CG writes: There has been little debate about the effects of AI controlled non-playable characters (NPCs) in video games, with some people suggesting we are on the cusp of an impending new-dawn in how we interact with secondary gaming characters. Yet, the few examples circulating at this time are impressive, (or not in the case of Nvidia’s ACE AI NPC showcase), but what are the implications of allowing AI to control the narrative when interacting with NPCs in games. In the Skyrim mod which allows for AI conversations via Chat GPT, it basically searches Skyrim specific wiki pages for info. On the surface this looks like a positive step-in-the-right-direction. It allows for a free-form interaction with NPCs who in the past would just spout scripted dialogue over-and-over, creating an accepted disconnect between the player and the character. A speech-to-text mod for Skyrim added a level of immersion that was pretty decent and at heart, allowed for greater role-playing. But NPC interactions are evolving at a greater pace due to the fact that AI can significantly impact their evolution.
