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[jko]

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=19430

The videogames industry is no longer focused on improving graphics, according to Sony Computer Entertainment UK boss Ray Maguire, with attention now turning to artificial intelligence to make games more compelling.

Speaking at the BAFTA headquarters in London, at an event designed to underline the British Academy's new commitment to the videogame medium, Maguire said that the power of the central processors in the next-generation consoles meant that graphics were no longer top priority for developers.

"We are no longer interested in graphics per se, because graphics chips can do that for us," he commented, "but the central processors of all the new games machines are about making games more compelling by adding in artificial intelligence."

"The Cell chip is so powerful it can do 256 million calculations per second... That means one thing for us in the videogames industry: artificial intelligence."

Maguire told the audience that since he started working in the videogames industry in 1991, the focus had been strongly on improving graphics - but that graphics have now reached a point where they are so good that developers must look elsewhere for the next big step forward.

As an example, he asked the audience at BAFTA to consider the game character of Lara Croft and her movie counterpart, played by Angelina Jolie - arguing that the most important difference between the two is not visual, but lies instead in the fact that Jolie has a brain and human emotions.

He showed off a proof of concept video showing a rendered female character auditioning for a movie role, and talking through her relationship with her husband from meeting him, through to her decision to murder him after discovering that he was having an affair. Maguire highlighted the gamut of emotions which went through the character, claiming that this kind of emotional impact will be possible in game characters on next-gen systems.

"We're not talking about graphics any more," Maguire concluded. "We're talking about performance and we're talking about art."

 

[PhatSaqs]

AI along with animation should be every devs focus.

 

[Amir0x]

call me when you demonstrate ok Sony UK

(side note: WHERE IS L.A. NOIRE ALREADY!? Team Bondi, get out of Australia and show us the trailer!)

 

[Reilly]

if the AI is ever "good" then Skynet will create a world war and we'll all die.

 

[Stoney Mason]

I thought hi rez textures were the future.

 

[Y2Kev]

Agree...future is in lifelike behavior and animation.

 

[nelkon and parker]

call me when you demonstrate ok Sony UK

Amen

 

[Roders5]

Graphics are no big deal? Sounds like a nintendo employee.

 

[DSN2K]

I just imagine in 10 years we have a completely realistic looking games yet the stiff animation from the PS2 ere remains. :lol

 

[drohne]

uh...sounds like he showed that heavy rain teaser, which is entirely scripted and speaks to the importance of graphics rather than the importance of ai. it'll be neat if all this talk about advanced ai comes to anything, BUT GRAPHICS ARE AWESOME GOD DAMN IT

Graphics are no big deal? Sounds like a nintendo employee.

not quite -- if he was a nintendo employee he would've said that good graphics are sinful and that hardware shouldn't accommodate them.

 

[The Faceless Master]

so is this due to the 10% thing?

 

[PolyGone]

right... because scripted animation like the demo he showed is A.I.? wait, what? Maybe he hasn't seen the current gen performances of characters in games as early as FFX?

 

[GhaleonEB]

call me when you demonstrate ok Sony UK

No, I think you misunderstood. They're just going to talk about it.

"We're not talking about graphics any more," Maguire concluded. "We're talking about performance and we're talking about art."

 

[jko]

if the AI is ever "good" then Skynet will create a world war and we'll all die.

"Come with me if you want to liiiive."

 

[Reilly]

"Come with me if you want to liiiive."

too bad in T1 he's sent back in time to kill sarah connor

 

[GhaleonEB]

"Come with me if you want to liiiive."

It's Kyle Reese that says that line in the first Terminator, and he doesn't say it like that. If you're going to do a funny pic/caption get it right!

 

[jko]

It's Kyle Reese that says that line in the first Terminator, and he doesn't say it like that. If you're going to do a funny pic/caption get it right!

fine here:

 

[Oldschoolgamer]

fine here:

:lol :lol

 

[Zombie James]

The guy's entirely right (along with animation, physics, and procedural technologies). Good thing the industry's in a good position where we can enjoy it along with significant graphical improvements.

 

[GhaleonEB]

fine here:

I always thought that shot was a rip off on Terminator, though I hadn't seen them side by side. Holy shit! :lol

 

[Raistlin]

Long-term this gen ... I think Sony really got it right with their overall system design.

Cell really will be the difference maker as far as pushing games forward in the future.

 

[Dragona Akehi]

Seriously, this is why Nintendo is ****ed. Power isn't just for graphics.

 

[jarrod]

I always thought that shot was a rip off on Terminator, though I hadn't seen them side by side. Holy shit! :lol

The artist who did Konami's early NES covers used to knock-off movie scenes/posters all the time. Contra's takes parts from a Rambo poster iirc.

 

[Roders5]

Seriously, this is why Nintendo is ****ed. Power isn't just for graphics.

What you say is true, but just look at the DS, nintendo knows how to make fun for everyone regardless of power.

 

[GeoramA]

If Cell gives us AI that no other system can, then it's hype is justified. That would be just huge.

 

[Tieno]

Seriously, this is why Nintendo is ****ed. Power isn't just for graphics.

Yep, at least the games I like and want to play, power makes for more beautiful games (not only graphically impressive) and greater influence of art design. Greater AI and animation and shit. Stuff I care about, especially art design! (Mass Effect, lost Odyssey and FFXIII ftw!)

 

[Acosta]

Well, he is mostly right. I think the word he is looking is not "good" but "beliveable", that is the key. Worlds needs to scale through procedural process, so IA goberning it must scale as well to make everything works.

 

[Dragona Akehi]

What you say is true, but just look at the DS, nintendo knows how to make fun for everyone regardless of power.

I do agree - I have immense fun with my DS. However, the PSP is also just a handheld PS2... can't really do "exciting" stuff with that...

I don't doubt that Nintendo won't have awesomely fun games on Wii. But for all the talk they have of pushing the medium forward with new control... I can't help but be disappointed there isn't anything hardware wise they can use to make new gameplay experiences.

 

[JRPereira]

Wasn't there this big stink about in-order processing and the cell processors being unable to do AI well?

If they can make the AI interesting, that's a big plus, but I'd also like to see more focus on music, and a little more on sound as well.

 

[Y2Kev]

What you say is true, but just look at the DS, nintendo knows how to make fun for everyone regardless of power.

While true, a lot of the stuff that works on the DS and in DS games just won't fly at home...and on some level, it will limit enjoyment of certain genres and titles.

Look at how disappointing GT4 is because of the nonexistent AI. Barf.

 

[jko]

I always thought that shot was a rip off on Terminator, though I hadn't seen them side by side. Holy shit! :lol

i'm just looking at the pic more closely now and holy **** it's down to the pixel on the hair and even the smear on the left side of his cheek :lol :lol

 

[Ajax]

if the AI is ever "good" then Skynet will create a world war and we'll all die.

PS3 is the Skynet.

 

[lancubap]

Mmm......

I wanna see this AI improved before judge, because for now PS3's games haven't really a so-complex AI, but we'll see in the future.

 

[jko]

Mmm......

I wanna see this AI improved before judge, because for now PS3's games haven't really a so-complex AI, but we'll see in the future.

i could've sworn the Genji 2 demonstration at E3 had great AI...

 

[Roders5]

While true, a lot of the stuff that works on the DS and in DS games just won't fly at home...and on some level, it will limit enjoyment of certain genres and titles.

Yeah, but I'm not saying they'll just copy DS stuff and all will be good, they seem pretty good at coming up with fun stuff that suits the hardware in question.

I kind of wish graphics didn't move forward quite as fast as they did. All we hear these days is about crazy development costs and ingame ads and micro whatevers to help with costs, plus there's the cost of the consoles themselves. Imagine if ps2 etc was only coming out now, we would be blown away by the graphics still because we'd only be coming off ps1. Should we always be aiming for the best possible graphics just because we can? Developers would have no problem doing the current gen graphics now and could concentrate on different shit, like maybe A.I.

 

[Dante]

AI does need to improve.

 

[Cosmozone]

I constantly hear the power argument but I've my doubts that developers are able to do anything more than enhancing the visuals with it. So far there is nothing to my knowledge. And that AI speech reeks of BS. Does the guy even understand what AI is and what it is able to do. I'd guess no. Also simulation and art are quite conflictive comcepts. That vision has nothing to do with art, IMHO. Compare to MMOs where you have real human fellow players. The interaction you have with the other players can hardly be described as art, unless you're teaming up to make art of some sort.

 

[Dark Fact]

i tend to agree with the statement, I am definitely in the "Game play is king" camp. Graphics are nice, but i think GTA has proven that the quality of the experience is only supplemented by the graphics

 

[bud]

call me when you demonstrate ok Sony UK

(side note: WHERE IS L.A. NOIRE ALREADY!? Team Bondi, get out of Australia and show us the trailer!)

their site is saying soon since july...

 

[loosus]

I agree that Wii could really benefit in many ways from at least a more capable CPU. I mean, if the competitors can get, basically, triple-core 2.8 GHz CPUs in their machines (not to mention everything else in there), would a single-core 2 GHz CPU had been asking for too much in Wii?

 

[MrSardonic]

****ing hell. BOLD THE RELEVANT COMMENTS

today every news thread has included no bolding, and that thread about Matt's blog was the worst by not even posting the contents of the blog. As a result I have no idea what any of these threads contain

 

[Roders5]

****ing hell. BOLD THE RELEVANT COMMENTS

today every news thread has included no bolding, and that thread about Matt's blog was the worst by not even posting the contents of the blog. As a result I have no idea what any of these threads contain

 

[davepoobond]

.

 

[Chichikov]

I do not believe that the limiting factor on AI is CPU power.

As an example, he asked the audience at BAFTA to consider the game character of Lara Croft and her movie counterpart, played by Angelina Jolie - arguing that the most important difference between the two is not visual, but lies instead in the fact that Jolie has a brain and human emotions.

Yeah, sure, we’re only fixated on Angelina Jolie because of her dazzling intellect.

 

[Bizarro Sun Yat-sen]

"The Cell chip is so powerful it can do 256 million calculations per second...

 

[SaggyMonkey]

Problem is, that you can't show AI on the back of the box and most game reviewers ignore writing meaningful insight on game behaviors. Given this, most publishers/developers will still prioritize that graphical pop on ps3 and 360. Hopefully it's something that really does make a jump, we very rarely see many advances in AI.

I wonder who will be the first to claim they can fill a Blu-ray Disc with AI scripting.

 

[LevelNth]

right... because scripted animation like the demo he showed is A.I.? wait, what? Maybe he hasn't seen the current gen performances of characters in games as early as FFX?

To be fair to him, I'm pretty sure he was trying to convey that video as something he feels will be possible to achieve in real-time this gen via Cell.

Anyways, I've been of this belief for a while now, and it's why I think CPU's are becoming more important than GPU's for consoles, and why Cell has so much potential. Physics, A.I, and Animation > Visual fidelity and texturing IMO.

 

[Bodom78]

Sony has realized that they have just blown a heap of cash on the PS3 & Cell development and their games won't be looking any better then the 360's so time to makeup some new uses for the Cells so called power.

 

[Joeroll]

I think its more about graphics. But, I would love to see a bigger focus on AI and animations. There is nothing better than seeing a character or objects so beautifully animated.

...and lets do away with floaty/bouncy ragdolls. Put some weight on those bitches!

 

[Zombie James]

Sony has realized that they have just blown a heap of cash on the PS3 & Cell development and their games won't be looking any better then the 360's so time to makeup some new uses for the Cells so called power.