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Former BioWare producer Mark Darrah, who led both the Dragon Age series and Anthem, has argued that risk-averse big-budget games are potentially prepping some people for a generative AI future.
The BioWare veteran discussed the state of AAA gaming in a new YouTube video, explaining that companies have been putting out more by-the-numbers products as budgets have ballooned in recent years. Modern blockbuster games can now cost hundreds of millions of dollars to produce, and Darrah says the "effect of that is everything becomes more and more beige, more and more similar."
Those sometimes unsustainable budgets also mean publishers "take less and less risks" in an effort to create games that can appeal to, or at least not offend, the widest audience possible, Darrah says. But in reality, it leads to lots of products that are "too homogenous." Assassin's Creed, Horizon, and Hogwarts Legacy all largely follow the same formula, for example, despite being made by totally different companies.
"One of the reasons why some consumers may be willing to accept generative AI is… them feeling like, to some degree, a lot of media has become soulless already," he added, "that the process of squeezing art through a commercial lens has already sanded away all of the grit, all of the soul, all of the spirit of the media they consume. So, why not just have a robot create it?"
Darrah is quick to point out that he doesn't agree with the sentiment, "but maybe that's what's been happening."
Of course, a large portion of the public isn't as willing to accept generative AI 'art.' I mean, just look at the backlash Larian Studios received for exploring AI tech in Divinity earlier this month.
