There was this heated debate about use of AI for development of Divinity by Larian. I did not follow and don't know exactly what Larian meant when swearing not to use AI. I only hope it does not equal the decision of a shipowner in the 1870s to stay away from steamers because they are dirty and unreliable, and proudly trust sailing ships only.
Let's assume Larian only does not use AI generated art and story content but is open to AI otherwise. Interaction with companions is in my opinion an important part of a group based RPG. There are some mods for video games which use Large Language Models for controlling NPCs or allowing communication with followers, often with the possibility to have Text To Speach functions. LLMs and TTS often need internet connections (I really don't like games relying on Internet connection) but are also possible as local models to a certain extent.
I'm not experienced with AI in general and relatively reluctant to use it in my job (still waiting for even one totally correct answer of an LLM) but I'm excited about the possibilities in games. Especially if integrated by the developers themselves, and with TTS at the local level, new dimensions of gameplay interaction seem to be possible. Companions would get a kind of personality and not only some bland surface. Something new could happen. Replayability would be better. Also a lot of funny situations could occur, from cunning or the frequent stupid AI decisions.
Mods are great and I assume their makers know at lot more about AI than the common video game devs, but I would surely throw a bunch of money at any game developer who would offer for example a DLC with AI functions for combat control and companion interactions. Even better if a game is developed from the ground with AI in mind.
What about the use of AI f.e. for companions and maybe some enemies in Divinity? At least as an option? Is there anything known about plans in that direction? What were the concerns about such a feature?
