4 times game devs got called out for leaving AI assets in a game

GenAI is the bane of human expression, experimentation, and overall existence. While humankind grows ever closer to that realization, some devs still accidentally leave or straight-up sneak AI assets into their games, and the only good thing to come out of that is the fun internet reaction.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is one of the most acclaimed games of all time, and rightfully so for all but one reason: its silly usage of AI placeholders. Shortly upon release, fans noticed that some posters found in the game looked like early genAI slop, and that could only mean that they were because, if there’s one thing you can say about genAI is that for all of its bland lifelessness, it truly is unmistakable.

Sandfall explained that these were placeholders never meant to be in the final version of the game, and promptly replaced them with textures that don’t make my eyes sad. I see no reason to suspect any ill intent from the dev team. Furthermore, Sandfall has since stated the company is no longer interested in using such tools, so here’s hoping others will learn from this example on how to make a truly astounding game.

Crimson Desert

But despite being unintentional, Expedition 33’s AI-usage debacle might’ve opened the floodgates for similar usage of genAI. Another incredibly successful title, Crimson Desert, was found showing off ChatGPT or some other bot’s artistic “prowess”, and in an even sillier fashion.

Please avert your eyes from the god-awful painting above, which depicts, well, I don’t even know, and focus on what’s surrounding it. That’s one of the prettiest and most detailed frames I’ve ever seen in a video game. Imagine being the person or people who so painstakingly designed that, to learn it’d be used to display an image of a fake reality breaking down, conjured by a kind of tech that’s actively breaking down the real world.

As with Expedition 33, the Crimson Desert devs have stated that this wasn’t meant to show up in the final version of the game. Still, they didn’t inform Steam that AI had been used while developing the game, which they should’ve, whether or not it made it into the final version.

Anno 117: Pax Romana

You could totally beat Expedition 33 and Crimson Desert without realizing they featured leftover AI assets because they were used so sparsely in niche areas. Anno 117: Pax Romana, however, only seemingly had one instance of leftover genAI assets, but they were used in a loading screen, so many alarms were sounded, very quickly.

You can see the image in full here, and you should, because there’s even more weirdness than shown above. It’s filled with all the early genAI classics, like faces that no human would have, too many fingers, not enough fingers, and even no arms. Really bizarre stuff, especially for a game by Ubisoft, a company known for having put out some of the most artistically striking games ever.

Now, and this is the closest I’ll ever get to an AI advocate, but the debacle made me think that if you’re going to use AI crap somewhere, it should be on the loading screen. This way I can at least try to Where’s Waldo all the reptilian shapeshifters while the game’s loading crawls to completion.

The Alters

Unfortunately, not all controversies surrounding fossilized genAI in games stem just from one type of AI in one part of a game. Many gamers found out a lot of what they thought were indicators of undisclosed genAI usage in The Alters, and they were right about every suspicion.

Though the ChatGPT-made leftovers in the game’s regular English version of the game are pretty funny already, nothing beats the AI-hunting experience of someone playing the game in Portuguese. That particular localization still featured all the LLM’s cues before the game’s actual lines came in, so that was a pretty hard one to deny.

Dev 11 bit studios admitted to having used AI for various purposes, albeit in a limited capacity, or in a way that shouldn’t have made it into the final product, but that totally oopsied its way in.

Here’s hoping companies just stop using genAI, even as if just a crutch, because the court of public Internet opinion isn’t likely to get any more forgiving on this subject.

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Things will be heating up in the summer in Frostpunk 2 with Breach of Trust DLC coming on PC and consoles. So far, the frost has been mankind’s greatest enemy as we have all rushed to keep our homes warm.

The Breach of Trust DLC will completely change the battle, as you now have to outlast an impending volcano.

Frostpunk 2 Breach of Trust DLC features

The heart of your settlement is your Generator, which keeps everything warm. However, overuse of the resource has now created ruptures in the ground that have resulted in the volcano emerging as the biggest threat. With people in panic, you’ll have to take charge as the First Citizen to steady the ship.

While managing the lava is one part of the job, you’ll also need to keep your citizens’ needs in mind. Public approval is key if you don’t want to meet the fate of your predecessor. A Vote of Trust system will be operational throughout the scenario, which will decide just how well you’re doing the job.

Just like the frost, the volcano has its own set of environmental hazards. You’ll need to survive nights when lava will pour out along with tremors in the ground. How you interact and behave in the scenarios will have a key impact on deciding the outcome. However, you’ll not be alone since you can take the diplomatic route with other colonies to aid your cause (or destroy them if you want).

Additionally, the DLC will also offer two scenario-based maps, new buildings/infrastructure, and new laws that you’ll need to keep in mind when making decisions. There will also be new factions that will either be with or against you.

Frostpunk 2 Breach of Trust DLC release date

Breach of Trust releases globally on June 23 across all platforms. It’s currently available in closed playtest, and willing players can sign-up via Steam (available only for PC). It will be interesting to find out how the DLC will be priced and if it will be able to outdo Fractured Utopias, which is currently having a discount on Steam.

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