Final Fantasy Developer Square Enix has reportedly used AI-generated art from software program "Midjourney" in its upcoming game, Foamstars as confirmed by the game's producer, Kosuke Okatani.
The producer stated that the development team wanted to experiment with artificial intelligence in its project, but clarified that most of the art in the upcoming game is still human-made, including every single essential component of Foamstars, including the gameplay mechanics and the fun aspects of the game.
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The Square Enix logo is pictured at the company's booth during the Tokyo Game Show in Chiba prefecture on September 15, 2022.
The artificial intelligence-generated art is said to make up 0.01% or less of the game's material.
Okatani stated in the interview that the game's developers had used the popular generative AI program Midjourney, which turns text prompts into visual art, to produce a limited quantity of artwork for the in-game icons. More specifically, the in-game album covers for the game's music tracks.
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Square Enix and AI
IGN reports that the confirmed AI use is perhaps not a surprising development given that Square Enix president Takashi Kiryu reportedly stated in January 2024 that the business will be proactive in adopting AI and other cutting-edge technology to the content production and publishing operations of game creators.
VGC also states that this is not the first time Square Enix has used AI in its video game development process, as in the past, Square Enix has employed AI to enhance face motion and camera angles in the Final Fantasy 7 remake.
Gamespot reports that Foamstars will be accessible on previous and current generations of PlayStation, PS4 and PS5 on February 6 but will reportedly be free on all PlayStation Plus membership tiers until March 5, which will then reportedly cost $30 afterward.
AI's Future in Video Game Development
The growing application of AI in the video game industry has been demonstrated by this recent development. The CEO of a significant Japanese corporation is getting ready for the possibility that, in five years, half of his programmers and designers would not be required, according to a Bloomberg article.
Executives at Gala Sports, a company listed in Hong Kong, have put on hold non-AI research initiatives, forcing department heads to learn about machine learning, and offered rewards of up to $7,000 for creative AI concepts.
According to Masaaki Fukuda, who worked with Sony to develop the PlayStation Network, there is nothing that can halt, reverse, or delay the present AI development. The 48-year-old Fukuda, who is currently a vice president of Preferred Networks Inc., the biggest AI firm in Japan, sees a massive shift in the way digital content is produced, and his business has partnered with anime maker Crypko.
Crypko offers character illustrations for a set monthly price of ¥4,980 and a commercial license of ¥980 per picture. Normally, character illustrations would cost upward of ¥100,000 ($720) to outsource. The AI currently need human artists to complete its job, but Fukuda stated that the business is constantly refining the tool and should be able to address the majority of flaws in a few years.
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