The Catchup
Dive into the world of trending topics every Monday morning with us on The CatchUp! Our podcast unravels the complexities of today’s biggest stories, from the rapid advancements in Artificial Intelligence to the latest global news. Engage with our unfiltered opinions and spontaneous, in-depth discussions that dive into AI's impact on society and beyond. Our unscripted conversations offer fresh perspectives and insights, making “catching up” the perfect blend of real talk and real topics. Tune in for thought-provoking analysis and lively debate that will redefine your Monday mornings.
The Catchup
Artificial Intelligence: The Game Changer in Video Gaming
Geared up for a thrilling dip into the future of gaming? Strap in as we navigate the electrifying realm of artificial intelligence and its implications on the gaming industry. We promise you a stimulating conversation on how AI might transform the landscape of video games - think grander games, long-term service branch models, and much more. However, we’re not shying away from the potential pitfalls either. Creating video games is an intricate process that demands more than just AI, and we’ll be tackling those complexities, head-on.
As we venture further, we're set to uncover the intriguing intersection of AI, gaming, and advertising. Imagine personalized ads, tweaked matchmaking algorithms, and boosted microtransactions - AI could make all this possible and more. We’ll investigate how developers might harness AI to pump up profits and how some companies are already laying the groundwork for AI-driven gaming. Join us for this exhilarating journey into the sometimes complex, but always thrilling world of AI in gaming.
Let's get into it!
Follow us!
Email us: TheCatchupCast@Gmail.com
All right. So I had this question for the past several weeks. It popped up in my head Future of gaming with AI right? What does that look like? I thought of it mainly from the thought processes when I preordered NBA 2K24, right. And then I thought to myself man, is there ever going to be a day where they don't have to make a 2K25, 26, 27, but instead it's just NBA 2K and AI always updates it. Right? You can update the players, new draft, people even make slight changes to the game, like if Seattle comes back as a team again you know stuff like that and it just seems like it'd be such an efficient way for them to do it.
Speaker 1:Now, this is a bit of an anomaly, I guess, which we'll talk about more, but they make a lot of money off of in-game purchases. There's a lot of people that jump in there and say, hey, I want to be rated 99 overall, which, if you don't know, 2k it's as high you can be and they'll spend over $100 to upgrade their their own customized player to make them that, so they can compete online. So it's a unique situation for them to continue to make money even if they employ AI over at 2K Sports. Yeah, but I did raise some questions. I thought we should talk about it, you know. Yeah, I think it's.
Speaker 2:I think it's a great discussion.
Speaker 1:OK, well, let's not waste any more of your time and let's slap right into it. What's going on? Everybody? I'm John and I'm Denison, and this is the catch up. All right? Yeah, we want to remind you of three most powerful ways to support us before you get head deep into this topic. Right, number one? There, it is Nice little smartphone, just you wait.
Speaker 1:Viewers first time viewers. Number one give us a like and review. Wherever you're listening, wherever you're watching, there is always a way to give us a review, and it is the easiest, most helpful thing that you could do for us. It lets us know how we're doing and, if we need to, how we can improve, but also helps us out from more viewers. So, please, you can leave us a rain review Now. Number two Jeez, I told Rick Gates, bro, I was like Rick Gates, you ain't got nothing on my boy, denison, you got two phones too, man. So, number two, forgive us.
Speaker 1:Follow, subscribe wherever you're listening, wherever you're watching, and you know that's the best way to keep up with us every single week, of course. And, yeah, leave us a rating review as well. You know, I realize my ones, my twos are crossing over now, but these are the best ways that you can keep up with us. Remember to like, subscribe and jump on our live stream. We go live every Thursday night and we can invite you to discuss with us in real time, get your take on whatever we're talking about and you get to shape the focus of the podcast as we move forward, so you will have an immediate influence on what our listeners get to hear. And number three oh my gosh, suck it. Rick Gates, he gone man. So, number three, we have a nice, sweet, good looking shop for you to look nice and clean in. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:So if you want to go over to the link down below. Wherever you're listening, wherever you're watching, check out our shirts maybe getting cool very soon. Get some long sleeves, get some hoodies, we got hats, we got beanies, we got mugs and we got phone cases, bro. So check it all out and get you something nice, bro. A small portion of it goes to support this show. So, with that said, let's jump into this topic. Man, so I know we kind of laid a little bit of groundwork before we started. You know doing our thing. What's your overall thoughts? You know, like I said, lay the groundwork. What's your overall thoughts on AI developed or influenced games?
Speaker 2:You know, I that's a good question, it's a really good question. I think you can go into a few different directions, but I think you know, one of the quick and easiest ways is that I think it can allow us to have bigger 古いきり返す. Oh, excuse me, Uh-huh.
Speaker 2:Bigger yachts Of course, yeah, bigger yachts. But other than that, I believe that I think that it can make us or allow us to create bigger and better games. Reason being is because you know, if we're using it properly, we have the opportunity to have AI create or really ease the burden of creating certain things, because you can have this AI model create it. You know, in the fraction of the time that it would take a normal human to do it, because you know you can have the AI create a baseline and then a human can come in and do like those small little details. So I think that's something that would be really helpful.
Speaker 2:I do think kind of what you were alluding to earlier. I do think that it can help for, like long term service branch models. You know, something similar to like a world of Warcraft, something that's, you know, built to be sustained for a long period of time, because you can consistently have an AI that goes in and injects new content, new things and all sorts of things to create more longevity for video games. But I can also see it kind of backfiring in some ways, because you know it's a complicated thing. Making video games is incredibly complicated and it's something that you consistently like do better on, I guess if that makes any sense. Like you know, you're always trying to make something more, make more realistic. You're always trying to make something with better competent camp and all sorts of other things, and so there's a lot that kind of goes into it. But overall I think it can have a very positive impact on the gaming industry if used properly.
Speaker 1:I agree. You know I laid out this idea I had at the beginning thinking about. You know how games are renewed every single year Madden's. Another example, obviously FIFA is you know. These are all examples of how AI could update those games are really there's more like people who are deep into SIM, right, their games did that often. The thing about eye racing obviously Gran Turismo is one. Is there a I don't know why it's popping in my head the flight simulator, the banger of the game. But do you think that these are games that could benefit from an AI that over time could look at these games and be like all right, let's set date for this improvement.
Speaker 1:You know, and then it just goes out and does it, it does it on internally and then lets you know about it when you get on, you know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, I can see, I can see those games help for it. Now, I think, for business aspect of it, I think there may be something you know, there may be a problem with that type of mentality, that type of use of AI, because monetarily, a lot of video games, you know, creating, releasing a new video game has generates far more profit than maintaining a video game. Sure, you know. So I think I can see that it can be a benefit to the user. Right, you know, you buy one copy of the game and you have it forever. Right, you continue to keep it. I mean, heck. A great example of this actually is, in some ways, is GTA 5, right, that game came out all the way back in, like the PS3 and PS, or in Xbox 360 era. Geez, right, wow, that's crazy and it lasted all the way up and still is an ongoing thing.
Speaker 1:I do have a PS3 copy of that. I forgot all about that.
Speaker 2:Exactly, exactly, and so you have. You know that game has lasted all the way up to now, yeah, and potentially, you know, will continue until I think. Right now they're looking, from what I've heard, leaks and stuff like that of like a 2025 release date. So that's two more years, right? That's insane for a game that is so old.
Speaker 1:So that's a side note too. Has a game ever done that before, where it's sequel comes out 12 years later?
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, there's. There's a couple that come to mind, yeah.
Speaker 1:All right, this is your amateur gamer over here, doggin.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I mean. One that comes to mind automatically is Kingdom Hearts. Oh sure, Sure yeah. The Kingdom Hearts 2 came out in what? 2008? I think it was, and we didn't actually get a Kingdom Hearts 3 until I think it was 2020.
Speaker 1:What Okay?
Speaker 2:So, yeah, it's so. There are gaming studios that do take their time when it comes to when it comes to new games being released.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'll tell you one that I can think of. It's not really sequel, necessarily. I just got to shout this out, bro. I'm so excited. I wanted to know what your thoughts were. They're making a new Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic, bro.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I heard about this. Yeah, it's gonna be so cool.
Speaker 1:I'm not a huge Star Wars guy for those watching, but I love some things, but the old nights were the of the Republic. It's one of the best video games I ever played when I was a kid. Yeah, no, it's an amazing game. Yeah, and I'm just a fact that it's completely wide open role playing. You can do whatever you want to do, mm. Hmm, that's our games, a lot of games. That's how they should be, I feel like.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I wholeheartedly agree, really do.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 2:I'll just give you just an update. So, yeah, kingdom Hearts 2 came out in 2005. And the sequel came out in 2019. It's, it'll be just two years short, yeah, so, but yeah, I mean, yeah, so I mean, there are plenty of games that have like super long development cycles, but I guess the biggest problem, or the biggest thing difference in these is that you would be maintaining the game service as things are going right. You know, for, like, kingdom Hearts deal, that was, you know, we didn't have any other like we didn't have an ongoing system going Like, for instance, for GTA 5, there is still a GTA 5 online that is continuously going. They're continuously adding more content to the game. They're, you know, doing all sorts of different things. So it's still actively being developed and worked on.
Speaker 2:And I do think that AI systems can create Games that would be able to benefit very well from that. Because, yeah, you could say kind of, like you already said, like on this date, release this type of content or whatever like that. But you know, even then you could even have getting on a more grandiose level. Right, you could have an AI essentially write out content. You could say, hey, we have this game, we want to want you to write out 10 years worth of content yeah, right, yeah, you know, and what would need to be in it and stuff like that. And now it's going to list out like all the different ideas and the storylines that it can create, all sorts of things, and then it can come in and like start working on each of those individual projects. So that way it everything makes that date.
Speaker 1:So you know that's always a thought process.
Speaker 2:I think that would be, you know, could be potentially really really good for the player.
Speaker 1:Well, and that's kind of one of the things I was thinking about, asking you to be honest with what that would look like. You know what would be an efficient way to use AI to make games. You know, I like those ideas, I really do, I think also, I do think in the year, in the idea of yearly renewed games, you know, like 2K, like men, that there would be a benefit. Actually, you know what I would do, which, of course, I'm not looking at the bottom line, right, but if I were, I would think you know what, man, okay, I'm going to build NBA 2K, right? Mm-hmm, I don't know how you name it necessarily, but it's going to cover multiple years, yeah, you know. And then we're going to have AI make it better for like two or three years, so that way we can make the next one the best one we could possibly make. Yeah, because the problem with those games, they just don't have time. They don't have time to make those things back.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they just churned it out like a freaking you know thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was in a cutscene on PS4. Granted, I hadn't bought my PS5 yet. I was in a cutscene where there were players sitting in a locker room behind me, right, mm-hmm, and they looked like paper. They looked like sheets of paper, and even on PlayStation 4, there was no good excuse for that, except for the fact that they were rushed and developing those within a year, yep exactly you know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's sad Because it shouldn't even be a thing like that. Like that shouldn't be a thing, right? You should have like 3D models of people sitting back there and stuff, instead of just Like you said paper with that man.
Speaker 1:I mean, if you look at it too, you think, well, man, I mean, you know, I can make this so much better if I use AI. I just think you know we've seen AI develop in every way. You know it just would make sense to me that it would help in this way too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think so. I mean, the possibilities are kind of endless, right, because you can have it to where the AI helps you develop different DLC. You can have it to where it you can help you develop. Now, more cynical portion of me is ways to keep players you know engaged. Essentially, engaged in stuck in the system. Right, you can come up with new ways for people to pay for different things by using the AI. So I think you know the skies really is kind of like the limit for a little bit yeah.
Speaker 1:Without doubt, man, without doubt there definitely are. Like reason you know AI may have not been exploited on every level yet, but it will 100% be used in that way. Hey, how can we take this game? Maybe you make the game as broad as possible and then that AI cones in and expands upon that way that that you know it finds that person's likeness and expands upon that route is going to take that person right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly, Completely agree. Yeah, but I mean sorry, go ahead.
Speaker 1:No, I, you know, I was just thinking. It totally makes sense. It's going to be that way, right? So have you seen Minority Report? Yes, I have, yeah, yeah, yeah. So there's a scene. I'm gonna pick up a still image from it. Excuse me, and this is really just telling the future, the only thing I find not feasible about this movie is that it's not AI that fueled him. It's like three aliens that have supernatural beings that they connect their entire police system to. Yeah, it doesn't sound right, but it's a little weird.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but let's see, that's when the best screenshot? Probably this one. Yeah, probably this one. Let me bring this up. I know we're kind of veering away from games, obviously, but I think this is pertinent, all in the same vein. Yeah exactly.
Speaker 1:Here we go. So this right, he's walking into this mall. This Lexus ad pops up over here, this BLV ad pops up over here, and they're just targeting him because they scandom way walked in. They knew who he was right, so they put these digital ads up in front of him as he walked in. What's crazy about this is it matches his gaze. So there's this person back here. It's also getting a different projection, with different ads aimed at him at the same time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's kind of crazy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm not saying that that's soon, but if you think that's not going to happen, dude, you're completely wrong. Exactly, I know you do no.
Speaker 2:no, I know.
Speaker 1:I'm talking about views you got to know that's going to happen, because AI I mean, the number one thing in this world is advertising, right, yeah, and AI is definitely going to be used in that way. Sorry, what were you going to?
Speaker 2:say no. I was just going to say I mean, honestly, you could have it to wear in video games, right? If everybody has their personalized video game ad in there just because of, like, you know that's what they want to do, so it's really not that far-fetched to see that. You know, if we're going to take it on the bad side, right, I can also see it as where you, through these heavily AI driven games, you could make it to where it becomes almost impossible. Especially for like games like 2K and the Madden and stuff like that, where there's like a lot of microtransactions. These AIs can do an amazing job of convincing you that you need to buy you know X amount of you know, I don't know purchasable items with real money, because of how well they target you with the ads, as well as how well they play you right, because, think about it, right, if you're going matchmaking, I can see it this way. Right, this is more, you know, insidious, but I can see it to wear in matchmaking. They're all there and I think in some ways, they're already doing this. Right For some of the matchmaking algorithms.
Speaker 2:But think of you going into a lobby right Of wanting to just, you know, play some pickup games, right, and then it pairs. It knows, oh, this particular person needs is more susceptible to these types of microtransactions, these types of clothing that they would want to have for their player, or whatever. Let's find an exact player that has all of this stuff and match them up with this person and make sure that their skill level is above a certain point. So that way, that person one will lose to the person with the nicer stuff and two, it'll make them it'll. It will continue that same cycle.
Speaker 2:So that way, eventually, subliminally, or sublimity gosh, darn, my brain's not working but you're going to say, well, I need to buy X to be able to be, to be able to play at this level, even though you know, you don't know that they're playing, they're just like better players, or like, literally, people who have just been training and practicing and becoming better. You don't know that, but they, I know it and they're going to put that on you and so it can increase micro transactions. You know I can. I can see a lot of it. You know a lot of game developers being able to milk this type of technology to increase their profit.
Speaker 1:I completely agree. I mean, they already have set the groundwork in that for certain games. Of course I'm just getting back in the gaming, but I already noticed on 2k right, one of the things that you can do as your player is you can gain fans and therefore gain new advertising opportunities, right, Endorsement opportunities. And so one of them was from Gatorade. And they oh yeah, it was weird, right? So you design your own bottle. That's like a water bottle, right, it's like a Gatorade. You have some name for it.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And you design, you put, say what color you wanted and how you want the logo on it, all that stuff. It's so cheesy dude. And then on the PS4 version, I'm sure you do on the PS5 version, but on the PS4 version you never see that freaking log model, oh my gosh. So actually there's a whole other game like our whole, or part of that game I could vent about very strongly on the PS4 version specifically. But yeah, with that it tells you after you ink that deal, you also now get 10% off buying one of those bottles online in real life.
Speaker 1:Why yeah? So these companies are already laying the framework for this man.
Speaker 2:Yeah, now it sounds like it. So it's already. You know, it's already becoming a problem and AI is just going to accelerate it to you know that even higher degree.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:Or go ahead.
Speaker 1:No, I have a. I'll tell you that thing. Right. So there's a whole side of the my career story that you get on the PS5 version of 2K20. You don't get on PS4. Oh, wow. It's so annoying dude. There's like you help or you get Devin Booker's, Jordan's by helping work with them in this park situation. You meet, you meet Jake Hall and get to record a song with them. That's cool, yeah, and then. But the main thing is this so you're putting together like your entrance stuff, right and so it says what do you want your entrance song to be?
Speaker 1:You know, there was a, I think, even like your motion and stuff like that, and there was a segment where the coach showed you what your locker room looks like and you go over here and you find you starting and you know you go over here and you do this in the locker room, blah, blah, blah. And then there's another part of it where you decide what you wear and you you'll. That's part of every game you walk through. You know how, like pregame, you see like Russell Westbrook walk through with whatever he's wearing, and that's part of this. So you still, you know you have your outfit and then you're walking to the locker room with that and the cameras are on you, right? Oh, this can help ink. What kind of shoe deal you want to paint on how your dress? All of that I just mentioned is laid out in the game and not in the freaking game. That's crazy. Yeah, the locker room isn't even there, bro. There's no locker room you can go to.
Speaker 1:I spent money for these songs and the sound effects to happen while I'm playing, right, like I picked that little sonic coin to ding from when I hit a free throw that's. That doesn't even happen in the game at all. Oh my gosh, yeah. And then you don't have any. I bought a whole suit, a whole suit because I'm like I'm trying to ink that deal with Nike. You don't even have a walk in. There's none of that. There's no walk out to the court, there's no walk into the stadium. I'm like bro and see, I guess the tie bag. That was very frustrating, but the tie bag, like you would think that's the thing I could take care of. Hey, this is an S4 version. Let's wipe it out, maybe even find something that we can do. That's an entertaining PS4, just for PS4, you know or 360, or I guess it'd be one.
Speaker 1:Xbox one I don't even care about Xbox, but but yeah, you know it's. Yeah, it was crazy, I was like bro. Anyway, it's another idea. You know, I think we had a good conversation about this, unless you else you want to add.
Speaker 2:No, I mean, I think the only thing that I really wanted to add is and stuff.
Speaker 2:I think one reason why I think this future is still kind of far off, at least when it comes to game development, you know, is games are very complicated and one of the biggest things about them is that, like you know, a lot of these run on graphic engines or game engines, and that's how essentially the backbone, if you really want to think of it, is the backbone of how the games are made right and how they act and all sorts of other stuff. And you know, that's one thing that just can't be replicated with an AI, at least not currently in its current state. And so, you know, I think these are great thoughts and I think it is something that we do need to continue to work on and speak about, because it shapes how the gaming industry will move forward right and how we as a society will move forward to push them in the right direction. So we don't have to double back, because I feel like that's a lot of issues that we get In general with some of the AI that we have right now. Right.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, I completely agree, man. I mean, first of all, this is going to happen. Ai is going to touch on whatever segment you imagine that it could, right, if it's important to you. You got to speak your voice, just like this, right, because our voice from the outside is going to be different from you know there's on the inside. That's just how it goes with almost everything, and then I completely agree with them, man. You got so many opportunities in this sector especially, you know, gaming, really amazing and maybe even fast forward the race to augmented and actual virtual reality. You know, actual, not just putting on a goggle, but like your entire senses are put inside a virtual realm you know Exactly exactly.
Speaker 2:That would be amazing, It'd be crazy. You have to let me know how it goes, you'll have to let me know. I feel like I did before. I would.
Speaker 1:They wrote ready player one for a reason. Actually, they do have player two. Okay, I got go at some point then. All right, yeah, it'll be cool. There's a lot that can come from this. So I think we had a good discussion on this and thank you guys, so much for tuning in. Thank you much for listening and for watching. Please, if you are just catching the live stream after it went live, feel free to leave your comments, leave your thoughts. Let us know what you think about this episode. Remember, leave us a rating review, follow us on Facebook and YouTube to yeah, jump on our live streams If you want. Check our store linked below. Get you some good, clean merch. With that said, thank you so much for listening. Thank you for watching. I will catch up with you next week.
.JPG)