Bloom, an NPC with a potato-like face and a tightly-pulled black beanie, wants details about my combat strategy. "I navigate using a map and I hit hard, " I respond over the microphone. Our conversation appears as text on the bottom of my screen. The NPC interprets my response as bragging, and continues to talk about our role in the resistance and the need to fight back. His AI-driven voice sounds mechanical, but not annoyingly so. What Bloom doesn't explicitly reveal to me is that he is a "Neo NPC"—a generative AI creation by Ubisoft, a French video game publisher, aimed at enabling players to engage in conversations with characters. While Bloom is still in the research and development phase, his creation represents one of the numerous ways gaming companies are incorporating machine learning into their offerings. At the recent Game Developers Conference, where I had the opportunity to interact with Bloom, the gaming industry's AI advancements were prominently showcased. Alongside Ubisoft's demonstration, there were panels covering various topics such as AI-powered basketball players and the "transformative applications" of generative AI. Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) also gave talks about deepfakes and the potential effects of AI on the careers of game developers. A pre-conference poll conducted by GDC organizers revealed that 49 percent of surveyed developers utilize generative AI in their companies. However, four out of five developers expressed concerns about the ethical implications of doing so. Amidst all this, the concept of using AI for NPCs took center stage. In addition to Ubisoft's demonstration, Nvidia—the company responsible for many of the GPUs propelling the AI revolution—showcased a suite of tools enabling developers to create AI-powered digital humans with natural language capabilities.

To demonstrate these tools, the company released a clip of Covert Protocol, a tech demo it collaborated on with Inworld, an AI character company. Ubisoft showcased its Neo NPCs, which also utilize Nvidia technology, in three different scenarios. First, I engaged in conversation with Bloom to accomplish various in-game objectives, such as getting closer to Bloom, understanding the ruling megacorps, and learning about the resistance. Bloom proved to be readily approachable, and generally good-natured. Ubisoft's senior data scientist, Mélanie Lopez Malet, explains that they designed Bloom to be easy to interact with, although they have created other NPCs with more reserved or even aggressive dispositions. The team decided to add goals to the NPCs' interactions after observing that players can sometimes feel hesitant or unsure during early testing. "Some players experience social anxiety, " Malet shares. They hesitate to approach NPCs who appear busy or feel intimidated by characters who seem angry. They often don't know what to say. "Players would say, 'It's like being at a party where I don't know anyone, oh my God, '" Malet recounts. However, she views this as positive since it indicates that the NPCs are inspiring players to rely on their social instincts. Additionally, players are more likely to express themselves and share personal information during text-based conversations. "There are certain things you don't say out loud, you know?" Malet remarks.