Summary
Akihiro Hino, president and chief executive officer of Level-5, the studio behind theProfessor LaytonandNi no Kuniseries, recently spoke about the growing influence of artificial intelligence at a welcome event for new participants in the Top Game Creators Academy (TCGA), a government initiative.
Hino, the principal of TCGA, welcomed the class of burgeoning developers with an anecdote about AI in game development (reported byFamitsuand translated byAutomaton West).
AI & Aesthetics
“Through this program, I hope many of you will soar to the global stage as game developers. While I am also actively working as a developer, I’ve recently found myself thinking that AI technology is encroaching upon the creative world,” Hino began.
“Currently, around 80-90 per cent of code is written by AI, and then fixed up and finalised by human programmers. In other words, it means that right now, around 80-90 per cent of games are made by artificial intelligence,” he continued. “And it does not just stop at programming — AI technology is encroaching on art, music and even game design on a large scale. Not to mention that it’s already becoming common sense in the creative world to rely on the power of AI to boost work efficiency.”
“This is why I believe that ‘aesthetic sense’ is a necessary skill for game developers,” Hino finished.
Hino is referring to a developer’s ability to differentiate between helpful and harmful generation here, saying you still need a human to ensure AI elevates a game rather than detracts from it.
I would question Hino’s leap in logic here, as human oversight and facilitation seem integral to the process. Saying the person most responsible for ensuring the code works for its intended purpose is only responsible for 10-20 per cent of game development seems hyperbolic.
Professor Layton and the New World of Steam is scheduled to release for the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 during the calendar year 2025, but the exact date has yet to be announced.
