The Creators of Baldur's Gate 3 Clarifies Its Application of Generative AI for New Divinity Game

The team behind acclaimed role-playing games like Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity: Original Sin has recently unveiled its new project, generating immense excitement within the industry. However, recent comments from the studio's figurehead have added clarity to the narrative, touching on the studio's stance toward machine learning.

A Tool for Ideation, Not Replacement

In a latest message, the studio's founder explained that the developer is employing machine learning for certain ancillary tasks. These encompass enhancing PowerPoint slides, generating rough artistic references, and writing draft copy.

Importantly, Vincke made clear that the shipping content in the game will be authored exclusively by real creatives. "We are creating all the content manually," he affirmed.

Our studio is constantly growing our team of storytellers and are actively putting together dedicated writer rooms.

As concept art is being specifically called out — we right now have twenty-three visual developers and have positions available for further creatives.

Everything we do is incremental and designed to letting our team spend additional energy on the creative process.

Every ML tool used well is supplementary to a creative team workflow, never a stand-in for their skill.

Addressing Concerns and Clarifying the Vision

The admission of using AI at first generated concern among portions of the fanbase. In reaction, Vincke offered further elaboration on social media.

"At Larian, we employ these tools to gather inspiration, just like we use search engines and reference books," he explained. "During the conceptual ideation stages we use it as a rough outline for layout which we then replace with original artwork."

He added, "Larian brings on creatives for their inherent skill, not for their willingness to execute what a AI generates."

Three Pillars of Practical Application

Vincke had earlier detailed the team's targeted approach to AI and ML, grouping its use into three main functions:

• Streamlining Repetitive Work: This encompasses refining animations, audio processing, and technical processes like adjusting assets for various species.
• Accelerated Iteration: Using technology to rapidly prototype basic versions of gameplay ideas to validate concepts prior to full implementation.
• Future Potential for Gameplay: Researching how AI could in the future facilitate new forms of reactivity, especially in managing unforeseen permutations in a detailed game universe.

He explicitly stated that core creative disciplines — like writing — are not departments where the company is cutting artistic involvement. On the contrary, Larian is recruiting more in these exact fields.

"Larian is not launching a game with machine-made assets, and we are certainly not considering reducing staff to swap them out with AI," Vincke concluded.