Summary
The upcoming PlayStation exclusiveFoamstarswill utilize AI for some of its artwork, as confirmed by producer Kosuke Okatani. Square Enix announced this colorful multiplayer hero shooter during a PlayStation Showcase event back in May, quickly drawing comparisons to Nintendo’sSplatoonseries due toFoamstars’ primary gimmick of spraying the battlefield with foam to help navigate the environment or block enemy attacks.Foamstarsis set to launch as part of the PlayStation Plus Monthly Games lineup on February 6, and if successfulcould kickstart a new wave ofSplatoon-like games.
Another, potentially less positive trend growing throughout the gaming industry is the use of AI to create artwork or even vocal performances. This has drawn concern and controversy among insiders and gamers alike due to the possibility of such content replacing the work of actual humans like veteran voice actors Jennifer Hale and David Hayter. Artwork-wise,Magic: The Gatheringcompany Wizards of Coast recentlycame under fire for using AI imagesin its latest marketing campaign mere weeks after promising not to implement such assets, though Wizards later stated that this was a genuine mistake on its part.
Meanwhile, Square Enix is deliberately using AI-generated artwork inFoamstars, with producer Kosuke Okatani confirming this toVGCduring a recent press event. According to Okatani, the development team used the AI program Midjourney, which transforms text prompts into visual art, to make a small number ofFoamstars’in-game icons – namely album covers for the game’s music tracks. However, Okatani assured players that the majority ofFoamstars’ assets were made by hand, with AI only being used for about 0.01% or less of the game’s materials.Square Enixitself would back up Okatani’s claims in a later statement to VGC.
The use of AI in creating some ofFoamstars’ in-game artwork might be another sparking point in the ongoing debate over said technology, but it isn’t too surprising given some of Square Enix’s recent AI-related statements. At the start of the new year, Square Enix president Takashi Kiryu announced that his companywill be “aggressive” in applying AIand other new technology to the development and marketing of future titles likeFoamstars, though he didn’t give specific details on what this would mean.
The subject of AI in content creation remains an explosive issue throughout the entertainment industry, with some being excited about the possibilities of this technology and others decrying the potential removal of the human element in creating video games likeFoamstars. It has been confirmed that theupcoming PlayStation multiplayer shooterindeed uses AI for a small amount of its in-game artwork, but the rest of the game was crafted by human developers.
