A.I Art is getting really good, and there are already several ways we can use it for gamedev. Textures for example, can never get enough of those.
We can create seamless textures with image generators like Stable Diffusion, which is incredibly useful. Then we can use tools like Material Maker to add depth maps to the textures!
Seamless (tiling) textures works best for ‘materials’ - environment, buildings etc., but any texture or image can be useful if you get something good.
Decals, tattoos etc. can be painted onto a 3D model,to use for reference when sculpting, or to get the makeup, wrinkles, etc.
With some effort, an entire face/body can be spray painted onto a model if the picture is right!
AI-Made 3D models?
While there’s no perfect tool (for us) to generate 3D models with AI yet, there are some promising ones on the horizon. Point-E by OpenAI, DreamFusion by Google, and possibly more. I don’t use any yet myself, but you can read more about these tools here: Techcrunch article
Creating SkyBoxes
Now we can finally make some large images with A.I, and even skyboxes (360° Panorama graphics). A skybox is used in videogames as the distant background. It’s a sphere that doesn’t move (relative to the player). A skybox can also be used as a static VR interior, for example a vehicle or a livingroom. But it’s not the best for getting too close (in VR) to, as there is no stereoscopic view.
I used Blockadelabs “Skybox Lab” to make these sci-fi environments.
Voice-Overs
Voice cloning tech is something I stay away from myself.
I haven’t tried this yet but with a good actor, and a voice changer like Voicemod, one could possibly create several unique characters!
Coding with GPT
Language models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT can help as an assistant for writing stories, code, brainstorming, and more, and that’s how I use it. But don’t expect it to create a whole game by itself. The A.I doesn’t really know how to ‘gamify’ things. But it has read the usermanual for many game engines, and can and can be a helpful ‘talking manual’.
A.I Music?
A.I made music is not really a thing ;) yet, in my opinion. At least not with any tools I can use :p
Every AI music generator I’ve seen just use loops and sound bytes. So it’s not really A.I generated.
It often doesn’t sound very interesting either (sorry).
But as designers, we (should) already have our library of music and sound effects we can use.
I used some music from the YouTube library to make the scifi video above. Also got an asset pack from the Unity Store with music for games.
Anyway, that’s all I got, for now. Until next time!