How AI Is Changing Gaming

One of the most hotly debated subjects in the gaming industry today is the ongoing emergence, growth, and adoption of artificial intelligence and how its presence is impacting how games are developed and experienced. It’s long been an essential part of games, providing players with non-player characters that they can interact with. This is above and beyond its important role in the dynamic virtual environments wherein games unfold.

Bolstering Textures

Ask any keen gamer to name a video game they still miss, and you’ll get bittersweet answers like Blackthorne, Freedom Fighters, Lost Kingdoms 1 and 2, Space Station Silicon Valley, and Whiplash. But, for a lucky few, some popular games have been revisited, remastered, and re-released for players to take a trip down memory lane with, including Crash Bandicoot: N-Sane Trilogy. Some historical gaming gems are still relegated to the heap of old games, but what if AI were brought in for these?

Using AI, players can enjoy a present where the titles of their childhood admiration are brought back to be played on consoles at the quality they possess now. Admittedly, remastering titles is often not even considered due to the inherent risk, resources, and time involved in the process, but AI would be able to bypass these obstacles and could be used to resurrect many games that have gone before!

Boundaryless Maps

Sometimes game’s maps are just not big enough, even with developers finding creative ways to keep players within their boundaries without it coming across as unnatural. It makes total sense that boundaries be set up in maps to keep players from wandering too far from the main action of the game, and it goes without saying that this takes the pressure slightly off from developers to create a possibly infinite version of the environments that require so much detail.

To tally with a self-sufficient environment, AI’s capabilities can further opportunities for players to experience less of a hemmed-in environment by removing the need for map boundaries. Naturally, this would necessitate expansions, including significant activities and landmarks, but AI is more than up to the task and could be the answer to unlocking gaming worlds as big as the earth itself!

Eradicating Cheating In Competitive Games 

Whether players are competing at home or away in high-profile tournaments, the ever-expanding world of eSports relies on fair play and integrity to ensure everyone has the same chance of winning. Unfortunately, however, this simply isn’t always the case, as certain unscrupulous players somehow manage to bypass security measures to give themselves an unfair advantage.

AI is the perfect answer for round-the-clock protection against general cheating and specific rule violations in various games. This is because it’s capable of adjusting to technological developments that could see cheating occur to stay ahead of rule-breakers.

More Polished Representations of Athletes

Sports games are one of the main events in the yearly game release calendar. Players are super hyped about getting their hands on the always changing updates in new game features, player and team ratings, and team rosters.

For the teams behind popular titles like NBA 2K23, EA Sports FIFA 23, FIFA International Soccer, John Madden Football, and Madden NFL 16 to capture the likenesses of the sports’ best athletes, rigorous screening processes are necessary to reimagine their identities properly.

With the ongoing development of AI technology, athletes may not have to subject themselves to long, vigorous screenings of their mannerisms on the court or field or their physiques anymore. AI can instead create a player’s likeness from real in-game footage. This would also provide a more genuine virtual sports experience.

Quarantining and Eliminating Bugs

As nasty as they are in our homes, bugs are also very frustrating obstacles to streamlined gameplay. But AI might be the virtual pesticide that we need to identify, isolate, and eliminate unwanted elements before they become problematic and then remove them in time.

Better protections against glitches and bugs would be vitally important for both the people developing the games and those playing them, even those who prefer real money games like the ones at Black Lotus online casino.

Quests Generated by AI

In the same way as when a television series or movie franchise draws to an inevitable close, there is always a sense of loss when a video game story comes to an end. With AI, however, people may be able to replace the post-credit blues with games that have no end, perfect for fans who don’t want their journeys to stop, ever.

With NPCs becoming independent, quests generated by AI technology could be the next stage of games’ natural progressions. But it’s a two-edged sword. While it could open the door to an endless story unfolding on our screens, it will certainly deprive completionists of the satisfying feeling of ticking off all objectives on a game’s list.

Tailored Difficulty Curves

Games that can cater to both new and inexperienced players are generally able to offer an adequate challenge for whoever’s holding the controller. But there are limits to this, since some players may find a difficulty level too easy, and the next player may find it too much of a challenge. With the proper use of AI, however, the gaming industry could well see a future for players that has the option for their games to be curated according to the skill level they show.

For people who want to really test their limits using a console, AI-assisted adversaries could be programmed to learn from the player’s fighting style and make the necessary adjustments to beat them. This would see players having to strategize their approach more actively to combat rather than simply waiting around for opponents to make a mistake.

Conclusion

The increase in AI-generated digital art has also exposed some problems, as it’s taking business opportunities from actual artists. This has shown us that its adoption should be exercised with great caution. But, at the end of the day, AI has been used in video games since all the way back in the 1950s. When used responsibly, AI can make video games more adaptive, intelligent, and responsive, and it can help developers create more innovative gaming experiences.