Crimson Desert Allegedly Uses AI Generative Art Assets
Crimson Desert made its official debut yesterday, and players are working hard exploring the vast continent of Pywel. The reception to the game has been a little chaotic, with a lot of mixed reviews from both players and critics. One thing that players have been reporting about their playthroughs of Crimson Desert is their suspicions of AI generative art assets included in the game. Here’s what fans have been saying on social media and what they’ve noticed while playing Crimson Desert.
AI Generative Use in Games
With the advancement and progression of artificial intelligence in society, the prevalence of generative AI within the gaming industry has boomed in the last few years. Generative AI is the use of artificial intelligence to create new content — including text, images, code, audio, and video — by learning patterns from massive existing datasets. Many gaming companies have included the use of AI when developing games, and there’s been an extensive debate on whether the industry has been better off with or without generative AI.
There are definitely some really cool uses of generative AI in game development. I understand from a developer’s point of view that generative AI makes game development much easier, taking on more difficult roles that previously were done by humans, which has definitely made game development a lot faster. It’s also reduced the cost of making video games significantly by delegating that work to AI.
However, that seems to be the issue people have with the use of generative AI in the gaming industry. Aside from the fact that using AI can produce lower-quality content and lacks that authentic human feel to it, there’s also the issue of job displacement for industry professionals. I believe there’s always a balance to everything, and the use of generative AI, not just in game development but in society overall, is a delicate balance that can be tipped so easily on either side.
Fans Question the Authenticity of Certain Art in Crimson Desert
That brings us to something fans of Crimson Desert have noticed when exploring the expansive world of Pywel. Since announcing the game, the devs at Pearl Abyss have promoted how massive the continent of Pywel is and the fun little things you can explore. There are many different cities you can visit, and fans and critics have praised the little details the devs have added to make the game beautiful and engaging.
However, when exploring the expansive cities in the game, players have noticed some oddities with the art assets included in the game. Many are saying the art pieces you see in the game are generative AI assets, criticizing the art and noting the oddities of the paintings and the sign. The suspicions have aroused disappointment within the community, with many players expressing their discontent with the art assets.
In many of the paintings of the game, fans have noticed funky human proportions, like missing limbs or odd angles, or just the stark contrast of the paintings compared to their surroundings. In one painting of various men and horses, there’s a horse in the foreground of the painting with twisted-looking legs. Many players have taken this as solid evidence of the use of generative AI in Crimson Desert.
Fan Posts
Here are a few posts from the subreddit that have had players discussing the whole situation. Many players have expressed their disappointment with the game on this subreddit, reigniting the debate over the use of generative AI in game development. These posts are some players’ evidence of generative AI use in Crimson Desert, with many of the captions questioning if what they are seeing is AI:
