🔗 Share this article The Creators of Baldur's Gate 3 Clarifies Its Use of Machine Learning for Upcoming Divinity Game The developer behind popular RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity: Original Sin has recently unveiled its new project, sparking significant hype within the gaming community. However, follow-up comments from the company's lead designer have introduced nuance to the discussion, touching on the studio's philosophy toward AI tools. A Tool for Ideation, Not Replacement In a latest clarification, Larian's director detailed that the company is employing AI technology for specific supporting functions. These involve enhancing presentation materials, creating rough visual ideas, and writing placeholder copy. Importantly, Vincke emphasized that the final content in the game will be created entirely by human writers. "Our team is writing everything ourselves," he stated. Our studio is continuously increasing our roster of writers and are actively assembling dedicated writer rooms. As visual development is being specifically mentioned — we currently have over twenty artistic staff and have positions available for further artists. All our efforts we do is incremental and aimed at having people spend additional energy on actual creation. Any ML tool applied correctly is supplementary to a artist's workflow, never a stand-in for their talent. Addressing Concerns and Clarifying the Vision The revelation of employing this technology originally sparked unease among portions of the community. In response, Vincke provided more detail on public forums. "We use AI tools to research ideas, just like we use the internet and art books," he wrote. "During the conceptual ideation stages we use it as a simple sketch for layout which we then replace with hand-crafted concept art." He noted, "Our studio recruits creatives for their unique talent, not for their ability to follow what a machine suggests." Focused Uses for Machine Learning Vincke had in the past outlined the company's practical method to this technology, defining its use into primary pillars: Automation of Tedious Tasks: Areas like polishing mocap data, audio processing, and pipeline-specific tasks like retargeting animations. Fast-Tracked Experimentation: Using systems to quickly build rough mock-ups of scenarios to validate concepts ahead of complete development. Future Potential for Gameplay: Investigating how AI could one day facilitate innovative reactivity, especially in managing player-driven narratives in a detailed game universe. He specifically stated that key artistic disciplines — such as music composition — are not fields where the company is reducing human talent. On the contrary, Larian is expanding its staff in these precise positions. "Our studio is neither launching a game with AI-generated content, and we are certainly not planning on cutting staff to replace them with AI," Vincke concluded.
The developer behind popular RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity: Original Sin has recently unveiled its new project, sparking significant hype within the gaming community. However, follow-up comments from the company's lead designer have introduced nuance to the discussion, touching on the studio's philosophy toward AI tools. A Tool for Ideation, Not Replacement In a latest clarification, Larian's director detailed that the company is employing AI technology for specific supporting functions. These involve enhancing presentation materials, creating rough visual ideas, and writing placeholder copy. Importantly, Vincke emphasized that the final content in the game will be created entirely by human writers. "Our team is writing everything ourselves," he stated. Our studio is continuously increasing our roster of writers and are actively assembling dedicated writer rooms. As visual development is being specifically mentioned — we currently have over twenty artistic staff and have positions available for further artists. All our efforts we do is incremental and aimed at having people spend additional energy on actual creation. Any ML tool applied correctly is supplementary to a artist's workflow, never a stand-in for their talent. Addressing Concerns and Clarifying the Vision The revelation of employing this technology originally sparked unease among portions of the community. In response, Vincke provided more detail on public forums. "We use AI tools to research ideas, just like we use the internet and art books," he wrote. "During the conceptual ideation stages we use it as a simple sketch for layout which we then replace with hand-crafted concept art." He noted, "Our studio recruits creatives for their unique talent, not for their ability to follow what a machine suggests." Focused Uses for Machine Learning Vincke had in the past outlined the company's practical method to this technology, defining its use into primary pillars: Automation of Tedious Tasks: Areas like polishing mocap data, audio processing, and pipeline-specific tasks like retargeting animations. Fast-Tracked Experimentation: Using systems to quickly build rough mock-ups of scenarios to validate concepts ahead of complete development. Future Potential for Gameplay: Investigating how AI could one day facilitate innovative reactivity, especially in managing player-driven narratives in a detailed game universe. He specifically stated that key artistic disciplines — such as music composition — are not fields where the company is reducing human talent. On the contrary, Larian is expanding its staff in these precise positions. "Our studio is neither launching a game with AI-generated content, and we are certainly not planning on cutting staff to replace them with AI," Vincke concluded.