It’s been a while since AI was presented as the next shiny thing. As an indie game studio owner, designer, and amateur artist, I have mixed feelings. There are aspects of AI that make the workflow easier. For example, I can ask AI to check my grammar and spelling. Instead of making a bunch of adjustments for any audio I want to clean up, I can just use an AI audio filter like Adobe Podcast or a feature on CapCut. The 10-year-old me, who didn’t have the patience or discipline to draw, would have loved a tool like MidJourney. But I can’t help but wonder if striving for efficiency and speed is always the best thing.
The video game we’re building, Neko House, was inspired by the passing of my cat Mikan. It’s not a prompt that I plunked into ChatGPT or a similar AI tool. It came from the heart, and it’s my way of grieving and healing the loss of my best friend. I might have been able to do things faster, more efficiently, and definitely save money, but that would have taken away all of the creative conversations I had with my team. It would have taken away all of the people I met along the way.
I’m certainly not saying that AI is a bad thing. Creating a social media post using Canva has never been easier. It has opened doors for many people in various ways. It’s just that sometimes it’s nice to open up a notebook and start drawing or writing down thoughts that come from me.
What are your feelings on AI?