Six Roles GenAI Will Play in Games

Imagine stepping into a world where a character approaches you, but their dialogue and purpose aren’t predetermined by a script. Instead, they are being generated live by a GenAI model that has a deep understanding of the world’s lore.

At the recent Games for Change Conference in NY, I demonstrated this. With no pre-prompting, the GenAI began to haggle with the player, offering to sell an item and presenting a riddle to be solved. This is GenAI playing with you.

As a designer, I didn’t pre-determine the outcome, and as a player, the experience is emergent. This is non-deterministic play. This style of play, powered by GenAI, will catalyse a wave of new games and play styles that deliver what audiences want: a profound sense of personalisation, meaningful agency, and the thrill of the unexpected.

GenAI’s ability to understand sentiment, adapt dynamically, and foster creativity makes it an ideal games master, character, or opponent, especially in social, non-deterministic games that thrive on human behaviour and creativity.

Here are six roles where GenAI can transform play:

GenAI acts as a dynamic “Dungeon Master,” responding to in-game dynamics by intervening with fun, emergent moments and adding colour and life to the world around you. Think of it as a Stanley Parable narrator with infinite possibilities, capable of changing the rules on the fly based on your decisions.

Play Impact: GenAI is uniquely placed to scaffold this type of play and create the right conditions for the perfect play experience. We are talking about game worlds and experiences that are not constrained by scripts, but are instead living, breathing worlds designed with the intent to maximize the player’s unique and personal experience.

GenAI gives players low-threshold tools to realise their own creative potential. It can create rich sensory output through video, images, voice, or text. Think of games like Scribblenauts or Meta Animdraw, but supercharged.

Play Impact: This means anyone can easily add their own ideas to shape the game world or story, without needing specialist skills. Players can create the ingredients for a story, a character’s backstory, or even new game assets, unlocking the joy of creativity and the thrill of discover.

GenAI enhances the play by taking on a meaningful role alongside human players. It’s not just an NPC; it is an active participant – a loyal companion on a quest, a cunning imposter in a social deduction game like Among Us, or a dynamic rival that adapts to your every move.

Play Impact: This adds new layers of strategy, unexpected twists, and emotional depth to both cooperative and competitive games, creating more complex and engaging social dynamics.

In this role, GenAI operates as a dynamic agent that manages disputes or adjudicates outcomes. It acts as a fair judge or referee.

Play Impact: This opens up entirely new genres. Imagine a courtroom drama game like Ace Attorney where a GenAI judge interprets arguments and evidence to deliver a verdict. Or a debate simulator where an AI evaluates the strength of your reasoning. This allows for deep, impactful negotiation games where nuanced choices truly matter.

GenAI is uniquely placed to scaffold play and create the right conditions for players to let loose and have fun. It can engineer interactions that build bonds, or deliberately sow chaos to maximize entertainment, similar to the fun mechanics in Jackbox games.

Play Impact: By acting as a social facilitator, GenAI can be the spark for meaningful interaction. It can build deeper connections between players by designing scenarios that require collaboration, trust, or even strategic betrayal.

GenAI can support those with low confidence, helping them to be creative and getting the best out of their input in an entertaining way. It acts as a supportive guide, offering suggestions and positive reinforcement.

Play Impact: This makes creative expression and role-playing more accessible to everyone. It provides a safe space for players to experiment, step outside their comfort zones, and grow in confidence. Imagine an AI helping you get into character or explore different dialogue options.

The rise of GenAI is more than just an iteration; it is a paradigm shift. We now have the opportunity to deliver on the long-held promises of interactive entertainment:

• Deeper Immersion: Creating worlds that feel genuinely alive and respond to every action.
• Enhanced Agency: Giving players more meaningful choices that have a real impact.
• Hyper-Personalisation: Experiences tailored uniquely to each individual player and group.

For the first time in a generation, we will be playing types of experiences no one has ever played before. Play that is enabled by GenAI, but driven by human ingenuity, creativity and imagination.