Microsoft Xbox Unveils a Highly Impractical AI Model for ‘Gameplay Ideation’

Yesterday, Microsoft Xbox unveiled a new tool called Muse, which they describe as a generative AI model crafted for “gameplay ideation.” Accompanying the announcement was an open-access article on Nature.com, a blog post, and a YouTube video. Not quite sure what they mean by “gameplay ideation”? Essentially, Microsoft talks about creating “game visuals, controller actions, or both,” but the actual practicalities of this AI remain limited. It’s far from revolutionizing the game development process or replacing traditional methods.

Yet, there’s some intrigue to the numbers involved. Training Muse involved using H100 GPUs on a large scale and required a staggering million updates just to transform one second of live gameplay into nine seconds of responsive, engine-accurate simulated gameplay. The data used for training has primarily been sourced from existing multiplayer gaming sessions.

Instead of a single computer handling it, Microsoft utilized a cluster of 100 Nvidia H100 GPUs to train this model. This approach is not only significantly pricier and more power-hungry, but it also only manages to produce an output resolution of 300×180 pixels, extending gameplay visualization by about nine additional seconds.

A standout demo from the team showcased how Muse could replicate props and enemies within the game environment, mimicking their behavior. But it raises the question: why pour resources into this AI approach when game development tools already efficiently manage tasks like spawning enemies or props?

Muse managed to uphold object permanence and mimic the original game’s behavior, which is a feat in itself. However, its application remains rather inefficient when compared to established game development methods. Perhaps future iterations of Muse could achieve more exciting goals, but right now, it seems like yet another project aiming to simulate gameplay with AI. Despite its engine accuracy and object consistency, this method seems incredibly inefficient for development, testing, or gameplay. It leaves one questioning the real necessity of such a tool after sifting through all the available information.

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