AI and machine learning have been dominating gaming discourse throughout 2023, and it seems like even Blizzard is using the tech to update certain tedious assignments while designing the next World of Warcraft expansion.
WoW lead designer Maria Hamilton and lead world artist Kristy Moret revealed Blizzard is using AI and machine learning as a part of its projects and expansions during a group media interview at BlizzCon on Nov. 4, with the pair clarifying the tech’s use wasn’t impacting human work or creative outlets.
“It’s kind of a new thing, but we use [AI] in an ethical way and in a way that isn’t going to replace any creative work that people like to do,” the designers explained. One such use for machine learning was to refit cosmetic helmets to work with all character races. “This was a huge project that is very tedious for an individual character artist to have to do. It’s not super fun, right?”
The core principle here is to use machine learning and AI “ethically” and not in a way that is meant to churn out bulk content quickly. Blizzard is just looking to reduce the impact of tedious tasks that actually demand little to no creativity, so certain elements like full zones in WoW aren’t touched by AI.
On top of this, artists who would be working on such tasks would instead be freed up to work on more pressing and creative projects as opposed to simply moving around a couple of bones to make helmets fit. “In general, we’re trying to stay away from generating art with it or anything like that,” the designers reassured.
The topic of AI in gaming remains contentious among the community. Recently, discussion was sparked following news that Embark Studios, the team behind the new FPS THE FINALS, had utilized the technology to generate voice lines for its announcers—some of the only voiced characters in the game.
Larger studios like Ubisoft are also testing the limits of the technology, going so far as to implement AI tools to assist with narrative story writing. The use of AI is one of the key reasons why SAG-AFTRA, an American labor union representing over 100,000 media professionals, is planning strike action against major players in the industry.
Blizzard, it appears, remains careful with the use of such tools and plans on staying within the ethical boundaries of AI and machine learning usage.
