The Creators of Baldur's Gate 3 Details Its Use of AI Tools for Upcoming Divinity
The studio behind popular role-playing games like Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity: Original Sin just unveiled its new project, generating a wave of anticipation within the industry. However, subsequent statements from the company's co-founder have brought nuance to the conversation, touching on the developer's philosophy toward generative artificial intelligence.
A Tool for Ideation, Not Replacement
In a latest clarification, the studio's founder outlined that the company is using generative AI for specific preliminary tasks. These involve enhancing presentation materials, generating rough artistic references, and writing placeholder copy.
Notably, Vincke made clear that the final content in the game will be created solely by actual writers. "Larian is developing every line manually," he said.
We are actively expanding our team of concept artists and are currently assembling narrative groups.
Given that this area is being explicitly mentioned — we currently have over twenty artistic staff and have job openings for additional talent.
All our efforts we do is incremental and focused on having people spend more time on the creative process.
Any machine learning application implemented properly is a boost to a creative team workflow, not a substitute for their craft.
Addressing Concerns and Clarifying the Vision
The revelation of using AI at first provoked concern among portions of the community. In reaction, Vincke issued more elaboration on public forums.
"We use these tools to gather inspiration, in the same way we use Google and physical media," he stated. "In the very early ideation stages we use it as a basic framework for composition which we then replace with authentic concept art."
He added, "Larian brings on artists for their creative vision, not for their willingness to execute what a machine suggests."
Focused Uses for Machine Learning
Vincke had in the past outlined the studio's focused approach to machine learning, categorizing its use into key areas:
- Handling Monotonous Jobs: This includes polishing mocap data, audio processing, and pipeline-specific tasks like adjusting assets for various species.
- Rapid Prototyping ('White Boxing'): Using tools to quickly build simple models of scenarios to test concepts prior to expensive development.
- Experimental Frontiers: Investigating how machine learning could in the future facilitate innovative gameplay, particularly in managing unforeseen permutations in a vast role-playing world.
He specifically noted that core creative areas — like visual art — are not areas where the studio is cutting artistic input. On the contrary, Larian is actively hiring in these exact positions.
"Our studio is not shipping a game with AI-generated content, and we are certainly not considering trimming down teams to replace them with AI," Vincke concluded.
