AI for Game Development: What Is It and How to Use It?

Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) offer exciting new capabilities for the gaming industry and those who work within it. For instance, the emergence of AI tools that help with bug testing, creating character dialogues, and creating in-game immersive environments is already helping developers build complex games faster than using traditional methods. It’s also notable that many game development companies are beginning to embrace AI technology, with 36 percent of game developers surveyed saying that their studio uses AI for game development in some form [1]. 

Discover how developers and game companies use AI for game development, the impact it is having on the industry, and how to make a start learning these skills. 

What is AI for game development?

Artificial intelligence can help developers create engaging gameplay with realistic environments and characters, often while saving time and resources. Using AI in video game development can help maximize output and enhance the usual manual processes. 

Game development is a profession notorious for the long hours and complex processes involved in taking a game from concept to market. AI is helping to change this, with tools that allow developers to speed up the debugging process and use generative AI to build graphics and environments quickly that would otherwise take weeks to complete. 

The future of AI for game development is uncertain, but it is likely here to stay. Many developers have concerns about their role in the future as AI technology gets better and better, and game development companies such as Roblox, Ubisoft, and A16Z are pioneering AI or actively using generative AI to develop games. 

Generative AI for game development

Generative AI tools like Adobe Firefly are a fairly recent AI development within the gaming industry. These game development tools use prompts and a short text description to produce images for use in games, to test out color combinations, and for logos and text. Generative AI can go beyond text and images, too. Game developers can use prompts to create voice-overs, sound effects, and music.

How is the gaming industry using AI?

AI is significantly impacting the way developers create stories, build worlds, develop characters, test and debug games, and create assets within games. As the technology grows, so too will the options for using AI in game development, with companies investing tremendous amounts of money in AI technology—some investing hundreds of millions of dollars— and making equally large gains as a result [2]. The AI in games market has an expected growth rate of 26.8 percent between 2023 and 2032, reaching $11.4 billion [3]. Explore some examples of how the technology is already in use to envision the possibilities. 

Storytelling

You can bring in AI at the very start of your game creation process by utilizing generative AI to help you come up with a story for your game, using prompts and short descriptions. Once you have a storyboard or idea written out, you can use AI technology to turn your text into images to share with the rest of your team. This saves time and can help you start the creative process with ideas for you to develop. 

In-game environments

Companies are using AI to develop in-game environments. You can use AI to create the artwork to set your game’s scene, which means adding visuals and lifelike environments for the immersive worlds you create. This can help you see how things will look and piece scenes together, often using real images that you superimpose to create realistic elements such as shiny metal cars and greenery, making your environments look more realistic. 

Non-playable characters (NPCs)

NPCs are the characters you meet in a game that are part of the experience and often integral to the game, but are outside of the gamer’s control. AI has had a dramatic impact on this element of gaming, as it allows developers to enhance this aspect and make NPCs more realistic and interactive. AI technology allows developers to create real-time text interactions between game players and NPCs. This enhances the game and makes it feel more intuitive and immersive. 

Testing and debugging

Companies can shift from manual game testing to automated testing using AI technology. QA testers run AI algorithms and automated scripts to test different game scenarios quickly and effectively. Automated testing allows for the continuation of repetitive tasks beyond what a human can manage, and AI bots can test multiple game-play scenarios, identifying more glitches, bugs, and inconsistencies. This can help you optimize resource use while minimizing errors. 

Creating in-game assets 

In-game assets are virtual items that players can buy, own, and even monetize. These might be non-fungible tokens (NFTs) such as art, music, or virtual weapons. AI is helping developers build more realistic-looking assets with greater appeal, meaning more people want to buy them. This makes monetizing them more effective, too. 

Understanding customers

In-game AI technology can learn about customers and gamers, including their choices and preferences. This allows companies to use data for future designs and for game personalization, which in turn informs marketing strategies and the ability to target customers with personalized ads. 

Sound effects

Developers can use AI models to create music for games, sound effects, and voice-overs. This includes voice modifications for making a variety of different voices to fit the demographic of the game, as well as realistic audio based on real-world sounds. Using generative AI, game developers can also create music especially for the game. This allows you to develop music that’s unique to your game without the concern of complex copyright processes. 

AI tools for game development

Using AI to support your creative design process, automate processes, and use data to learn about your customers requires a range of AI tools. While some tools cover multiple functions, others have more specific features. Key AI tools to research include:

• Promethean: A tool for creating virtual environments. Promethean allows you to simplify the design process using automation and a designer-friendly interface.

• Artbreeder: This tool allows you to create characters, assets, and environments by blending images to make customizable creations.

• Adobe Firefly: This tool from Adobe allows you to convert text and images into video while integrating with other Adobe products for comprehensive control over the creative process.

• Ludo: A tool for marketing analytics and tracking competitors, as well as supporting idea generation with AI. This tool offers multiple functions in one. 

• Cascadeur: An AI tool for animations, helping you to create characters with realistic movements without expertise in this field. 

Benefits of AI for game development

AI comes with a number of benefits for game development relating to the playability of games, time and resource allocation, and the rise of in-game economics. Examples include:

• Enhanced playability: The use of AI to make games more realistic and personalized, with gameplay adapted to the user.

• Resource and time savings: AI reduces the time spent creating and testing games and may uncover issues that manual testing cannot. 

• Personalized play: AI is paving the way for more personalized content in games as AI models learn what players like and their gaming preferences.

Potential drawbacks of AI for game development

For all the exciting advances AI brings, developers and the gaming industry are also uncovering some limitations and concerns. These center mainly around data security, replacing human jobs, and the ethical issues that AI brings. Examples include:

• Data security concerns: AI uses data to create more personalized experiences for users; however, the safety and security of that personal data requires careful consideration and, potentially, future regulation. 

• AI replacing human jobs: The efficiency of AI technology and the ability to work more quickly than humans highlight concerns about the workforce and AI replacing jobs. Despite those concerns, many who use AI in game development find that it frees them to focus more on the creative aspects of development. 

• Ethics: AI technology is developing at a vast rate, causing new concerns about ethics that are not regulated and where little guidance exists. Games that learn using AI present issues around keeping users safe. 

The future of AI in gaming

As AI continues to develop, the gaming industry will undoubtedly go through more changes and developments. Possibilities include:

• Games may soon evolve to react to players’ wants and needs, creating worlds and elements like NPCs that gamers can teach and motivate through interaction

• Hyper-realistic game assets and evolving mechanics

• Advances in prompt technology that could help you create unique environments quickly

How to begin using AI game development 

To learn AI for game development, consider ensuring you have a mix of education, experience, and honed skills. Many game developers study for a degree, but it isn’t the only way to enter this field, as experience is highly valued, along with your personal knowledge of gaming. Game development combines so many disciplines from animation to programming to storytelling, so you’ll find multiple ways to enter the field. Follow the tips below to make a start.

Study for a degree.

If you’re new to game development, a great place to start is with a degree in game development, software engineering, or a similar area. However, if you come from a creative background, you may already have a degree in something like animation or interactive media, which are also valid. Once you have a degree, or if you have been working in game development for a while, you could consider advancing to a master’s degree that incorporates AI. For example, you can study a master’s degree in software engineering with a concentration in AI. 

Gain experience.

Experience and skills are important in the field of game development. An employer wants to see what you can do, so work on your own projects, make your own games, and build a portfolio. Game companies, particularly indie studios, value versatile skills and experience, and may employ you if you are self-taught. As a starting point, search for internships and entry-level roles. 

Earn credentials.

To work as a game developer with skills in AI, in particular, it’s a good idea to gain some credentials to prove that you not only have skills in game development but that you are competent in AI technology too. Examples to consider include:

• IBM AI Developer Professional Certificate

• Google Cloud’s Introduction to Generative AI Learning Path

• Nvidia AI LLMs certification

Become an avid gamer. 

To design games, you need to know games. Being a gamer gives you insight into what works and what gamers might enjoy, and it allows you to get creative with your own ideas. 

Learn more about AI for game development on Coursera 

Learning to use AI for game development means you can introduce advanced in-game features while saving time and resources. Embarking on this career path requires a mix of innate passion for the field, a commitment to ongoing learning, and a well-honed skill set. As the industry continues evolving, developing AI skills can help support your goals. Consider taking a beginner-friendly online course like the IBM AI Developer Professional Certificate or the Generative AI For Everyone by DeepLearning.AI, both available on Coursera, for a combination of practical and foundational knowledge you can apply to your personal and professional endeavors.