The new Divinity from the creators behind Baldur’s Gate 3 is created with AI. But that’s not a problem at all, the boss finds – and has good reasons.
Artificial intelligence is a topic that divides the masses. Some love the possibilities that AI offers and how it can simplify their daily lives, while others see it as the death of creativity, a threat to jobs, or the end of original art – whether it’s video games, images, or songs.
However, AI and its use have become indispensable in many areas and are even used by the biggest developers – such as Larian Studios. The boss, Swen Vincke, recently explained in an interview how he uses AI in his company, but that sparked a small shitstorm to which he responded with rather drastic words.
Divinity will be the new game, but Baldur’s Gate 3 is still fresh in many people’s minds:
Where do his statements come from? In an interview with Bloomberg magazine, Swen Vincke spoke about the development of the new Divinity game, which impressed with its dark trailer at the Game Awards. Although there have been hardly any details about the game so far, Vincke also talked about AI and how to use machine learning in the workplace in response to a question during the interview.
The article states that “developers often use AI tools to explore ideas, fill PowerPoint presentations, develop concept art, or write placeholder text.” It was also mentioned that under Vincke, Larian would be “pushing hard towards generative AI”.
It was exactly the wording “to create concept art” that sparked a small shitstorm.
AI replaces artists – but that’s not true, says Vincke
What is the criticism? On X, but also in various subreddits, Vincke is criticized for the interview and the statements made therein. Particularly concept artists see their work in danger and are convinced that AI art can never match up. There were insults and concerns like “Now Larian is done” or “Another star falls from the sky.” There are also accusations that Larian would employ fewer concept artists out of greed because they could be replaced by AI – just as many have always predicted.
However, according to Vincke, the reality looks different. Responding to the many allegations about the interview, he spoke up on X with clear words and explained exactly how his statements were to be interpreted:
Holy fuck, guys, we are “not pushing hard” towards AI or wanting to replace concept artists with it.
We have a team of 72 artists, of which 23 are concept artists, and we are even hiring more. The art they create is original, and I am very proud of what they do.
I was specifically asked about concept art and our use of generative AI. I answered that we use it to explore things. I did not say that we use it to develop concept art. The artists do that. And they are truly world-class artists.
We use AI to research references, just as we use Google or art books. In the very early stages of idea collection, we use it to roughly outline what composition we want and then replace that with the original concept art. There is no comparison. (…)
We hire creatives based on their talent, not for their ability to do what a machine suggests, but so they can experiment with these tools to make their lives easier.
How the community reacts to the statement: In the Larian Studios subreddit, Vincke’s statement is being discussed. Most seem to be reassured by this explanation, although many also feel it would be good to constantly focus on the dangers of AI:
- “Probably a steep thesis, but I am honestly glad that even the possibility of AI already sparks this firestorm. Obviously, people can now take a deep breath, now that everything has been explained, but we should never tolerate the use of generative AI in art. Not with voice actors, not with artists, not with writers. Not at all.” – SmellsofGooseberries
- “It’s really frustrating to see how Reddit people are getting worked up over something while simultaneously being wildly misinformed. I understand Swen.” – Electrical_Corner_32
- “‘AI’ is just this thing thrown around that you have to hate right now – so just using the term makes people grab their weapons. Most of these anti-posts have a very low understanding of what they are actually protesting against. I’m sure I’ve heard Swen talk about AI in an interview a few months ago.” – ShiteyLittleElephant
Larian used AI already in Baldur’s Gate 3
That Larian uses AI to some extent is not new information. Already two and a half years ago, in July 2023, Swen Vincke explained in an interview with MeinMMO that AI is part of daily work to automate processes that hardly anyone wants to do or purely for inspiration. So, they let AI inspire them and then create actual human artworks based on that.
MeinMMO also had the opportunity a few days ago to conduct a long interview with Swen Vincke about the upcoming Divinity. Although AI is not a topic of the interview, we learn a lot about the vision of Divinity – and what we can expect from the next big Larian game or whether the boss is slowly falling into megalomania.
