, either. Larian Studios lead and director behind the Dungeons & Dragons RPG Swen Vincke recently spoke out amid EA’s $55 billion buyout “to remind people that making games faster and cheaper while charging more has never worked before” – wise words with plenty of experience and knowledge backing them.