Infinity Nikki Developer: Human Creators Are Irreplaceable by AI

Infold Games, the studio behind Infinity Nikki and Love and Deepspace, remains committed to human-centric game development. In a conversation with IGN Japan at the GDC: Festival of Gaming in San Francisco, Infold Games CTO Ji Zhang emphasized that while AI can be a useful tool in certain aspects of development, it lacks the ability to bring a project to life in the way human developers can. "AI is rapidly evolving and will undoubtedly shape the gaming industry," Zhang noted. "However, I firmly believe that AI cannot replicate the soul and creativity that human developers bring to content creation, and thus cannot replace the roles of core creators." The rising cost of RAM, which may make next-generation hardware unaffordable for many gamers, was another topic of discussion during GDC. As companies like Valve and Xbox navigate the challenges of increasing component prices, Infold Games, which develops games for nearly every platform, seems poised to face similar risks. Nevertheless, Zhang expressed confidence that this is a temporary phase. "The high demand for top-tier memory is a common phenomenon, similar to the ongoing demand for improved CPU performance," Zhang explained. "This is not unusual. As PC games continue to require higher performance, and AAA and mobile games demand more memory, we believe that the current price increase is only temporary." Zhang also delved into the technologies driving Infold's recent global successes, Infinity Nikki and Love and Deepspace. Both titles are free-to-play, feature frequent content updates, and require developers to create a steady stream of new outfits with realistic fabric textures. However, each game utilizes distinct technologies. "At Infold Games, we prioritize graphics, and with our 2019 game Shining Nikki, we transitioned from 2D to 3D," Zhang recalled. "Our primary objective is to ensure that clothing is highly realistic, incorporating physics-based materials and clothing simulation. In Love and Deepspace, we focus on facial expressions and character fine-tuning, whereas Infinity Nikki is centered around an open world, which presented a new challenge for us." Initially, each game was built on a commercial game engine, with Love and Deepspace using Unity and Infinity Nikki utilizing Unreal. While the commercial engines provide a foundation, Infold Games enhances performance with in-house tools and collaborates with hardware companies to optimize the games. Zhang added, "This process is ongoing, and no initial pipeline is perfect. Throughout this process, we identify the most time-consuming elements and bottlenecks, and then make adjustments and fine-tune accordingly."