Xbox to enhance game dialogues with generative AI through new partnership

Gaming console Xbox is tapping into artificial intelligence (AI) with a new partnership intending to boost game creators by integrating generative AI into its game creation toolkits. 

In a blog post, Xbox general manager of gaming AI Haiyan Zhang announced that the company is building AI game dialogue and narrative tools through a multiyear partnership with Inworld AI, a company focused on allowing the integration of AI into non-playable characters (NPCs) in-game. Zhang wrote: 

“We see a world of opportunities to accelerate game developer creativity, reduce complexity, and enhance player experiences.”

According to Zhang, the AI toolset will include an AI design copilot that will assist designers in exploring ideas. It will allow developers to turn prompts into scripts, dialogue trees and quests. Apart from this, they will also include an AI character runtime engine, which can be integrated into game clients. This will allow for the creation of new narratives and stories that enhance players’ experiences.

Today, we announced a partnership with @Xbox.

With the advent of generative AI, there’s an opportunity to leverage cutting-edge innovations to foster limitless creativity and unparalleled immersion.#AI #gamedev #indiedevhttps://t.co/fHp56zghEJ

— Inworld AI (@inworld_ai) November 6, 2023

With AI integrated into games, background characters interacting with users will have an unlimited number of responses to various options. This is made possible by connecting AI-generated dialogue lines instead of the more common fixed scripts commonly seen in traditional games. 

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Developers have already started experimenting with integrating AI into various games. On April 28, a video demonstrating AI-generated dialogue through a video game called The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was published. With the integration, the player could ask the NPCs any question they wanted, and the AI would generate responses that were delivered to the player.

On May 29, Nvidia also published a demonstration of AI dialogue integration into NPCs inside games. Within the demonstration, the player used his microphone to speak with the NPC naturally in a normal conversation. The player asked the AI how he was doing, and he answered like a human, speaking about his worries about crime and how his ramen shop got caught in the crossfire. 

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