The Creators of Baldur's Gate 3 Explains Its Application of Machine Learning for Upcoming Divinity

The studio behind popular titles like Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity: Original Sin just shown its new project, creating significant hype within the industry. However, follow-up statements from the studio's co-founder have introduced nuance to the discussion, focusing on the developer's approach toward AI tools.

AI as a Creative Assistant, Not a Substitute

In a recent message, Swen Vincke detailed that the developer is employing generative AI for certain supporting tasks. These include enhancing presentation materials, creating initial visual ideas, and creating placeholder copy.

Notably, Vincke emphasized that the end assets in the game will be authored solely by human creatives. "Larian is writing everything ourselves," he affirmed.

Our studio is continuously growing our pool of concept artists and are currently assembling dedicated writer rooms.

Since this area is being particularly referenced — we presently have over twenty artistic staff and have job openings for more artists.

Everything we do is supplementary and designed to having people spend greater focus on the creative process.

Any AI system applied correctly is supplementary to a artist's routine, never a stand-in for their talent.

Tempering Reactions with Clear Intent

The news of AI usage initially sparked backlash among a segment of the fanbase. In response, Vincke offered additional clarification on social media.

"Our team utilizes these tools to gather inspiration, in the same way we use search engines and art books," he stated. "In the conceptual ideation stages we use it as a basic framework for composition which we then swap out with hand-crafted illustrations."

He added, "Larian brings on artists for their unique talent, not for their ability to replicate what a machine suggests."

Key Areas of AI Integration

Vincke had previously broken down the studio's practical approach to this technology, grouping its use into primary pillars:

• Handling Monotonous Jobs: This encompasses motion capture cleaning, voice editing, and Larian-specific work like adjusting assets for various species.
• Fast-Tracked Experimentation: Using technology to quickly build simple models of gameplay ideas to validate concepts prior to full implementation.
• Future Potential for Gameplay: Researching how AI could one day facilitate innovative reactivity, especially in managing player-driven narratives in a detailed game universe.

He clearly affirmed that core creative disciplines — like visual art — are are absolutely not departments where the company is reducing human talent. In fact, Larian is recruiting more in these exact positions.

"Larian is not launching a game with machine-made assets, nor looking at trimming down creatives to replace them with artificial intelligence," Vincke stated definitively.