ChatGPT and the Future of NPC Interactions in Games
Fans of The Elder Scrolls series might remember Farengar Secret-Fire, the court wizard of Dragonsreach in Skyrim. His awkward voice acting notwithstanding, the interactions players had with him and other NPCs were often limited and repetitive. However, recent developments in artificial intelligence and natural language processing might change that. ChatGPT, a language model based on OpenAI's GPT-3.5 architecture, can simulate human-like conversations with players and even remember past interactions. With further development, NPCs in future games could have unique goals, decisions, and conversations based on their backgrounds.
The potential for this technology goes beyond just role-playing games. Imagine a war game where friendly NPCs give and receive detailed callouts, or a game where every NPC in every village has unique interactions with players. The possibilities are endless, and as AI technology advances, the line between players and characters might start to blur.
Projects like a Skyrim VR mod that incorporates ChatGPT, xVASynth, and Whisper speech-to-text technology give us a glimpse of what's possible. Players can talk to NPCs using natural language, and the AI can roleplay as the character with tailored prompts based on their backgrounds. The AI also takes into account in-game events like the time of day and location for context. While there's still work to be done to make the conversations feel more organic and less robotic, the potential for this technology to revolutionize the gaming industry is exciting.
Tags: The Elder Scrolls, Farengar Secret-Fire, OpenAI, GPT-3.5, AI technology, Skyrim VR mod Link to video