Leveraging advanced natural language processing technology, the game allows users to freely ask questions in eight different languages and engage with an AI-based chatbot in real-time. This feature offers an immersive gaming experience that its developers claim cannot be expected from conventional choice-based games in the genre.
"The adoption of GPT-4o has significantly enhanced this game’s responsiveness and interactivity," said Shin Seung-yong, chief technology officer (CTO) of ReLU Games, during a recent press conference. GPT-4o, an AI model unveiled by OpenAI in May, is capable of reading users' facial expressions, responding to questions in real-time, and offering translations. The model features expressiveness and response times that are akin to human performance.
Through Smoking Gun, released on June 24, the Korean game developer is targeting a global audience. "The game supports multiple languages, including English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, and Chinese, attracting a diverse international audience," said ReLU Games CEO Kim Min-jung. "The reactions in the U.S. and Germany have been satisfactory."
ReLU Games, a unit affiliated with Krafton, the developer of "PUBG: Battlegrounds," spun off from Krafton on June 1 with the aim of focusing on game development using AI technologies, including deep learning.
The independent studio has also garnered attention with its another AI-driven game, "Magical Mic Duel: Senpai, Hear My Spell," which was released on May 23 as an early access title on Steam. The game incorporates AI voice recognition technology. Set in a fictional world where middle-aged men transform into magical girls amid a shortage caused by low birth rates, players must chant magic spells into a microphone to engage in combat.
"Magical Mic Duel has received particularly positive feedback in Japan," CEO Kim said. "This is because our deep understanding and affection for Japanese culture have been reflected in the game. Indeed, the concept of 'magical girls' is a popular theme in Japanese animation culture."
"We consider player feedback crucial," CTO Shin said, stressing that the company is working to expand the diversity of voice commands and enhance the sensitivity of the voice recognition system for "Magical Mic Duel" based on feedback.
For "Smoking Gun," the ongoing challenge is to continually improve the quality of interactions with AI. CTO Shin said, "We are refining AI responses to be more natural and contextually appropriate based on player feedback."
The company's ultimate goal is to create truly immersive and dynamic gaming experiences using AI. "AI will bring a revolution to the gaming industry. We have just begun to open the door to its potential. The combination of AI and gaming will create new forms of entertainment that we have not yet imagined," said Kim.
"Krafton's management described taking on both game development and deep learning as a 'worthy challenge,'" Kim said, adding that such challenges carry significant meaning in Krafton's culture.
reporter
Kim Joo-heon
jhkim123@ajunews.com
