I was a little shocked to hear the words “generative AI” within seconds of this week’sState of Playstarting up. ‘Oh, I guessSonyis just owning it,’ I thought, figuring it was teasing a new tech slurry that would be sloshing into future games and consoles. And then I realized that what I was looking at was not an ad for real-world slop, but a trailer for a game that was, pretty surprisingly, speculating on what the slop-filled future could look like. It’s just funny thatPragmatawas the game to do it.
If you couldn’t quite place where you recognized Pragmata from, that’s understandable. The game was revealed all the way back in June 2020, witha trailer spot during the PS5’s reveal. For context, other games shown during that stream includeSpider-Man: Miles Morales(released in 2020),Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart(2021),Returnal(2021),Gran Turismo 7(2022), andForspoken(2023).
Pragmata had initially been targeting a 2022 launch and, three years past its planned release date, it’s still not ready. The trailer promised a 2026 window but time will tell ifCapcommanages to deliver. I’m less interested in whether the game ever comes out — I barely remembered it existed until the State of Play — and more interested in how its lengthy development has shaped its approach to sci-fi storytelling.
Lunafilament, Delphi, And Generative AI
“The future… it isn’t just a dream… it’s a promise… One we’re turning into reality… With our third generation of Lunafilament and advanced generative AI… we’re reshaping the line between dreams and reality,” goes the line in the trailer. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d wager that Lunafilament is an all-purpose material that, when paired with gen AI, can be used to build anything, including the robot child, Diana, we see in the trailer. But that’s just a guess.
“We create life,” the in-world ad concludes. “For our future: Delphi Corporation.”
That name, Delphi, is a nod to the Oracle of Delphi, a high priestess of Apollo who was known for her divine prophecies. Interestingly enough, Pragmata is positioning itself as a bit of a fortune teller, too. The nod to generative AI is interesting, and a bit strange, considering that the game was first announced in 2020, before “generative AI” was even a term the public was familiar with.
It makes sense that the team at Capcom would see a connection between its game and the kind of advanced AI that has emerged and become widely adopted in the time since Pragmata entered development. It is, after all, about the relationship between a human astronaut and an advanced machine shaped like a girl.
A combination that makes Praggy Matz look a whole lot likeThe Last of UsmeetsM3GANmeets Gravity.
Extra Time In The Oven Can Help A Game Cook Or Burn
It’s interesting that the game has decided to incorporate that context into the text itself. Or, at least, into its trailer. We tend to associate the kind of development hell Pragmata appears to be in with extreme datedness. My colleague Jade Kingcompared the game’s long gestation to Duke Nukem Forever’s, and I think Pragmata does run the risk of encountering many of that game’s problems. ButGearbox’s lega-sequel bomb was out of touch with the times as a result of its extended dev cycle.Duke Nukem Foreverreleased in 2011, yet had references to early-to-mid aughts movies like Old School, Team America: World Police, and 300.
Pragmata seems to be leaning the other direction, using this extra fermentation time to deepen its flavor. It seems like Capcom looked around and considered how to tell a better sci-fi story given the current state of tech. That’s admirable, and I hope that the final release shows a similar commitment to those ideas.
