Microsoft's newly unearthed patent frames genAI as a 'co-pilot' to game designers to help them (and players) 'aid in the creation of the game's narrative.'
Windows Central uncovered a 2024 patent from Microsoft on using generative AI (genAI) to "aid in the creation of the game narrative."
The patent, which was filed last June, abstractly describes using generative AI models to "create new game content responsive to player input, measure player engagement metrics during gameplay, and/or modify the game based on the generated new content and/or player engagement."
A detailed explainer claims those models could be positioned as co-pilots that help designers "orchestrate" various aspects of production–such as character design, narrative design, and world creation–using natural-language descriptions.
"The high-level descriptions serve as prompts from which a generative Al model (hereinafter also 'generative machine-learning model' or simply 'generative model') can then automatically create concrete implementations, potentially providing many creative variations to choose among," it reads.
"The game designer may augment or refine the prompt based on the model output, e.g., by directly modifying a visual representation of the model output. In this manner, game designers can use generative Al to iteratively design the game (or an initial version of the game)."
The patent also suggests generative AI models could allow players to become a game's "co-creators [...] as a result of their exploration of and interaction with the game." It posits that genAI could track player behaviour and use that "implicit feedback" to create the next iteration of a game, letting players diverge from the curated game experience and "explore new possibilities."
"Such newly created content and/or newly explored paths through the game can then be folded into the game experience in its next iteration, e.g., manually by the designer or by generative Al participating in game creation," continues the patent.
"In this manner, game designers and players can jointly create games, leveraging generative models in game design (prior to or in between deployments of successive game versions), for content generation during game deployment, as well as optionally for measuring player engagement."
Similar language about genAI's impact on games, and players in particular, has been used by executives at Netflix Games and EA. Major publishers have embraced the technology for various purposes, such as in-game moderation, AI companions, and creating models of real-world people.
Meanwhile, a survey from last August shows developers still have reservations about the nascent tech. Of those asked, 30 percent believe genAI will help reduce costs, and 35 percent think it'll similarly lead to reduced quality in games. Separately, a January 2024 survey revealed 31 percent of developers have taken to using genAI outside of work.
As with the recent deluge of patents from Sony, Microsoft's patent offers a view into how the company feels generative AI could be perhaps be utilized by both developers and players.
Microsoft has previous where genAI is concerned. In 2023, the Xbox maker struck a deal with AI developer Inworld to create a multi-platform AI toolset and character runtime engine. As it pertains to its various first-party teams, the latter was pitched with the possibility of generating stories, quests, and dialogue, which are key features to narrative-focused studios and their projects.
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