Palworld Developer Pocketpair Discussed AI in Game Development

In an interview with Game Spark, the developer of Palworld discussed generative AI and its controversy. They mostly discussed AI: Art Impostor, which Pocketpair released in the past. [Thanks, Game Spark!]

Game Spark commented that while AI: Art Impostor left an impression, generative AI sparked a lot of debate both online and in reality. Pocketpair representative and CEO Takuro Mizobe replied that generative AI is still changing and evolving right now. While there are some people who may like it from a technological point of view, others can’t accept it from an artistic or moral perspective. He believes that people should continue to debate about the ethics of generative AI and its regulations.

He adds that because a lot of places have already used AI as a tool, it’s impossible for games to avoid it in the long run. However, since a lot of rules around it and the technology itself are still in the process of evolution, he believes that people have to keep an eye out on that while using it in projects.

Mizobe stated his personal belief is that AI: Art Impostor is a good game. He felt a sense of “duty” when making it, since he felt like he had to make a game using generative AI at a time when people were seeing real potential in its future use. But he’s received a lot of feedback since then. Mizobe iterated that because Pocketpair is making entertainment, it wants to avoid anything that could make people unhappy or upset. In the future, it wants to keep be mindful of and balance people’s opinions on developing technology while implementing them in games.

AI: Art Impostor is one of the earlier games from Palworld developer Pocketpair. It came out in 2022 and is an AI drawing game similar to “A Fake Artist Goes to New York.” However, players will use generative AI to create the drawings and find the impostor. It’s available on the Windows PC and mobile devices.