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Developers are facing a backlash from gamers who feel overwhelmed by the quantity of dialogue in recent releases, just as studios are investing in artificial intelligence (AI) technology to add even more spoken content. In response to this feedback, developers of “Forspoken”, a notable PlayStation 5 release of 2023, have updated the game to reduce the frequency of banter between the main character and her companion.
Last year’s “Dying Light 2” faced criticism for boasting about 40,000 lines of dialogue in its 500+ hours of gameplay. Other games, like “Horizon Forbidden West” and “God of War Ragnarök”, were also criticized for excessive dialogue. Some critics argue that it’s not just the amount, but also the tone of the dialogue, with irreverent, light-hearted banter becoming too common.
Ubisoft is among the studios experimenting with AI to generate more dialogue. The “Ghostwriter” tool, unveiled in March, allows writers to create a character and scenario, and then produces various lines the character might say. However, the use of AI to voice characters has sparked some criticism.
“Forspoken” faced backlash for its dialogue and gameplay, leading to the addition of a slider in the settings allowing players to adjust the volume of banter. Despite this, voice acting and writing continue to be challenging areas in game development, with issues related to compensation and crunch time. Future releases, like “Starfield” in September, will show how developers respond to this feedback.
https://www.axios.com/2023/05/25/forspoken-ai-character-dialogue
https://www.axios.com/2023/05/25/forspoken-ai-character-dialogue