Google has developed a new AI tool that can generate a fully playable 3D game world from a single image prompt.
Genie 2, as the tool is known, is described as a “world model”. So where Genie 1 generated 2D worlds, this subsequent tool can create 3D worlds in a variety of perspectives and includes the consequences of taking actions like jumping or swimming.
Google stresses the tool can be used for “rapid prototyping” as it “enables artists and designers to prototype quickly, which can bootstrap the creative process for environment design, further accelerating research”.
It works using a single image prompt, with Google of course using examples from its own text-to-image AI tool Imagen 3, though real world images can be used too.
From there users can jump in and interact with the world, with the AI overcoming challenges like understanding control inputs and remembering the world it’s created as the camera pans elements in and out of view. It then generates new plausible content on the fly for up to a minute of gameplay.
It can further generate NPCs and interactions with them; the physics of water or gravity; lighting models and reflections; and multiple animations.
“While this research is still in its early stage with substantial room for improvement on both agent and environment generation capabilities, we believe Genie 2 is the path to solving a structural problem of training embodied agents safely while achieving the breadth and generality required to progress towards AGI [Artificial General Intelligence],” reads a blog post on the tool from Google.
So while the tool can be used for prototyping, it’s also being used to train further AI models.
Discussing how Google developed the technology responsibly, the blog post reads: “Genie 2 shows the potential of foundational world models for creating diverse 3D environments and accelerating agent research. This research direction is in its early stages and we look forward to continuing to improve Genie’s world generation capabilities in terms of generality and consistency.
“As with SIMA [Scalable Instructable Multiworld Agent], our research is building towards more general AI systems and agents that can understand and safely carry out a wide range of tasks in a way that is helpful to people online and in the real world.”
As such it’s purpose as of yet doesn’t seem to be directly in video game development, though the potential is clear.
Indeed, AI is changing video game development with its use in multiple areas, from NPCs to scriptwriting and voice acting.
Multiple studios have already stated their interest in AI technology, both for and against it. Most recently, PlayStation co-CEO Hermen Hulst stated AI technology has the capacity to “revolutionise” the games industry, but it won’t replace the “human touch”.
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