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Ask HN: Is it worth avoiding AI while making a game?

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Re: Ask HN: Is it worth avoiding AI while making a game?

#11

Post by 2muchclout »

WCSTombs wrote: post #8

I 100% recommend that you avoid AI-generated assets in your game. The stigma around AI-generated assets is very real, and not going away soon. Although people might enjoy using AI for their own purposes, by and large they don't want to be subjected to other people's use of it. Moreover, while I don't have the data to back this up, I would have to think that among the segment of the population that plays indie games,…

> In the second part of the question you asked if you should just learn all of the skills...buddy, does that question not answer itself?

Yes I agree, I don't think I worded my post well. I want to learn all the skills and such, because I enjoy learning. My post was more centered around if I was behind the times and thinking in the past by not using it.

> Since I could be labeled as an "AI hater" based on those comments, I want to be clear that I'm saying all this to keep you from falling into a trap and not to further my own agenda

I don't think AI hater label would be fair, you're making a similar point that I was trying to make which is that specifically for art in video games, it might be to someone's detriment.

Re: Ask HN: Is it worth avoiding AI while making a game?

#12

Post by munksbeer »

I would like to try game development, only for personal satisfaction, and I will definitely be using coding agents and AI generated assets to help. I have very little free time and I am a decent enough programmer that I think I should be able to pick up what the agent is doing if I keep the chunks small enough and review each time. And this will be for my own hobby purposes and possibly for my children only.

But, if I were to make a game for commercial purposes I would very much either avoid using AI, or use it only for the code (and not reveal that), because as you rightly point out, the indie gaming community is massively against AI, and will reject your game if they know you used it.

Re: Ask HN: Is it worth avoiding AI while making a game?

#13

Post by muzani »

WCSTombs wrote: post #9
2muchclout wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I get where your sarcasm is coming from, you either didn’t read the post or are ignorant to the point. AI is severely different in the gaming industry, where the goal isn’t to make a software where “maximized productivity” is the most important metric. Also, you seem to ignore the point that it is looked down upon whether you agree or not.

Yeah, using generative AI to boost productivity (i.e., with coding assistants), and using it to literally generate artistic assets for the the game, are very different propositions. Steam's AI tag also very clearly distinguishes between the two.

Does it clearly distinguish? We're in an era where AI being used to generate unused textures would get the whole game flagged as AI generated.

Re: Ask HN: Is it worth avoiding AI while making a game?

#15

Post by cableshaft »

muzani wrote: post #14

If you're targeting desktop, Steam will be your primary distribution channel by a huge margin. Steam is AI-hostile. Don't use it. If you're targeting something like mobile or web, do whatever you like with AI. Some will avoid it, but they're a vocal minority.

I thought Steam just required you to disclose your A.I. use. Or are you referring to players on the platform being hostile to it?

Here's an article from January talking about their updates on gen-AI disclosure: https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/mustafa-mahmoud/steam-upd...

Re: Ask HN: Is it worth avoiding AI while making a game?

#16

Post by cableshaft »

So I've handcoded and released a couple dozen games in the past, but I'm now old with responsibilities and a day job of coding, and my brain just doesn't have the energy to mess about with it like it used to after a day of work, so I have started experimenting with letting A.I. agent code some things (and been surprised at how well it can work).

I'm aware of the gen AI stigma but it's either that or this damn game probably never gets released at this point (I basically let the game sit dormant all year last year, only recently picking it back up again), and I have a full graveyard full of unreleased projects the past decade and would like to finally get something out there again.

That being said, at least for the forseeable future, I won't use any A.I. generated art or music in the game (unless I inadvertently hire an artist that does use it, I guess), because there is still a huge (and somewhat justifiable) stigma against A.I. generated art and music assets.

So instead I'm just doing what I did in the past, and creating the art and music myself as best I can with Illustrator or Logic Pro, and keeping my games fairly simple and abstract so it doesn't seem too much like programmer art (I might at some point pay an artist or musician to improve things just before it gets released though).

Re: Ask HN: Is it worth avoiding AI while making a game?

#18

Post by muzani »

muzani wrote: post #13
WCSTombs wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, using generative AI to boost productivity (i.e., with coding assistants), and using it to literally generate artistic assets for the the game, are very different propositions. Steam's AI tag also very clearly distinguishes between the two.

Does it clearly distinguish? We're in an era where AI being used to generate unused textures would get the whole game flagged as AI generated.

After checking, it looks like they just revised the policy in 2026.

Re: Ask HN: Is it worth avoiding AI while making a game?

#19

Post by muzani »

cableshaft wrote: post #15
muzani wrote: post #14

If you're targeting desktop, Steam will be your primary distribution channel by a huge margin. Steam is AI-hostile. Don't use it. If you're targeting something like mobile or web, do whatever you like with AI. Some will avoid it, but they're a vocal minority.

I thought Steam just required you to disclose your A.I. use. Or are you referring to players on the platform being hostile to it? Here's an article from January talking about their updates on gen-AI disclosure: https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/mustafa-mahmoud/steam-upd...

Thanks for checking. It looks like the policy was updated.

2024: All Generative AI images were banned

2025: Disclosure of all use of AI, even little things like it being used for brainstorming titles

2026: Disclosure of all AI assets

Re: Ask HN: Is it worth avoiding AI while making a game?

#20

Post by CM30 »

Depends on what you're using AI for. Programming purposes? Most people aren't too bothered by that all things considered. Making assets like art and music? Yeah, people really dislike that, and there's a huge stigma against games featuring such assets on platforms like Steam.

Even if you manage to ignore the ethics issues and controversy, AI generated assets have the issue that they can be difficult to work with for a game developer, since these tools don't really make it easy to keep everything consistent across a game with thousands of resources. For example, if you made a 2D platformer with a pixel art aesthetic, AI generated graphics probably wouldn't work that well there. They'd look generic, show various signs of bad pixel art practices that would make them stand out as unnatural, likely not match the style for other assets in the game, be difficult to modify while keeping the same look and feel, etc.

Creating one piece of artwork with generative AI (as ethically dubious/controversial as it is) is 'manageable', since you don't need to care much about stylistic consistency, edits, etc. Creating all the assets needed for a game with such a tool sounds like a nightmare.

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