Having now sold over a million copies in two weeks, it’s safe to say that Far Far West is a bona fide hit.
It’s an excellent addition to the extraction shooter/FPS genre that brings the genre to the Old West, offering a nice change of pace from the futuristic, post-apocalyptic settings we normally see.
With all the praise the game has seen, we’ve been hearing more and more from the people behind it. That includes Brian Foote, the CEO of publisher Fireshine Games, who recently spoke with GamesIndustry.biz. Naturally, the topic of AI came up, and Foote gave a very honest answer.
We don’t work with partners that are relying on generative AI or generative art, and I think that’s the red line we are very clear on
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Chugga Chugga Choo Choo
Foote further clarified that the publisher will allow some generative AI tools to assist development in certain places.
“If AI means code completion or means using Copilot in Word, that’s an entirely different set of scenarios,” he said before adding that it’s “very hard” for any developer to say they’re not utilizing AI in some way. “In terms of core game creation, that is not something that we think players are interested in at this point in time, and not something that we think is healthy for the development community. As it stands, it’s something that we are firm on.”
It’s interesting to see Foote come out and say that nearly everybody is using AI in some way. We saw Blizzard Entertainment mention last year that they’ve been using AI to help their developers be more creative:
I think for us, and the way we can think about AI and the tools and how we might or might not integrate them goes back to ‘how do we find ways to do away with the more menial parts of the work,’ and free up more time for people to be creative.
While AI is still seen as a general non-starter for most gamers when it comes to core game development, as Foote mentions, having it assist with some of the more tedious work can free up time that’s needed elsewhere.
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No Rest for the Wicked
Compare that to some of the other stances we’ve seen from developers, such as Krafton saying they’re transitioning to an “AI First” dystopian nightmare, and it’s a night-and-day difference.
The utilization of AI by game developers continues to be a major hot topic throughout the industry, particulary from publishers and gamers. Seeing a publisher take such a hard-line stance like this, while seemingly admitting that AI is here to stay and used by the industry, is a surprisingly honest take. It’s possible that there are benefits to enhance someone’s work, but generative AI is something I feel that we can all agree on that has no place in the gaming industry.
Interview with tinyBuild CEO Alex Nichiporchik: Talking Indie Games, Publishing, and What’s Next
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Author: 360 Technology Group
