Big Walk Used AI in Development, Sparking Intense Awards Debate

The acclaimed video game 'Big Walk,' from studio House House, has revealed that it used artificial intelligence in a small portion of its development. This news has ignited an intense debate among the judges of the prestigious Independent Games Festival (IGF) and sparked significant discussion within the gaming community, as reported by Aftermath.

The controversy emerges just after several IGF jurors took a firm stance against any video game utilizing generative AI. While the jurors did not name any specific games in their statement, within hours, news spread across social media that 'Big Walk' was one of the primary contributors to the 'fairly intense discussion and disagreement' within the judge and jury pools, precisely due to its use of AI 'in the final stretch' of its development.

How AI Was Used in 'Big Walk'

House House developers explained to Aftermath via email that they 'sparingly' used Large Language Models (LLMs) to help work through difficult technical challenges and bugs. They estimate that 'well under 0.1%' of 'Big Walk’s' code had anything to do with this usage. They clarified that generative AI was not used in any other context when making the game.

To give you an idea, the studio shared a specific example: they needed a solution for a shadow culling problem in Unity URP, which caused the game to run 50% slower at certain times of day, like sunrise and sunset. After extensive research and consulting a Unity engineer who concluded their desired fix wasn't possible, they turned to an AI chatbot. The tool suggested a possible fix which, although it required extensive modification, ultimately worked and accounted for about ten lines of code, as detailed by Aftermath.

House House's Stance and Self-Correction

House House fully understands the opposition this news has generated. In their statement, they expressed support for those trying to limit the harm generative AI is doing to video games and the world, and apologized if 'Big Walk’s' LLM usage does not meet those standards. They also mentioned their concern that voluntary disclosures like this might 'contribute to the normalization of this technology,' according to Aftermath.

The studio admitted that they developed 'Big Walk' without an internal AI usage policy in place and consider that lack of policy a 'failure,' committing to implementing a more comprehensive policy going forward. Regarding why they didn't disclose it earlier, the studio explained they hadn't done so on Steam because the platform does not request disclosure of code or chatbot usage, but decided to make it public now because 'it has become a matter of public interest.'

A Debate Beyond the Game Itself

Despite the minimal AI use, the fact that 'Big Walk' utilized it in development has been a disappointment for some IGF jurors and a segment of the community. This reaction is particularly strong given the game's reputation for 'progressive stances' in other areas, as Aftermath points out. For this group, any use of AI, however small, raises concerns and can affect their perception of the game's authenticity and creative value.

However, for others, this situation is simply a sign of the times. They argue that widespread distrust and exhaustion with AI technology are causing people to 'alienate' a game that would otherwise be a contender for many 'Game of the Year' awards. They view AI use as just another tool for solving technical problems, without diminishing the human effort behind the vast majority of the development.

Why it matters

The discussion surrounding 'Big Walk' is a clear example of how artificial intelligence is redefining the boundaries of creation in the video game industry. This news prompts us to consider authorship, development ethics, and the future of creative tools. To what extent is AI use acceptable in an award-nominated game? How do we balance innovation with concerns about its impact on human labor? These are questions that the gaming and development communities will continue to grapple with as technology advances rapidly, as we've seen with other AI-integrated releases, such as Apple and Meta with their new tools.