The Electronic Wireless Show podcast S3 episode 11: are AI NPCs the future? Our impression of what they sound like suggests no
Hot topics coming out of GDC
No James this week, but I am joined by Nate for this week's Electronic Wireless Show podcast to discuss Ubisoft's new NEO NPC prototype - an NPC you can have a stilted, weird conversation with using the power of AI! It's fair to say we are quite partisan about this and do not want it, but we discuss why anyway. In counterpoint, we think World Of Warcraft's new piratey battle royale game mode sounds pretty cool and good, actually?
Plus: I ask Nate to explain cool things that I've seen in Warhammer 40K: Darktide, and Nate tries to convince me to take a devil's bargain where I have to play WOW for at least 12 hours a day, but I get a sort of increasing MDMA high while doing so.
Links- The intial reveal of Ubisoft's NEO NPC prototype met with some negative feedback.
- WOW's pirate thing! It seems pretty cool!
- Check out our ongoing series by Mike Cook about generative AI in games.
- Here's Dan Olson's video on Warcraft.
- And here's the Inventory Space video on Warcraft.
This week I've been playing WitchHand, a secret thing, the third Nancy Drew Mystery, and Darktide.
Recommendations this week are Realms Of Fightinge, The Beekeeper, and Black Library short story The Sum Of Its Parts.