An innovative tool created by Ubisoft LA Forge is intended to help scriptwriters create lines of dialog driven by AI. It has been reported that the technology could help bolster the realism of the publisher’s game worlds by diversifying NPC conversations; this could prove to be a pivotal breakthrough for both Ubisoft and its affiliates.
Ubisoft is planning to release 8 titles this year, which makes 2023 a noteworthy year for the publisher. Assassin’s Creed Mirage, which was recently announced, is set to launch later in the year, alongside two other titles from the franchise, with one of them taking place in the oft-requested feudal Japan. The much-anticipated free-to-play multiplayer shooter, The Division Heartland, is also set to come out during the year, featuring both PvE and PvEvP content in a rural setting unlike its prior entries.
On March 21, Ubisoft released a new video to publicize its cutting-edge AI tool, Ubisoft Ghostwriter, that is designed to generate NPC barks. In the past, these unique phrases and sounds uttered by NPCs while players interact or pass them by have been the responsibility of a game studio’s scriptwriting team. However, in open-world games with a vast number of NPCs, the task of creating barks can be overwhelming. As a result, Ubisoft LA Forge’s Ghostwriter technology has been developed to reduce the workload of the scriptwriting team and create more believable worlds in its games by eliminating repetitive dialogue and tapering identical speech. It will still require an initial dialog to be written by a scriptwriter, but Ghostwriter will then take that and create variations on it dependent on the character’s emotions and motivations.
Ubisoft has been pushing the boundaries of game design with systems that help to reduce the feeling of having seen the same content multiple times. In 2020, Watch Dogs Legion was released with the revolutionary ability for players to play as anyone thanks to its procedurally generated characters with different personality archetypes. This enabled a unique experience for each player, and decreased the amount of immersion-breaking moments due to repeated dialogue or assets. Despite its shortcomings and criticisms, the technology behind the game has been extremely impressive, and now, with the addition of Ghostwriter, Ubisoft’s studios have access to tools that can help them create immersive and realistic worlds.
Ubisoft’s Ghostwriter has the potential to revolutionize the gaming experience, with players soon to be treated to a larger variety of NPC voices as scriptwriting teams are able to devote more time to the more compelling facets of a game’s narrative. It is yet to be seen how much of an impact Ghostwriter will have on Ubisoft’s future and the gaming industry as a whole, but its guarantee of increasing immersion is certainly a positive sign for fans of all types of games.
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