I’ll just express my honest opinion.
I understand that GDevelop needs money to exist, and the rise of AI seems like the easiest way right now to make money. But is GDevelop really big enough to risk its image like this?
As things stand, you rarely see people online comparing GDevelop to major game engines such as Unity or Unreal. That’s because GDevelop is still missing many of the features that those engines offer. Personally, I see GDevelop as a great engine, and I believe I could build my work and hopefully my living with it someday, but most people don’t feel the same way.
Many people see GDevelop as a simple engine, often comparing it to Scratch. Add AI into the mix, and people will start assuming that all games made with GDevelop are filled with AI generated assets and code (Exaggerating of course). As things stand right now, there’s little reason for someone with good coding skills to choose GDevelop.
Now, the AI in Gdevelop is currently harmless. It is mostly advertised as a way to learn faster. A bit of a shame in my oppinion cause I do enjoy your tutorials.
As per your example the AI can do the following:
This is a very good use
- to make public documentation more accessible (documentation many people never consult),
- to explain the engine’s capabilities and limitations,
However this…
- to exchange ideas and think through problems with the creator,
- to accompany creators in a mentor-like way, similar to how a guide, or friend might.
I don’t see why this can’t be achieved through the forums or Discord, like we did for years or by using Chat GPT directly. As much as I hate OpenAI, Chat GPT can already provide all of the above for free and likely with more detail.
Also I don’t want to sound harsh, but nowadays everyone wants to be a creator without putting in the actual work required. If you’re not willing to research and improve your skills, then art isn’t for you. Yes, I consider game development a form of art.
I don’t know the full details of the Kenney situation, but me, as a very mediocre artist, I understand his concerns. You spend years creating assets, and suddenly millions of people aren’t just using your work for reference, they copy it and generate something similar in seconds without giving you a cent.
Creators are afraid, the market is oversaturated and big corporations are trying to earn money from everything. There is a HUGE confusion online about what AI can do and what it can’t do.
I think most of us just want to know
- How deep Gdevelop is willing to dive into the AI hole? Chatbot assistant is fine and I support it. Actual Generative AI is where you start collecting haters or AI enthusiasts.
- If the resources spent are actually going to the development of Gdevelop as a proper big game engine that will be able to compete with other engines.
- How much it costs for Gdevelop to maintain their AI chatbot? Does it affect the development of the game engine? Recent release notes always mention AI somehow. We appreciate that you are open, just want to know. There was also a rise in your subscription prices recently and we don’t know if the AI affected any of your decisions.
Gdevelop should decide what their actual target audience is and stick to it.
Either advertise an an engine that is friendly to artists and creative people since they can create things without needing heavy coding skills, or advertise as an engine where you can create games with the help of AI.
My comment was made without knowing how much GDevelop is earning or who your actual audience is. I don’t have access to those statistics. Maybe there are no issues at all and the engine is thriving.
From my point of view and my experience with the engine, especially now with the dedicated 3D editor, things are getting better and better. I just don’t want the engine to suddenly lose its following because it starts advertising itself primarily as an AI engine.
But yeah, from a marketing perspective I understand the need to advertise and follow the trends.
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Now my deeply personal opinion is that I absolutely hate generative AI and I see no reason for it to exist aside for just replacing artists and staff. Or fixing my grammar hah. Cause who are we kidding, what is the other reason?
In the corporate world
Drastically reducing workload = Reducing Staff and AI is the solution to this.
I wrote this from my heart because I love GDevelop and want it to succeed. With GDevelop, you can already make a game pretty quickly. The interne is filled with things we will never experience. We still have a ton of man-made games to play so why the whole world is rushing straight to the finish line?
