'Everything Will Be Made by Humans': Expedition 33 Dev Says No More AI After Post-Awards Heat

It sounds like the team at Sandfall are genuine about the matter. AI was all the craze at the beginning, until we learned more about it, and most people started realizing that it is soulless trash.

I feel he shouldn't have to say this, just keep on making master pieces, for the things I loved about the game (voice acting, music, writing) were not affected by AI.

Only small teams are able to be hurt by this kind of allegation. Giants like EA flaunt it as part of the "new normal" but cant be touched. A company like Sandfall that is so inventive and brings us this great masterpiece gets tarnished. Sad.

I disagree with both extreme sides on this. We can't act like it won't be more prevalent in every area of life. What we need to do is how to regulate it, being transparent, to what extent it's acceptable etc.

For example the things in CoD especially are vomit inducing but using it while in production to fasten some processes feels like a no-brainer. Like I said, there is a nuance there and it will be found in a few years hopefully.

As a final note: I can't see myself playing something completely made by AI even though I don't like to talk big.

Dont worry - by the time they release their next game we'll have some other asinine thing to complain about.

Generative AI is what AI should be used for. The outcry over this is so dumb and will just lead to increased costs for no reason. It’s like people who hate Speedtree because it’s AI. Yes, because having AI generate tress in games is the end of all gaming. 🙄

The right thing to do. As ever, there will be people watching their releases under a microscope to verify their claim. All the AI friends on the web should remember that not a single company in existence is your "friend". Whether they produced your favourite consumer good or not.
I will not ever play Clair Obscur because of this. Maybe their next title, but definitely not on day one. Obviously.

I'm playing through the game and you can tell everything was crafted by artists, it's apparent by their style.

What?? They used an AI picture??
Burn the infidals at the stake!!

What a mad overreaction this whole thing has been.

Here I was thinking, "what a great use of AI, as a disstilled mood board for whatever little detail." Wait until people hear about literally every movie being made of this vibe from this movie, this action from this movie, and scene from this movie. Didn't a PNG of Assassin's Creed 4 make it's way in Uncharted 4 at release? Where's the hysteria around that? Plagiarism is sort of worse than lazy creation(or maybe not), that is if you wanna call it that. Sounds like this Expedition stuff didn't even make it in the final game. How are people not talking at the same level about this game not being an indie game more importantly. It wasn't published by Sandfall and no way has the spirit of an indie game. When the time comes, I fully expect CDPR's next game to get the same indie praise.

They shouldn't need to feel apologetic for this matter.

Instead of fighting the tech oligarchs who are peddling this for more power, people are fighting and accusing eachother for the use of this. In the meantime we are feeding ai with all the crap we put on social media.

@AhmadSumadi Exactly why I've been asking where the line would be drawn. Because when you start most games there are tools shown used like Speedtree and others so should the fight have started from there...

I couldn't believe the vitriol around the previous story and the amount of support the people were getting who were calling this incredible game "garbage". People are so radical about this kind of thing it really makes them look foolish to anyone with their wits about them

@PerpetualBoredom what does a company being "your friend" have to do with this and why would anyone ever think that?

Nothing will satisfy the tiny group for whom this is the latest issue to exercise performative outrage on. And it IS a tiny group, it certainly isn't 'most people'.

When you're in a little bubble, it's impossible to see that the real world is outside and couldn't care less.

The damage is done at this point. Their games will be viewed under a microscope from this point forward, and for good reason.

Still don't know why so many people think a placeholder texture was a fantastic, irreplaceable, effective use of AI that justified its holistic environmental impact and enabling of the encroaching shrinking worker bases.

The shocking thing about all this wasn't people jumping on beloved developers. It was the sheer amount of "moderates" that not only don't see any problems with AI, but ostensibly encourage it. At least when a company they like uses it.

This whole debacle was such a nothing burger.

i'm sure in 5 years when their next game comes out everyone will forget about ai..

I believe that they probably realised, like most people do, that "AI" as it's presently employed is just a lifeless waste. I also thoroughly believe that the game exists and is celebrated in spite of "AI" rather than because of it.

I don't know what's more annoying:

A. Big companies overhyping AI and laying off 99% of their staff for some LLM that is about as intelligent as a toaster.
B. People getting mad at even the slightest use of AI in an otherwise fully human-made masterpiece of art.

Stop getting mad at smaller companies for using AI for placeholders. There are a hell of a lot of better reasons to critique AI.

@8bit4Life yeah except it helped make the game you loved? Such a ridiculous temper tantrum over this

@HotGoomba The only thing people love to do more than building up a scrappy, surprise-hit underdog is tearing them down once they've become successful

I don't think people will believe his statement after they got caught lied about not using AI 😂

I don't like AI but if AI made the games there would be less waiting, more games and less people complaing that "there's no games" with most the games out recently, AI couldnt do any worse

@Scottyy I want to put into question how much of a no-brainer AI will be going forward:

1) Right now AI companies are not making money at all. If they don't succeed in making it affordable or if somehow the AI economic bubble bursts in the future, that future might end up being very different.
2) There are still a lot of grey areas with regards to legality, the data an AI is using, privacy, etc.

I can see it becoming more prevalent in many areas of life. But all of them? I'm not sure about that.
I read a scientific articles a while ago, that tried to calculate whether usage of AI led to an increase of productivity in different sectors. One big conclusion was that while many people who use AI seem to think it speeds them up, productivity didn't necessarily increase in those companies. It's definitely too early to say what role AI will play.

@Herculean

It's very early days to be sure but I would be surprised if it indeed "bursts".

Too late damage has been done for me, cannot be trusted

Oh you gullible fools

Confused by pushsquare.com snow flakes for moderators.. I see them constantly deleting legitimate criticism pointing out their biases towards the use of AI, fanning flames, particularly on the recent posts.

Why keep comments section open at all, and even invite opinions, if you're unable to deal with free speech and thought? Very bizzare, and the pattern in very concerning.

@JustMyOpinion Happens pretty much everywhere, on one side or the other.

Go to Eurogamer, and they'll delete comments that dare to suggest AI has some benefits, and probably shadowban you. Go to Resetera and they'll BAN your whole account and IP for making a single comment against their agenda.

Pushsquare isn't perfect, but damn sight better than places like those.

AI sucks. We've all seen the documentary entitled "The Terminator", right?

@Logonogo (#16) This does not apply to you, obviously, but have you seen the amount of people that defend corporations online for simply having made their "favourite thing"? They give out a carte blanche to them, whatever the accusation may be (e.g. Rockstar Games: crunch, unpaid overtime, union busting, racism and sexism in the office structure).
Worse yet is when they don't care.

@RoomWithaMoose (#20) it's about them lying in their application form itfp. Awards suck azz, but the IGA are entitled to do what they did.

@PuppetMaster (#27) this, 💯!

@Artois2 @Bracing_space (#31 & #32) these as well 💯!

WTF cares. The game was great even if it had Gen AI. People who get their panties all wrapped up about Gen AI are funny.

Great, now I have a reason to not buy any of their games.

@CielloArc because they are not using AI so u won't buy their games lmao

@8bit4Life they are not genuine about it, they are just telling you's what you want to hear so you'll buy their next game. It's called damage control

@PerpetualBoredom I don't see anyone defending ubisoft over all that lol

Remember the fuss these same people made over other games using AI pictures. But because it's a game their told to like, their defending it like a man on death row😂

I don’t really care about them using AI.
It means nothing until you see the product, the game, and can judge if using AI made it worse or better or did not have any impact.

I bet most of the developers nowadays use AI, and it’s being criticized here, but wait for proofs of AI usage in any of Sony upcoming games, and we will see all of these accounts defending that and proving it did nothing wrong

@Slayer25c
No, because they caved in and apologized for using a tool.
Imagine if Da Vinci had to apologize for using a chisel or a brush when doing his art...

@Artois2 and? You’re going to un buy the game you loved?

People fake caring about the use of AI is getting ridiculous. I also don't want to live in a world where AI is doing everything, but let's be real, it's here and it's most likely here to stay. If people are just using it as a tool to help and not replace human creativity, I think it can be a good thing. Also, in this specific case, they removed it from the game entirely so I really don't see what all the fuss is about

@DartLOD nope just won’t buy their future games

Bet they won't have this energy for AI in games next year.

Any reasonable human being with half a braincell can realize the difference between a placeholder AI generated asset and an entirely AI made game. The Indie Game Awards had an agenda against Exp33 and wanted any reason to disqualify them so that they can boost their own chosen game. Sandfall excusing themselves is unwarranted, but graceful at the same time. Shows class, which the Indie Game Awards did not, and so any prize from such a sorry excuse of a gameshow is entirely worthless, as is any supposed backlash generated by it.

Think that statement comes back to bite them. Sometimes it is better to just stop talking

@Titntin "AI as a tool is useful.
AI generated art however is other peoples stolen art mashed together"

Hate to break it to you, but that's what AI chatbots are, too, only with words.

Good.

AI is literally just a plagiarist remix machine anyway. It's doing what ever 10 year old does when they write their first paper in school which is paraphrasing basically.

Right down to inventing sources out of thin air and not understanding how reality works.