Read More《为什么越来越多的游戏行业高管投身AI创业?》
Positive Reviews: Game Executives Transition to AI Entrepreneurship, Initiating the “Second Curve” of Industry Innovation
In recent years, the phenomenon of game industry executives flocking to AI entrepreneurship is, in essence, an inevitable choice under the resonance of technological变革 and industry demands. These entrepreneurs with profound game industry experience are injecting new impetus into the integration of AI and games with their dual advantages of “technology + content,” and may even reshape the future form of the entire digital interaction field.
First of all, the composite background of “technology + content” of game executives enables them to accurately capture the core application scenarios of AI in the game field. In the traditional game development process, there are a large number of repetitive and standardized tasks (such as text translation and original painting generation) from planning, art to programming. The introduction of AI tools could significantly improve efficiency. However, in the early practice, many enterprises failed in process transformation due to insufficient understanding of the “controllability” of AI tools (for example, a small factory in Zhongguancun disbanded its project after introducing Midjourney). The advantage of game executives lies in that they are familiar with the pain points of the entire development process (such as art retouching and planning script writing) and have practical experience in technology implementation (such as the “AI-driven R & D pipeline shortens the design cycle by 60%” mentioned by Zhao Tongtong of Yuanyi Entertainment), which can more efficiently promote the in-depth integration of AI tools and the existing workflow. For example, the concept of “AI-native gameplay” proposed by Shao Yun, the former senior vice president of NetEase, is based on a profound understanding of the static system of traditional games and then explores the reconstruction of the underlying logic with AI. This innovation path “starting from problems” has more practical value than simply chasing technological hotspots.
Secondly, game executives’ insights into users’ emotional needs are promoting the upgrade of AI interaction from “tool attribute” to “emotional attribute.” Games are essentially a “business of emotional experience.” Players’ empathy for characters and immersion in the virtual world are the keys to the success of games. This experience transferred to AI entrepreneurship is directly reflected in the “humanization” of product design. For example, Li Chi’s “Paw Party” chooses “cute pets” as the AI carrier, taking advantage of the simple behavior and strong emotional resonance of pets to achieve high emotional connection with low computing power cost; Zhu Xiaojing’s “Sherlock Holmes: Night Tracker” tries to dynamically generate a mesh story context with AI through the design of “every NPC is an Oscar-winning actor” to meet players’ deep needs for “immersive reasoning.” What’s more noteworthy is Cai Haoyu’s “Whispers From The Star” of Mihoyo – this game with “real-time dialogue” as the core improves the “human – like feeling” of virtual characters to a new height through multi – modal behavior coordination (smooth movements and rich expressions), which is essentially exploring the ultimate proposition of “how AI simulates human emotions.” These attempts not only expand the boundaries of games but also may provide key experience for future general AI products such as “digital humans” and “emotional interaction platforms.”
Finally, the transition of game executives accelerates the “two – way empowerment” of AI and games, opening up greater imagination space for the industry. Traditional technology companies (such as OpenAI) are good at underlying technologies but lack content creation experience; while game companies have long been deeply involved in user needs and interaction design. The combination of the two may give birth to the next – generation digital products. For example, the “4D digital body intelligence” virtual human technology focused on by Bantu Technology has a vision that goes beyond games and points to all scenarios that require “digital humans” (such as virtual idols and corporate customer service); Yuanyi Entertainment’s attempt to drive the “dynamic realism” of the open world with AI may provide technical verification for the “realistic interaction” of the metaverse. As mentioned in the news, “If future digital products need to have wisdom, emotions, be able to communicate and provide support, game companies are the group that best understands ‘dream – making’ and users’ emotions.” The exploration of these entrepreneurs is deeply integrating the “content gene” of the game industry with the “technology gene” of AI, injecting new variables into the development of the entire digital economy.
Negative Reviews: Hidden Worries under the Up – surge – Triple Challenges of Technology, Cost, and User Expectations
Although the up – surge of game executives transitioning to AI entrepreneurship is exciting, the risks behind it cannot be ignored. From technological maturity to commercialization paths, from user experience to industry competition, multiple challenges may become the “stumbling blocks” for some projects.
First of all, there are still shortcomings in the “controllability” and “universality” of AI technology, and early investment may face the “gap between ideal and reality.” As mentioned in the news, although the “controllability” of AI tools has improved compared with the early stage, the “difficulty of use” has increased – planners need to learn multi – tool adaptation, local deployment, and script writing, and artists need to master prompt optimization and local repair. This “tool complication” may lead enterprises into the misunderstanding of “using AI for the sake of using AI”: for example, a small factory disbanded its project due to the blind introduction of AI tools, which is essentially a lack of clear understanding of “what problems AI can solve.” More importantly, the technical threshold of AI – native gameplay is even higher: the “dynamic generation of mesh story context” relied on by “Sherlock Holmes: Night Tracker” requires the precise processing of complex logic by large models; the “emotional delicacy” required by “Whispers From The Star” involves the in – depth integration of multi – modal data. Currently, AI is still in the “weak intelligence” stage in fields such as logical reasoning and emotional understanding (for example, Stella will push the plot rigidly and chat inappropriately). The technical bottleneck may lead to a gap between product experience and user expectations.
Secondly, the contradiction between computing power cost and commercialization verification may become the “life – and – death line” for start – up enterprises. AI – driven games or digital products often require a large amount of computing power support: Li Chi mentioned that the daily call cost of 30 AI characters in “Byte Town” is 80 – 100 US dollars, while the commercialization path has not been verified; although the open – world project of Yuanyi Entertainment emphasizes “realistic dynamic feedback,” hardware level and computing power cost are still the biggest short – term obstacles. For start – up enterprises, early financing (such as the over – ten – million – dollar financing of Yuanyi Entertainment) can support R & D, but continuous computing power investment may quickly exhaust funds. What’s more serious is that it is still unclear whether users are willing to pay for the “extra experience brought by AI” – in “Whispers From The Star,” players only need to “encourage Stella” to advance the plot, and this low – operation threshold may reduce users’ willingness to pay; whether the “light – weight social interaction” of “Paw Party” can form a stable user payment model also needs market verification. If the commercialization path is not clear, some projects may fail due to a broken capital chain.
Finally, the conflict between users’ high expectations for “realism” and the “non – human” characteristics of AI may lead to the failure of “emotional substitution.” The core of games is “empathy,” but the “over – enthusiasm” and “emotional stability” of AI may trigger a variant of the “uncanny valley effect” – that is, the sense of alienation when users realize that “this is not a real person.” For example, Stella pushes the plot rigidly after being blamed by players and avoids unpleasant topics, and this “perfect but unrealistic” performance weakens the emotional connection; in “Sherlock Holmes: Night Tracker,” if the NPCs’ “lying is more natural than breathing” and AI cannot adjust its reaction according to players’ micro – expressions, it may become a “mechanical performance.” In addition, although the “response delay” of AI (such as the “interstellar transmission delay” packaging in “Whispers From The Star”) can relieve the sense of inappropriateness, in the long run, users’ demand for “instant interaction” may force technological progress, and start – up enterprises may not be able to keep up with this iteration speed.
Suggestions for Entrepreneurs: Focus on Scenarios, Balance Costs, and Deeply Cultivate Users
Facing the opportunities and challenges in the up – surge, AI entrepreneurs from the game industry need to grasp the following key points:
Clarify the technology implementation scenarios and avoid “using AI for the sake of using AI”: The value of AI lies in solving specific problems, rather than simply pursuing “technological gimmicks.” Entrepreneurs need to combine their game industry experience to accurately locate the scenarios where AI can create core value – for example, when optimizing the development process, they should give priority to the links with high repetition and strong standardization (such as text generation and basic original paintings); when exploring AI – native gameplay, they need to focus on users’ “unmet needs” (such as dynamic stories and emotional interaction), rather than blindly pursuing “fully AI – driven.”
Balance technology investment and cost control, and give priority to verifying the commercialization path: Computing power cost is the “invisible killer” of AI entrepreneurship, and the unit cost needs to be reduced through technological optimization (such as lightweight models and computing power reuse). For example, Li Chi’s choice of “cute pets” as the emotional carrier with low computing power load in “Paw Party” is a strategy worthy of reference; at the same time, it is necessary to verify users’ willingness to pay through small – scale tests as early as possible (such as paying to unlock AI character customization functions) to avoid being unable to realize the value after “burning money for R & D.”
Deeply cultivate users’ emotional needs and use “realism” to make up for the “non – human” nature of AI: The core of games is “empathy,” and AI products also need to be designed around this logic. Entrepreneurs can improve the sense of realism through “detail optimization” – for example, if Stella in “Whispers From The Star” can have a more delicate reaction to players’ emotions (such as blame) (such as a brief silence and tone fluctuation) instead of pushing the plot rigidly, it can enhance the emotional connection; if the NPCs in “Sherlock Holmes: Night Tracker” can adjust their lying strategies according to players’ reasoning progress (such as being more nervous when players are approaching the truth), it can enhance the sense of immersion.
Maintain technological sensitivity and flexibly respond to industry iterations: AI technology is still evolving rapidly (such as multi – modal large models and edge computing). Entrepreneurs need to continuously pay attention to technological trends to avoid being eliminated due to “path dependence.” For example, if low – computing – power and high – intelligence models become popular in the future, the “each NPC in the open world has the IQ of a 4 – year – old” may be upgraded to “has the IQ of a 10 – year – old,” and enterprises with early – stage technological reserves will have an advantage.
In short, the up – surge of game executives engaging in AI entrepreneurship is both an inevitable result of technological change and an opportunity for industry innovation. Entrepreneurs need to take “solving problems” as the core and find a balance among technology, cost, and user needs to go further in this “AI + game” revolution.
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