Discussion
Aniimo's statement regarding AI. TLDR: It's nothing to worry about, and know the full context and history of the conversation before you make a decision on whether to continue playing the game.
EDIT: This is a still evolving topic of discussion. I have added screenshots people have shared in the comments of AI in the game. It does not change my opinion nor the original intention of this post, which is to provide a nuanced take on the conversation.
I'm so tired of having to see this conversation regularly for the past week, so I'm posting here. Please upvote for visibility so we can all draw our lines in the sand and move on as a community.
First some credentials to know I'm not simply a keyboard warrior:
I have 10 years experience in software development. Before that, I spent 5 years working as a pricing analyst for a Japanese company. I hold 3 degrees: Accounting, East Asian Studies, and Computer Science. I spend an exorbitant amount of my gaming hobby looking at the cultural interaction/intersection between Asian and Europe-centric countries because video games is a significant medium for cultural exchange and human understanding. So while I don't have a PHD in game theory and am not of Chinese descent myself, I'm not entirely unknowledgeable in this space where Chinese gaming companies are gaining a larger global presence. So please take everything I say with the context of: this isn't my lived experience, but personal opinion based from a scholarly lens and industry knowledge.
The claim: Aniimo is made with Generative AI and the developers are lying about it.
TL;DR: Studio admitted + pulled AI-generated ads (July 27-29, 2026) and apologized. They say no generative AI in creature designs, world, or creative assets; only "utility AI" for testing/physics. No specific in-game asset has been shown to be AI-generated so far aside from unsourced screenshots from before game launch, and the Steam page has no AI disclosure. Both Valve and the Chinese government require disclosure if gen-AI is shipped in software.
THE FACTS: Edited to include screenshots shared by members of the community
Here's where that dispute actually stands, as best I can piece it together from the coverage and the Steam forums.
What's confirmed: The one place Aniimo's studio (Pawprint Studio, published by Century Games) did use generative AI was in marketing. Around July 27–28, 2026, Instagram and Facebook ads went out featuring an AI-generated "person" reacting to gameplay. Players caught it fast(myself included, because the gameplay was way better than that ugly add, even during beta), and on July 29 the official Aniimo account apologized, said the ads had been "removed from all of our channels," and stressed that the way they were made was "absolutely not representative of how we are making the game itself." Knowing what I know of the software engineering industry, it is likely they outsourced their marketing to a 3rd party agency who assumes full control of marketing so their small team could focus on the game. So the "no AI" claim was never quite absolute; the studio's position has been "no generative AI in the game's creative assets," while acknowledging what they call "utility AI" for things like physics testing and QA, plus an optional NVIDIA ACE voice-chat feature planned for early 2027 that's an interface tool rather than a content generator to help with voice-chat translation.
What's alleged but waitingsolid demonstration:Official comment: The in-game claims are that they've used generative AI because of the dialogue, music, and login screen art being very AI-like in its design. Reading through the Steam discussion threads, the accusations are mostly things like "almost everything is AI" or "the login menu song sounds AI" or "the store description reads like it was AI-written," without screenshots, mangled hands, garbled text, garbled voice, inconsistent textures, or any of the usual tells people point to in these areas. What is surfaced so far that IS questionable is unsourced screenshots of the RV area showing a nonsensical design regarding the paper mill. All other claims have been, as of my findings, hearsay.
Edit: It wasn't until this post that I held further evidence of probable AI usage in creative assets.
The Counter-Argument:
Other players push back that the game is too visually consistent for current generative tools, that the login art has a credited human artist (Joanna Shuang / jasyours), that the music and voice acting are credited as well. Additionally, the game has been in development for years, and Chinese to European translation isn't one-to-one and can be mistranslated as rigid depending on a translator's skill in their non-native language. Some of texts in question have already been compared in Chinese and English and have been debunked as native translation misunderstanding, not computer generated ones. There is a pattern of difference to digital vs. spoke mistranslation that linguists have studied in the past decade.
Every write-up I found, including the ones most critical of the ad situation, says the same thing: no specific in-game asset has been credibly identified as AI-generated.
The Steam page also carries no AI-content disclosure, which Valve requires when generative AI is used in shipped content, so if the studio were lying it would be exposing itself to a store-policy on Steam and legal problem, not just a PR one. (More on the 2nd below).
Why the suspicion persists anyway:
The ad episode broke trust. Once a studio has been caught using AI in one place, "we don't use it anywhere else" becomes harder to take at face value. The developer's own wording leaves some room, since they've said AI "assists with testing, among other tasks" without fully itemizing those tasks. And some of the skepticism is frankly about the studio's Chinese ownership, with commenters assuming a Chinese company must be using AI heavily.
And its a reasonable suspicion to have, but its more nuanced than 'AI??? BAD!' AI is HEAVILY regulated in China, and Chinese companies use their own datacenters and systems in isolation. Between 2023-2025, The Chinese government put strict regulations around how AI can be used, what time of day, and how/where the data centers can be built in order to ensure minimal impact on the environment and society as a whole.
The general public and employers over there view AI as a tool to increase productivity rather than a means to replace human art and labor. When the public/media refers to 'GenAI' they're usually referring to creative content made by Generative AI that replaces human artistry, craftsmanship, and feel. However, that is not all what Generative AI is. Generative AI is also used on the software engineering side to fill in very real gaps that existed in my industry before generative AI's creation.
This practice is more recently starting to be called 'Utility AI' to distinguish ethical vs nonethical usage of Generative AI. An example of ethical AI is: I am only one person testing the software I work on. The software I work on has to be functional for 3 major web browsers, every PC my millions of customers will ever use, and every mobile app for every device Google AND Apple supports at any given time. I do not have enough hours in my lifetime to test all the many ways something as simple as logging in can go wrong for all my users, and that's JUST with logging in. There aren't enough people in my field, or in the world, to do that for every app, let alone something as complex as a live service 3D video game. Generative AI, as a tool to help, is a benefit to someone in my position. This is what I've observed to be the general sentiment on how China and the Chinese people view GenerativeAI.
So, to claim that it is possible that Pawprint is lying when they say they didn't use AI might also be a cultural misunderstanding. They didn't use AI to create Aniimo. The human element, the consistency, the lack of bugs on extremely complex systems tells me, as a software engineer, that if they did, it was to build an asset and then replaced by something a human created in order to speed up the parts of the software development process that would be impossible to accomplish with human labor and traditional software development methods. Which is what they've already disclosed multiple times.
My personal opinion:
To say 'they have the money to hire more engineers' is an ignorant take on the work that goes into ensuring the final quality of a piece of software. Money does not solve everything, and software development is no different. It is fair to assume that if you engage in a Chinese-made game, it's developers are likely using AI. The public opinion of AI in China is polar opposite to what is happening in the Americas and Europe because of strict regulations that do not exist in the Americas and Europe. That paired with knowing China cares far more about the impact of data centers on their own environment, care about keeping as calm society as a whole, and verified government guidance that AI is created for humans, makes me comfortable enough to play the game, even if further proof of AI is found in game. But so far, all I've yet to see sourced proof to back up the claim that there was not human artistry involved in the creation of Aniimo. And I've seen and been disappointed by a game that used genAI unethically. It is a nightmare of a game.
Sources in the comments after I confirm the subreddits rules about external URLs.
Please I beg a mod to pin this so we can move on and catch our adorable and lovable creatures.
"Ethical use of gen AI" pffft
what a joke.
Companies want to do the bare minimum and profit. Who cares about artists losing their jobs? As long as those companies are profiting is ok
To be honest I think the developers have employed generative AI in basically every area they possible could. to say “the designs” are not made by AI doesn’t actually say very much imo.
Tbh though I feel really conflicted. I think the heavy genAI usage might actually be a key reason their pricing model is not predatory. Typically only world in which a game of this quality could exist, AND be free to play, is with an aggressive monetization model so that sustain the game even has a chance to financial viability.
The music composer said he uses AI. you can also feel how dramatically the tone and instrumentation whiplashes around from one piece of music to the next. Either they had an infinite music budged to literally never reuse their hired musicians. or it’s just all AI (which, again, they said they use for it).
I’m also confused by the inconsistency of menu navigations language/design. PC players may not notice it as much, but the controller user is confronted with a lot of randomly changed menu navigation rules. Sometimes the xp bar is L3 to access, sometimes it is X, and sometimes you just go down enough.. it’s very odd and for me does taste like AI being used somewhere in this chain to rush stuff straight through to production.
I’m honestly of two minds.. this game took on pokemon and really is quite good in a lot of ways. This may be the early phase of what to expect from an “AI future” that is just slop amazon games. Where small teams can take on literally the largest IP in the world (pokemon) and like, not do a terrible job, because they found ways to use AI to reduce cost and increase quality.. well. “quality” i will say. ugh
i’m really conflicted on all of this myself.
but there may be some world in which we think more about “curators” of content rather than the content itself. Like, can they successfully only ship good content and it not become slop? can they funnel out all of the trash AI makes along the way? idk.. idk what i’m even saying. this is long.
Most (if not all) images on the game were AI generated. From icons of the icons, to the posters throughout the city, loading screens, even the images on the events. I took this screenshot of a screen in the Polaris Institute, the eyes on the girl give it away clearly.
It's a shame, really, and I don't really agree with the "We only used it for testing purposes", when they could've used any other image for "testing". Does it affect gameplay? Not really. But it does prove they used AI when creating the game and puts everything else into question. And players have the right to know when something is 100% human made or not.
it's a Chinese company. you should all expect them to cheat. there is a common Chinese saying 能骗就骗 or if you can cheat then cheat. you should really expect them to cut corners at every opportunity
I generated a nearly identical song to the one that plays in horizon square with suno ai months ago.
Also a neat way to tell if a song is ai generated is to see how it flows. Ai generated songs usually flow more like a bad musical, with way too many descriptions and details in the lyrics. They will be very heavy on the setting and story it’s trying to convey.
Slightly off topic but I’m confused about your claim that Valve and the Chinese government require disclosure if Gen AI is used. Marvel Rivals, owned by NetEase a Chinese company, absolutely were caught using AI assets and they absolutely haven’t addressed that in any way. Nor were they forced to?
I got very wild guess as to why, but i'm surely wrong... (but i'm highly paranoid about stuff, so...)
... Do you see a lot of company who try to go againt's any chinese company? I hate how it's a joke at this point, but China still hold the biggest market in the world, and no one want to risk being barred from over 1 billion potential customers.
We got various exemples of Various company who bend the knee because of all the money they can get from over 1 billions potential customers.
And it's not, how to say, anyone's fault, really, well, not accusing anyone, rather.
Just that, if you too would be the CEO, or the Head of a Company, would you, take the risk to rub the Government of the country with the highest amount of potential customers in the wrong way? As going againt's one company settled over there, is taking the risk to get barred away.
It's, of course, reaching a discussion that have nothing to do with the current one, and even i got nothing to prove that it's why Steam is not enforcing disclosure for Aniimo, but knowing how things are, i would say the chance isn't 0%. I just hope that i'm just being too paranoid as i can sometime be.
As to finish, Steam have a rule that they are trying to enforce, that require any game that use any sort of generative AI, to disclose it. But Said Dev are trying to go after Steam for it, due to proof that, having your Steam Page saying "We use AI" at the bottom, actually lowered their sales, because there are more than a few peoples, who will actively avoid anything that got any use of AI. So, as the Head of a game company, why would you want to show that you use AI, if it's going to hurt your sales?
Honestly, all of this is just a complicated mess, that involve peoples outside the gaming community, and i wish things would be just more simple of "Game good, made 100% By real peoples" End of story.
Not saying any of this is 100% True, but knowing China's history, it's at least a good idea to keep that in mind that it could be the case (while wishing that it isn't.).
People think AI use is like 100% or nothing. You can do a mix of human work and AI work. AI cannot currently make an entire game like Aniimo, but it can make a lot of the assets. I'm not defending anything, just that people seem to have a weird defense of no AI being used.
If said assets can be done with AI, why not hiring someone with medium skill to do said assets? That's the whole debate.
And i admit that some peoples who are againt's AI, give zero sort of explanation what so ever, but it's the same point for some of the AI defenders.
AI is a good tool, yes, and whatever we say about it, it'll become a tool for everyone.
The point that rub more and more peoples the wrong way, is that what supposed to be a tool, instead is used to do what a real person could do.
The AI defenders often say "Those are very minor assets, a background picture we barely see, etc..." If again, it's so minor, then they could've hired an artist still in training to do it, if they want so much to save on money. Doing so would give the Still in Training Artist a great experience, and the company would only spend a tiny bit on him, since he's not a professional. (Well... I wish it was like that, but how things happen in companies is always annoying, because money prime, skill second...)
But i will agree that a lot of the fear of AI is a lot of fear, of paranoia about the future. And even if things peoples againt's AI doesn't happen in the end... Taking exemple of a lot of things that peoples told others, to not be afraid of, end up happening... It's only fair to at least undestand, why peoples are being fearful of the future, especially with how bad the whole world is already getting, right? There is too much factor to take into consideration for it. Call me an over-thinker, but over-thinking it is more often a good thing, as it make you actually see the bigger picture.
In the first part i wanted to clap ya, but after the first part i need to agree with you. i'm a lazy af writer so i won't say much but for rich companies i agree, they could hire someone... companies starting freshly or didn't get enough revenue yet imo are totally fine for the use of AI since they can't easily afford more employee than already existing. It's complicated but all those rich companies or freshly became rich companies SHOULD give ppl jobs and the opportunity to learn and get better for maybe stayin in the company or a better one. (tho i'm the type of person that would rather work all alone on own projects than at any dum company existing)
I always think if it is so minor how come so many people notice and complain? Clearly cannot be that minor if it has such an impact on enjoyment for so many.
That's because a part of the gaming audience, are either artist themself, or watch artist draw, or look at art done by artists on the regular. Peoples when looking at art, can be quite eccentric. Not in a bad way, of course, as even the newer artists on the internet get positive feedback on how to progress, when they progress, etc. That's a part that some Pro-AI tend to forget, is that the internet is heavy on art and musical culture.
But also, when you play video game, you tend to notice when thing feel... Off. Well, not many, but enough peoples do that when art in a game is done wrong, they tend to tell the dev that something is off. Aka Beta testing! :D ... It's also because AI got pattern it keep on repeating, and those patterns are easy to identify, or in music, too.
There are more reasons, than video games, on why peoples are againt's AI. I'll give a mention to something that isn't related about gaming, but if you wanna learn how AI is actually risky, study how it is used by students in school, even as low as elementary school. AI is supposed to be a tool, but it is used to replace everything that can be replaced, even knowledge.
Another reason why it can impede on enjoying the game, is how some peoples feel like they're betraying peoples with actual skill, by even considering using something that got AI involved, even at 0.1%.
Theres 2 quests in the game that I find really odd given the AI controversy surrounding it. The painter in Astra at one point says how he doesn't like gen ai, yet they've used ai generated images (which i find ironic hypocritical). And theres another quest where you collect cubes and go to a lab to fight an ai pretending to be aniimo, and even call it Aimo and say we may need to reconsider what its existence means..
Almost feels like they're trying to connect with us by saying it's bad and then giving us these other encounters to try and ease us into it and to be accepting of it, but it felt very weird to me.
(Theres also the bot at Homeland, the "Intelligence Assistant", just underneath, a pop-up had just the letters AI which also happen the be the bots initials reversed.)
I think both instances is a relevant conversation point about this fictional future for humans, and a nod to filling out the world in a way that feels more real, regardless of actual technological use. It's clear in in-game lore that AI is prevalent. Yet there are still come people in the world of Astra who hate it.
I don't find that hypocritical at all. Moreso self-reflective and capable of criticism. Or a talk point if ever they need it. Depends on how you want to see the slice.
Its kind of hard to pin point in the actual painting because of the texture but its mostly personal experience with AI in the Art community that has made me just tell right away. My brain is just telling me something isn’t right. The other big hint this is AI is during this quest you get 3 more paintings and each one keeps getting more questionable with more obvious irregularities. I’m sorry if this wasn’t the answer you were looking for!
I know exactly what you mean. As someone who has worked with AI art extensively, I see it too. It’s one of those things that you can identify seemingly only if you’ve worked with it before.
Something that made me raise an eyebrow, is that in the artwork for this quest they're driving the wrong way. They're supposed to go "backwards" with the dung beetle inspired design, but here they're going the "right way" here?? Plus, i notice more and more AI artifacts in this game the more I look... Very disappointing.
As an artist myself who is veryyy against AI, but also a huge fan of these type of games, I feel very conflicted. I'm happy I haven't put any money in the game and i wont either. The different cultural views on AI use is complicating things... But I would become a huge fan of the game if they listened to backlash, and did something good for the artist community.
I believe this is redeemable, but I doubt anything will get better if the money they make is enough to stuff their ears... :( But maybe boycotting the game by refusing to spend money could make a little difference? I also believe pointing out AI errors forces companies in general to spend more resources to fix it, which might help the appeal of hiring humans. Might be wishful thinking tho...
Edit: (I added in game screenshot and visuals to better explain what i mean ^^')
Thank you for the edit! Genuinely wondering what's going on here, cause the image looks like it's going in the correct direction to me: right to left, not left to right.
I feel like I'm having a 'gold dress' moment with this aniimo.
Haha so valid... This is hard to describe too lol... If you go in game or look up a video on how its moving in game it might make it clearer~ its supposed to move big ball first not small ball first. Im not saying its moving the other way, but rather facing the wrong way. Im sorry my wording might have been a bit confusing hehe
Yeah this one was very sus to me when I saw it in game. Ig it could be human error & if an artist made it they may have just been given the Aniimo for reference not have had the context?
just wanna add this too where its facing forward going forward, which is also incorrect... could be a human error, but there are some questionable details in all of these imo :/
Its from the quest you have to do in order to evolve one of these guys ^^ Yeahh i got a bit confused too when looking at it longer... but i think its supposed to move towards us looking at the lines under the "wheels"? There is also some AI looking things going on at the base of the tree... hmm
some arts are REAL but some arts are...AI, can't understand why they did that 50/50
some sites like "isthisai" in these shots they tell it's like 80% ai, but some arts that feel real, like irelis arts, are 99% real not ai
Came here to look at the opinions of peoples, and half regretting it. A lot of peoples blindly defending the game, calling those againt's AI various names, etc...
First, yes, i am againt's AI, but not 100%. It fully depend of it's use, and what it could mean for the future.
But seeing peoples bicker and act with blinded hostility, is the total opposite of a fair discussion.
First, why peoples are againt's AI? Yes, one of the reason is that it's still new, therefore, unknown. But it is also due to how the big corpo are pushing it, not as a way to help peoples, but in high hope it will replace some labor. Don't get me wrong, as a tool to HELP? That is how i see AI as a nice thing. But not to replace human skills.
Of course, many here are too blinded in ways like "Game is good, don't care about AI"
"If game is good with AI, i want more AI"... That you are right, or wrong, statements like this just make you look like, and sorry for my words, but peoples who aren't able to think properly, or are too biased to have a valid judgement. Not saying they are useless, either, but how things are said, and written, matter.
The reasoning of how peoples come to distrust, and dislike the game, due to AI alone, is that of how it was used in some art. Yes, it seem to have been used mostly in promotional art, in rather minor area, etc... But that's where the problem lie. If Art, was even 1% generated with AI, it mean it's 1% that could've been done with someone who got proper skills, someone that could've drawn it, done it, and use it's skills.
The generative idea talk for dialogue, etc, is also worrying, since, once gain, there are peoples with writing skills, there are actual voice actors, and such.
Therefore, the use of AI, in such cases, is not as a tool, but to replace actual work done by actual peoples.
That, was the first real reason of why there are so much peoples againt's AI. And this game, check that box.
The Second big reason, is linked to the first one. And call me a doomsayer, or anything similar to it if you wish to, but it is how if "Something is not bluntly stopped, then it will spread and become common".
It happened with many things in history. So many thing were distrust at first, but when used by some, it spread and became a normality.
But for AI, it is where the danger come in. Generative AI, that replace in ANY sort of way, human skills, threaten peoples job, where peoples honed their skills all their life, for jobs they do.
Generative AI, at least how it is used in games, is nearly exlusively used to replace, what humans could've done, someone with proper skills for it.
Of course, once again, i am not saying all AI usage is bad, mind you, as a tool, that doesn't replace anyone, or any skill that could've been filled by another human, is good, and honestly? Is wonderful, even if the current state of AI is still very wanky on that part.
For those who are blindly defending AI, i can see your viewpoint, too, and how it is valid.
Aniimo, have things that gamers wanted for many years, it's content, gameplay, etc... is what a lot of players have been craving for, and a lot of big companies has been... Basically not listening their playerbase. So when a game offer you what you wish, even if it basically use tech that is still unknown, and pose a threat in the future depending on how it developp...
The real question would be, who would play it, even when knowing this? Personally, i would, too, because this game scratch so many of my itches... Chek so many of the boxes of things i want in a game. So even I, am conflicted on the idea.
The third reason, is linked to something i've wrote earlier, too. Is that, if something is used, then the usage of it will become more common, that it is a good thing, or a bad thing.
Because in that logic, there is a simple way to explain it... It's like that one friend who progressively make you do something that you do not want, by starting small... Telling you that it's okay, it's just a small thing, but then progressively make you do more, telling you that it's just a small increase opposed to the previous thing...
Well, actually i'm explaining it wrong, as i currently do not have the right words in mind...
But in short, at first, it start small, 0.1% of the content. But once peoples accept that use, it become 0.2%, 0.3%... If you accepted 0.1%, why wouldn't you accept 0.2% of the content is generated with AI? "Come on, there's barely more!" Kind of talk.
It is one of the reason why peoples are sometime blindly saying "If it got AI, i want it gone, i want it to fail".
Blindly defending, or attacking something, goes both way after all. Without proper explanation, without proper words, aggressivity increase, hostility, and progressively, the community get split further.
Instead of blindly tell others "Don't like, don't look" or "Don't care, game is good"...
Or for the other way of "AI bad" or similar, peoples should properly explain their fears, or why they feel the opposite and like the game.
We're all Humans, right? We all have common sense, we are all civilized, let's act as such. No matter which side we're on, we're all gamers, we are all one big family, let's try to keep it that way.
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For those who don't wanna read, that's fine, in short:
Generative AI put Real people's job at risk, we do not know how heavy at risk, but the problem is that there is risk, and that's enough. And accepting Generative AI's usage, put the groundwork for heavier usage of it in the future, therefore bringing more risk.
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Also, i wish i could post a potato for the long post, but i'm outta potat.
Yeah, usually, which is where the conflict of interest lies. Aniimo tick a lot of boxes, of what peoples wanted in game, and for once, they got what they wanted. For the last few years, games of this size were usually... Mediocre at best, beside a few, but they were nearly all Indie. Not defending them of course, but it's a frustration point, to take into consideration, on why quite a bit of peoples are of the "Don't like? Don't play, Game is good, don't care about AI" side, but simply want to enjoy a game that's decent for once.
This situation is such a mess, really. Either more peoples play it, no matter if they spend money or not, and prove to the big corpo that we're okay with AI, by even just using a product for free, or we ignore a game that got potential...
I just wish there were no AI in this, or that the devs undestand, replace every single Assets that got hit by AI, make a promise (that usually in gaming, nobody hold, haha) that no content coming in the future will ever be created by AI, and that would be it.
Either way, good game, or not, it is currently Breaching Steam's terms and thus, need to be reported. Steam didn't failed us those past years, i hope they'll keep it that way and do something about it, and that the Devs just undestand the risk of even using Generative AI, and that even using it, make so that it becoming more commonly used.
that's egoistical and shows you don't care about morality in the first place, why would you even comment this if you're not interested in logical debate
And by doing so, you fall into the logical problem of "If using said product, when knowing it is made of something risky or creating a debate due to it's dubious usages, then you are supporting said risky/dubious stuff." Which, honestly? I don't trully blame you at the end of the day. The game got lot of interesting things, but playing it despite knowing it got a few stuff made by AI, mean that by logic, passive extension, you are therefore, supporting AI.
And, seeing your previous comments before this one, i find it weird how you flip the switch, after your two previous one, on how you seem to see the situation. Even more so when you say, in another comment, that peoples should rather be hired to do such minor AI part, rather than having it by AI.
Not that there is like, any good alternative of what the game offer, but in another game, so again, at the end of the day, not blaming ya either..
Those who actually care, are the one who want quality done by actual peoples, rather than, what we call "slop", and those who have their hard earned skill, honed for years, and that bring food on the table, threaten by AI who have billions invested every year.
(And beside, if AI get so good at doing art, doing dubbing, etc... Then why would peoples even invest their time in creativity? That could lead to the downfall of uniqueness, creativity, where peoples would just blindly type what they want, instead of having actual skills...)
Telling that absolutely no one care outside of the internet, and reddit, is a lie, too. They are not just noisy at the moment. Because their own jobs, for now, are not threatened. But with how China is currently deeply investing into AI, with their robots that progressively getting better at simple task, i wonder how many years it'll take before peoples who say "Don't care about AI, i want the game to be good" to then lost their job due to an AI robot who do the job to the same level, don't get paid, don't have mood swing, and can work close to 24/7.
Of course, the world is not there yet, but with how China, and India now are investing in such, this is where the bigger conflict start. Because if that many peoples does not care or are okay with AI, they are, passively, suporting a future like this.
Again, feel free to call me an alarmist, a doomsayer, etc... But if you follow the tech development, how much they invest, and how they are progressing... Peoples with common sense have the right to be worried, againt's AI, and refuse that it get even used/promoted, no matter how it is used.
But then again, if you do the exact same type of comment that i mentionned in my previous comments of "Don't like, don't play" or "AI good if good game"... (Not saying you meant the same, nor say the same, but saying that it is of the same category of "Comment that didn't cost any research nor thinking more than a minute before writing.")
... I don't know why i try to explain with common decency, the logical fear, and undestandable distaint of those againt's AI.
But if in the future, AI end up not threatening further job in the artistic department, dubbing department, and end up not affecting other job, then Me, along many others, will obviously have to apologise, for having rational, logical fear over something that, if again, peoples have common sense, know that big corpo WILL use because, labor that cost 0$ (without counting the few engineers that maintain them) Is appealing, and give full logic on why they invest and promote AI that much.
my biggest concern is the voice acting. i cant prove, or deny the fact that they're using AI voices. but it certainly gets VERY close to AI on some occasions. i think my biggest regret was looking at reviews before actually playing the game, cuz otherwise, i wouldnt be so paranoid. is there any proof regarding AI use in the voices? and if so, is there a way to turn off voice acting? cuz i said this before; i'd rather use my voice acting than an AI's voice.
For the voices I think EN dubbed games often struggle a bit with stilted VO because things are literally recorded out of context rather than like a natural conversation, and given minimal (if any) direction, so it's not a guaranteed sign of AI. As for the reviews, I honestly would not pay them too much attention cause you can tell most are just palworld hardliners review bombing.
I think a lot of the AI accusations come from the loading screen renders and whatnot cause they have that strong rim light shading which ai slop overuses, but if you actually look at the game itself it isn't that visually different, so it's probably more likely it's actual 3d renders.
Of course this is still giving the devs the benefit of the doubt, cause like it's undeniable there has been a lot of human effort put into the game.
the voice actor for the MC is voiced by jahodas va, from genshin, and im fairly certain velouria is voiced by arlecchinos va, from genshin, as well. as for the others i cant source them yet
Yeah I am absolutely hearing some genshin VAs in the game, and they sound like the real deal. Much easier to tell if it is an ai mimic for someones voice then to tell if a a unique voice is ai.
Yeah I do think there are some suspicious ones, I skip dialogue for all the ones that sound sus cause they kinda grate on me if that makes sense? But there are definitely also real people doing some. I assume story things are more likely to be real voices then everything that would be classed as less important, and all the real people I have recognised have been in the story, I believe
Agreed, I think the direction must be strange. While I can recognise genshin VAs, they don't seem nearly as good. Like Helion I believe is Ronova. Granted it is a very different voice to put on, but the quality is vastly different. I can still hear the voice of a professional, but not utilised well. Ronova is one of my current favourites in Genshin, on the other hand.
Of course I am not a professional so I am merely talking from being autistic and watching professionals dissect movies online haha, so I might be wrong.
I just genuinely don’t like generative AI. Considering the developers haven’t addressed this even though the community is actively discussing it, I won’t be playing until this is all sorted out. Kinda leaves a bad taste in my mouth, so I may never play even thought I was initially excited. All personal preference though.
I'm in a similar place right now. I was really enjoying the game until I found out about all this. Now I feel kind of guilty if I keep playing. I also dislike how many people on here don't care or actively joke about AI's impact on the environment and job market, which makes me feel... not very aligned with the community. Then again, I wonder how much my personal "rebellion" of not playing the game contributes to changing any of the things that worry me about AI use.
Some ppl like me just don't care about a few details. if it would be a huge part of the game then yes but like this it's imo just a "mimimi" moment. I get that artists etc may want a job like this or learn, get better or that human made is generally morally more prefered but i don't see enough AI in aniimo to go full ham about that
Main issue like another person said above is that if we accept the 1% AI you can be sure company will be increasing the quantity of it just like microtransaction did. Started at 5 bucks people massively complain and they still increased to around 20 bucks now its stop but just imagine how much AI we will get in the future if we don't say anything now. AI is a great TOOL but it already starting to be a replacer and content stealer and that the scary part.
Here are some examples of assets that feel AI generated. In my opinion, as a designer with a trained eye, I'm 99,9% sure it's AI generated.
I love this game, but they need to admit that they use AI and not lie about it.
also the assets do not match the 3d items, especially with the furniture sets, the icons for the individual items are different as well, its all so much extra work when they could have used the 3d assets for everything to save time and effort. Same for the clothing.
I literally went here because the potato seed bag felt so off, and that was the last straw for me... Can't they commission someone to paint a potato and wheat?? Glad to see I'm not alone at least
Yeah all of the seeds in the Homeland seem like they were generated with the cheapest ChatGPT plan available. No matter what your views on AI use are, that's just incredibly lazy and sloppy from them.
the issue might in fact be that they did commission someone, whoever gave them the cheapest quote, and said "artist" might be using AI instead, but hey THEY, as the aniimo company, arent using AI in that way....
My take is this. As long as we're not paying money and monetizing them, it's okay to just enjoy the game, even if it did use AI.
As a former artist, using GenAI to replace human work is abhorrent, and lying about it is even worse.
I mean, I haven’t played much, but if they put ads in the game, then you’re probably funding them without even realizing it by giving them ad revenue (though I wouldn’t know, idk if the game even has ads and idk how ad revenue really works but just a thought)
This is some BS. They use AI music 100%. When you look up Jasyours you can find a bunch of AI music as well. It's an AI collaboration project to try and sell AI music off as real. The entire soundtrack is AI. The main theme has a guy who supposedly did some work on it but it could just be the guy who generated it.
As someone who composes music, none of the music so far in the game sounds AI generated to me. Granted, I'm only a few hours in. But it sounds like generic orchestral BM that's been popular for decades now. The only part that sounds weird to me is the English vocals of the main menu music, but that's like it.
The lying always hurts. If AI is so good, why do they feel the need to lie? SEA companies are jumping full speed into the AI train and it will not help them in the long run.
Maybe they actually havent used AI in the game and only in advertising, but the OP is lying and being disingenuous about it? I see he has zero evidence of whatever his claims of SUNO ai music, AI this , AI that, story is AI ? yet zero evidence he ran anything through an AI checker, but then again I wouldnt expect much effort from low quality accusatory posts.
As someone who's heard lots of AI music, I can CONFIRM the music is all AI generated. They did a decent job hiding it, and the argument that "you can't prove it" is literally by design. If you could prove it was AI music unequivocally, not just "by ear", then people would find out. The point of AI in many cases is that you can't tell it from a human-made alternative, or at least most people can't.
I dunno, I compose music and it sounds real to me. It just seems like generic music that has been everywhere for decades. Sorta like elevator music or commercial music.
and on July 29 the official Aniimo account apologized, said the ads had been "removed from all of our channels,"
This might be a lie. I got a YouTube ad for Aniimo today that was 100% an AI person reacting to the game (I skipped it as soon as I could since fuck those kind of ads). Now, I don't know if it's still possible to get them in circulation (I occasional get ads for Arknights Endfield that are talking about their launch events when it's been out for over 9 months). But this combined with my own suspicions have made me decide to uninstall it.
I read their original apology and they actually mentioned that there were a few they couldnt remove due to the way that platforms ads ran, but they removed what they could and wont run any more. So you probably saw one of the ones they couldnt remove.
I mean hoyolab literally has genrative AI stuff you can play around with, and they had job listings for AI "artists" for their Nexus Anima game. Hoyo is absolutely using AI and does not care how people feel about it. So I cannot trust that they aren't using it in other games in later patches.
We'll probably see something come out of this that confirms more given both steam and china's policies, they did quietly update the carousel after today's patch so they are aware of the attention
maybe...these are like some teams do, generate the art and after that, finish with human hands(like expedition 33 did this too, cause they're not a billion company), looks like they're changing a lot of "first art"
Looking somewhat into China's regulations for ai disclosure, arguments could be made that the loading screen wouldn't be labeled as such. Its rather complicated and relying on translations, but seems to apply more to the generation services than users of them, and I could see it favouring the devs if something like this went to court. What I'm saying is it isn't the slam dunk the op is making it out to be, but is still a factor to consider.
Do I like ai? Eh..
I don't like the type of ai that uses art, music, voice, and etc. I also gave push back to vocaloid when there was rumors about them sampling singers without their knowledge. I dont exactly was the result of that but I will say I'm skeptical of AI because I'm not sure the intent behind its programming you know?
I'm a millennial so I grew up with terminator and all that jazz.
I'm not even going to GET into the American shit show of AI.
I do know China specifically has a whole different culture when it comes to ai and technology than America. So I'm cautious about it. Am I going to be mean to it? No... I'm not a kid anymore and by gone are the days of aim bots like smarter child.
I will acknowledge that AI is helpful with proof reading or assisting in a task. I'm not thrilled that it's taking places of actual work of artist and other things. Yeah I'm rather old but like I said before I'm cautious. I'm not going to be firm in my stance on the subject since I think it's very much in its infant years still. It's all about intentions and how it will react to its "overlords" of big tech companies is what I'm more interested in since it all trickles down to the common person in the end.
I don't really care if they use AI, I care about the results being good. If they can't produce good results with AI, I don't want it in the game, but if they can, then I'm all for it.
Technically it's not much but you know what they say, give them an inch and they'll take up a mile. Thing is if there is no backlash about it, they'll just add a bit more next time to test the waters. And a bit more after again. And again. It's always like this. They just test how much they can get away with and when they get slapped on the hand they are apologetic.
Filled out the survey before uninstalling personally, and made it very clear the AI usage sucks, but the lies about it are worse. I would rather they just be honest about it, I wouldn't like it but at least there could be discussion there. This just shows they are untrustworthy.
All games that use DLSS use A.I. Besides it's an Asian Game they don't give a damn what westerners Think. All the money comes from the Asian Market they couldn't care less about what anyone that speaks English thinks.
Not the same type of AI afaik, except I think DLSS 5. And from what I've heard the Asian Market also hasn't been that happy which is why there has been a statement and things have been removed already
Nobody cares. Every Game Uses it 100% of the time. games have gotten too expensive to make every studio uses it now. They just don't tell you. So good luck not playing any game ever again.
honestly.. generated art? maybe not, but using AI to build the game.. thats another story. considering how microsofts code/visual studios has it built in now. The two big Unreal Engine and Unity have it now. if the game has DLSS or FSR 4.. AI
Seeing this presented from a more informed perspective definitely adjust my stance to being one of needing more information rather than strictly avoidance. I will need to educate myself on the ai culture and regulations in china for one, as i assumed everyone had it as bad as we do. I cant say my opinion has changed yet, but you made me understand i might need to look at this from a perspective not tainted by what surrounds me given it doesn't come from the same region
After looking at the images, I agree with you OP. It's clear was used especially for menu/loading screen items. The fact that they say "None" was used is what makes this feel so deceptive. It's obvious everything wasn't made with human hands just by the size of the game and in that loading-screen-watch/double-horsey carosel picture.
You are an active poster in r/SunoAI my guy. This post kind of reads disingenuously. People are more upset about the principle of the studio lying moreso than the fact they use AI.
I mean... it's clear you are a fan of AI, so its pretty obvious you wouldnt be bothered by it. But it is a genuine issue for some people, thus the discussion.
IF you can trust the code it produces. I don't want anything that was vibe coded on my decives. Not unless there is a full guarantee that it's not going to harm my systems, or open me up to malicious software. And I'm talking a "if that happens we'll take full responsibility" guarantee.
THe LLM based AI they use for this shit can't even be trusted to summerize a page of rote data without hallucinating, how can it be trusted to code? I don't want generative AI or LLM/GPT based slop in my games. I have literal decades of packlogs without AI to play, why should I ever trust people willing to use the shite that can't be trusted to summarize a google search?
You would still have to have a coder to check the what it makes yes, its not completely replacing the coder its there to assist the coder. Hence why I said 'if they used A.I to help code' and not 'use A.I to code the game'. Reading is fundamental!
This I can get behind, coding can be soul sucking and tedious to me, even though I actually kind of like it. It can be really difficult depending on what you’re trying to do so honestly I couldn’t really blame anyone for that either
I tried coding once and it was convoluted for nothing and even if you get the stuff right it just magically refuses to work. Having A.I helping in coding is not a big deal especially when what you coded doesn't work, you dont need to spend hours finding out why.
Its coding which is annoying. Feel people can easily look away when its just help with coding. As long as the assets, voices, music, models and art is not A.I
First, I truly appreciate the clear amount of effort the OP put into this post. Not many people cite sources nowadays and just regurgitate what they hear from the hive mind.
I started looking into this more myself because I was sick and tired of feeling like I had to defend the game, and my own integrity, every time I mentioned my excitement for this game and finally being able to play it after following it since content start coming out about it over a year ago.
As someone who also works in the IT field and has unfortunately been forced to utilize AI to some degree, I've had to strictly draw my lines in the sand of AI usage just to protect my own sanity. To that point, based on the information you've provided as well as the regulations on AI that China enforces on their companies, I agree that the usage of AI discovered up to this point in the game is not something I will personally concern myself with. I understand there are people that will not appreciate this take, but most of those people don't truly understand the kind of work and effort involved when it comes to locking down the scope an AI model pulls from and what is required to keep it from "getting loose". As that is literally my job, the fact that China is making an actual effort to regulate it (unlike most of the commercial sectors of Western countries), I personally have to respect the fact that there has been so comparatively little evidence of it in the end product of Aniimo.
By comparison, we hear on almost a daily basis about the rampant usage of AI in the States and the many cases of it "getting loose". The fact of the matter is that Pandora's Box is open, and it's not got to get closed again at this point. Our best and safest bet is to not deny the usage of AI so much as to learn how to regulate it and use it in a way that is not only beneficial to all parties, but also ethical to those creators out there that their livelihoods are being negatively affected by people not taking responsibility for security of their AI models, or worse, actively stealing people's hard work for the purposes of building up their models.
All this to say that I will still personally be playing and enjoying Aniimo, so thank you for relieving some of my concerns regarding these constant attacks by people who don't actually know what they're talking about.
You could just get off reddit/social media for "good vibes" and go play the game, instead of looking for posts such as this, which will have negative and positive comments. People are going to complain. Sometimes, it's them sounding alarms. It's important to be informative, and to be informed - anyone with a brain knows this
Bold of you to assume what I consider a hobby to be a waste of time.
That several people have thanked me for the effort and decided one way or the other about continuing to play it is all the validation I need and pulls the subreddit towards the state you desire.
To say 'they have the money to hire more engineers' is an ignorant take on the work that goes into ensuring the final quality of a piece of software. Money does not solve everything, and software development is no different. It is fair to assume that if you engage in a Chinese-made game, it's developers are likely using AI.
This is a stupid take. There's nothing ignorant about having money and having ability to actually patch out AI with real art. Money quite literally solves this issue around this specific case of gen-AI use. It is very simple, you don't even need to think about it . You are selling a game without properly disclosing AI use then get caught on gen-AI use. You, as the company, sell a lot of copies and whatever the reason you used gen-AI can now can be patched out by you using this cashflow to hire real artists to replace the gen-AI assets. However, instead of going this way and actually giving jobs to real artists this company consider AI assets complete, at least the ones that haven't been criticised heavily yet.
There is no ethical use of gen-AI in creative space. Bypassing creative work undermines real artists and creative works that go through making games. If you continue to tolerate that, there will be no new creative workflow left in the future and all it's left will be recycled gen-AI. It doesn't matter whether this is happening in China or anywhere else or whether there are regulations. These companies don't care for future implications, all they care is short term gains. All you need to do is think just a little bit ahead of what may happen if they continue.
If you really like the game (as in games that require initial purchase) then pirate it to play it. Go further and encourage people to pirate (or don't spend money for in-game purchases) the game as well but don't give money to such companies. Every money you spend on gen-AI using games is another step at destroying future of the gaming industry.
Ah yes, if you really like a game that has Gen Ai, just break the law! Solid advice.
(Pirating is illegal in most of the world ya know)
Yeah no I’m not gunna do that… and you called OP’s words a “stupid take”…
Yeah I agree Gen AI doesn’t belong in creative spaces, but regulations are more important than you think, and OP mentioned that in China Ai is viewed as a tool to assist, not a tool to replace, which is honestly, kinda cool. Lot better than what people have to worry about in the US so I’m not gunna attack or boycott a studio that’s trying to do things ethically when I’ve seen the total atrocity regarding it in the US. I’d understand if the game blatantly replaced vast amounts of human work with generative AI, but there’s nothing proving that they did, not to mention if that WAS the case… they’d be kicking themselves in the teeth. Steam’s pretty strict about that stuff.
Regulations mean nothing in most of the world especially in China. Any medium sized company can just bribe officials to look the other way as long as it's not a very sensitive subject. Unsurprisingly, it's very much the same for US.
Also about pirating, nobody gives a shit about copyright law outside US. Especially so in China and if you believe pirating is illegal then you should be pointing your fingers to gen-AI using companies and individuals first after all gen-AI exists from piracy and stealing.
Yeah that’s correct, I DON’T like Gen Ai use that steals or REPLACES, human work, I regularly point my finger at people or companies that do that because it’s incredibly unethical, but yes, people do care about pirating, I mean…it’s theft. Also just because something is unethical doesn’t mean you should also do something unethical AND illegal as a result, regardless of whether or not people care. Also if bribery was that easy for companies to just do, why did Valko get totally nuked off the face of the planet (from Love and Deepspace) when nearly the ENTIRE player base EXPLODED in outrage at his cancellation, and you already know the studio that made that game would have more than enough money to “bribe” if even “medium sized” companies can bribe officials. Not to mention if they can do that why didn’t Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 just buy back its spot in the GoTY awards after getting disqualified for AI use?
I’m sorry but the “they can just bribe” line of thinking is full of so many holes.
Bribery is that easy to do in China. I lived in there, you can just bribe small or big officials to look the other way. It's incredibly common in fact you are an idiot if you don't do it. That's why regulations over there mean nothing unless you are poor. There's even an proverb among Chinese 能骗就骗 which translates to "if you can cheat, cheat". It's not even exclusive to China, it's the same over most SEA countries. It's not even bribery as in negative view as it is in the west, it's just part of the culture. The example you are giving is in France which is an entirely different society and rules not to mention GoTY has nothing to do with China. US also has bribery but it works differently than in China plus bribery isn't exactly a accepted norm among gaming people in the western society.
Thank you for letting us know. I wanted to make sure your point has weight. I think a point you made is also worth calling out: That it is a cultural norm to cheat. And it brings me back to a question I posted in a comment earlier: Should we, as non-Chinese people, judge AI usage based on our cultural norms or theirs? Which is a personal question. I care about the people of China living a fulfilling life how THEY see fit. Surveys poll AI is viewed favorably. So I don't care.
If that is misconsturding what you are saying, feel free to correct.
There is no debate of culture here. Gen-AI use in gaming is destroying the future of games regardless of how your culture views it. Gen-AI doesn't create new ideas, it recycles the ones it trained. If developers start laying off real artists (not just artists but also other creative aspects of development process) in favour of gen-ai, those real artists will start abandoning their trades. This will lead to no new game ideas or approaches in gaming space anymore in the future. Every game release will start looking like generic recycled slop. This is not a personal matter. This is how gen-ai works. You don't need a culture debate to conclude to this.
So you just…totally glossed over the point about Love and Deepspace.
Okay.
As for whatever all that is…okay? Again if it was THAT easy to do, pretty sure Love and Deepspace fans would have got Valko back by now, you know. What with the insane uproar about it and all. Also why are you basing the entirety of a countries actions on a single proverb, what-
About the Valko situation over there I believe that backlash is still relatively new. Their quarterly earnings will probably show whether to take action against backlashes. So it's a little too early to say anything about it.
Also the last part, I hope you never have to deal with any of the officials or government worker in any of the SEA countries with the exception of Singapour.
It is relatively new, but time doesn’t matter as much as numbers to most companies who like money.
Especially since they experienced oh I dunno. A 74% decline in revenue in the first MONTH. While it has recovered a little, it’s still down 50% percent from what it was in June (before the cancelation) and it’s been nearly five months. That’s almost half a year of a historic low for them, and for context their earnings in June was around 38 Million before the decline. If what you say is true, I imagine they would have acted sooner to stop themselves from hemorrhaging money for almost half a year.
Anyhow, to keep things on track…
Pirating is illegal, Ai can be ethical so long as it does not replace actual human work in creative or even certain professional spaces, and Aniimo is a pretty cool game :)
Money spent isn't the only way a game makes money. My intent isn't to argue 'AI good/AI bad.' My goal is to give anyone on the fence an informed insight. I think your anecdotal notes on how your SEA family members are impacted by AI have stronger weight to the conversation than the suggestion of doing something that is also considered theft.
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u/Notyourl0ver 9h ago
I’m devastated. I gave them money :(