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How GenAI will invent new ways to play

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How GenAI will invent new ways to play

At the 22nd Games for Change Festival, our Executive Creative Director, Phil Stuart, gave his opening keynote to the conference. 

The talk, entitled “How GenAI is Inventing New Ways to Play“, offered a glimpse into our studio’s perspective (and R&D insights) on #GenAI, exploring how it will redefine the boundaries of play and unlock new possibilities for transformative audience experiences.

Katie Hall

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Katie Hall

3 min read

3 min read

Key Takeaways

  • GenAI is a Paradigm Shift: It’s not just a new technology, but a fundamental shift comparable to the iPhone or the World Wide Web, set to transform how we interact and, crucially, what we make in the creative industries, not just how we make it.
  • New Tools for Game Development: GenAI is introducing powerful tools for content creation, including prompt-based generation of images, 3D assets, textures, and even entire 3D worlds. While still developing, these tools will force a rethinking of traditional game development pipelines.
  • Catalyst for New Forms of Play: The most exciting potential of GenAI lies in its ability to enable unprecedented creativity, leading to entirely new and emergent forms of gameplay.
  • GenAI Enables Non-Deterministic Play: By leveraging underlying LLMs, GenAI can create dynamic, unpredictable experiences where outcomes aren’t predetermined, fostering deeper player engagement.
  • GenAI as Roles within Play: GenAI can take on various in-game roles, such as an Arbiter (e.g., a judge in a courtroom drama, interpreting player actions for emergent outcomes), a Creative Enabler (giving players intuitive tools to shape narratives, characters, or worlds), or a Game Master (dynamically adapting rules and experiences on the fly for personalized gameplay).

Future of Play: Deeper, More Personal, and Alive: GenAI promises to deliver deeper immersion through responsive worlds, enhanced agency via more meaningful player choices, and hyper-personalized experiences tailored to individual players.

Play with Purpose

While GenAI opens up new possibilities, the talk emphasises that the critical question isn’t just “what can we make,” but “why are we making it?” The underlying purpose should drive the design process, ensuring GenAI-enabled play contributes meaningfully to the world.

Thanks to Games for Change for the platform and to all our partners who inspire and catalyse our work in this space.

At the conference, PRELOADED was also awarded the Industry Leadership Award for our exemplary social impact work within the games industry.