The topic of AI in gaming has dominated gaming discussions over the past year, with many believing that it’s uninspiring to generate games this way, and others arguing that it does not produce particularly good or innovative results, as AI often creates slop things based on what others have already done.
But at the same time, it’s an inevitable fact that AI has already been used for years in the gaming world, and it’s an indispensable tool that can save a tremendous amount of time by, among other things, speeding up the creation of things that are to be mass-produced. Now, perhaps the most popular Xbox boss of all-time, and also former Sega boss Peter Moore, has commented in a GamesBeat interview on the appointment of former AI boss Asha Sharma as Phil Spencer’s successor, giving his view on AI in game development and her role:
“AI is despised by gamers right now, who see it as a false way of creating games, a lazy way, a conveyor belt way. She’s gotta expect that. But we, as an industry, in game development, have been using forms of artificial intelligence forever. It’s just something that ultimately Microsoft needs to figure out exactly your question. Is she there because she’s AI? Or is she there, which is my hope, because she’s proven herself within the Borg at Microsoft and been a very capable executive leader, and this is a great challenge for her, and they wanted to do something different?”
Moore continues his argument, explaining that it’s important for Sharma to show how AI can be something positive for gamers, and believes that this is something the industry has failed to do so far:
“I think her mantra has to be—it’s good for gaming if AI serves the player, not the spreadsheet. She has to be able to explain that. The studios are all going to use artificial intelligence in one form or another. I don’t think the gamer really understands what it all means and how things come together in that way. But I think she has that great opportunity to bridge both worlds and serve growth and deeper immersive experiences. Games that are fundamentally less expensive. Maybe we get games that are better, faster, cheaper, because the cost of game development for triple-A games has become immense. Over the decades I’ve been involved, it’s become this massive manual labor thing, hundreds if not thousands of people working on a game. That’s the key. She has that. If I’m her, I have this unique perspective. I just have to turn it into a positive in the eyes of the gamer.”
In the insightful interview (Moore is always interesting and has more experience than anyone else after his time as head of Sega, Xbox, and EA), he also addresses the criticism Sharma has received for her lack of experience in gaming, reminding us that he worked in footwear before becoming one of the most successful gaming executives in the industry of all-time:
“I guess the best way—that was me at Sega. I’d come from Reebok, if you remember. I was a shoe guy.”
Phil Spencer, Asha Sharma, and Matt Booty. // Microsoft