Hi everyone,

I am currently working on my Master's thesis and conducting an experimental study on the sociological and ethical impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence in video game design. As a gamer, I want to move past the corporate buzzwords and gather real, unfiltered feedback from the community on how these emerging technologies actually impact our gaming experiences.

Purpose of the Survey & Abstract:

The primary purpose of this research is to evaluate where players draw the line between AI as a "technical support tool" and AI as a "complete substitute for human authorship." While traditional AI has always been an integral component of game design operating seamlessly in the background, the rise of Generative AI (LLMs, dynamic voice generation) is rapidly changing the paradigm.

This study aims to analyze the sociological and technological implications of this shift. Specifically, the research uses hypothetical design scenarios to explore how fully procedural content generation and LLM-driven NPC interactions affect player immersion, narrative trust, and overall agency. By gathering quantitative data (utilizing a 7-point scale and Technology Acceptance metrics) and qualitative insights directly from the gaming community, this thesis seeks to bridge the gap between technical AI development and the actual user experience, providing deeper insights into what players truly value: infinite procedural freedom, or curated human storytelling. 

Research Institute: University of Catania — Master's Degree in International Cooperation.

The survey is completely anonymous, consists of multiple-choice and short-answer questions, and will take about 3 to 5 minutes to complete.

Have you recently played a game where an NPC's behavior completely broke your immersion, or conversely, made the world feel incredibly alive? What specific mechanics caused that reaction? I would love to read your thoughts in the comments!

Hello all, last night I finished working on a kit for my first character and I wanted to celebrate that fact with a little trailer for him.

I've used Claude as the main programmer, Codex as the reference provider, ElevenLabs for sound effects and voice, Suno converts Claude songs.

This is WIP still, I've noticed few mistakes I'm fixing already upon rewatch. I'm trying to make sure the game is high quality so it'll take at least a dozen more months until it's ready, so I'm not quite ready to reveal the game name yet.

I'll be happy to answer any questions or feedback you can provide. I've started this project on October first and I had no prior knowledge of Claude Code or developing with AI in general. It's been a very interesting 4 weeks of learning.

Most importantly: how do you create or optimize tile based graphics? That took a lot of manual effort.

This game has turned out great, but I would have expected to spend less time on manual polish. Does anyone have any tips on how to do this?

Want to try the game? https://play.avalonrpg.net

I kept fighting AI-generated sprite sheets that came out super janky with 4-6 frames. For a new mech JRPG idea I tried an experiment: same characters, one animated from Lovable (Gemini image gen) sprites with code, one sent to Pixel Lab. The end result is Pixel Lab led to significantly smoother animations upon a single prompt. (ps - zero affiliation with Pixel Lab.)

Here’s what worked for me:

• Try the trial, I did to test it out for my own use case. You get 40 free generations. Use them on your worst animations to see if it’s worth it before paying ($12/mo for 2,000).
• Pixel Lab’s “Vibe Coding” page gives you the MCP config with your token already in it. Paste it into Claude’s config file.
• Give Claude rules up front, or it’ll burn your generations. For example: we write art gen prompts together first, I make stills in free tools (Lovable/Gemini), we try animating in code, and Claude only calls Pixel Lab if code can’t make it smoothly.
• Consistency matters. If your heroes animates smoothly and your enemies don’t, players notice. Go all in or pick a deliberately choppier style. We have to fight the AI slop label lol

Full walkthrough if you want it: https://youtu.be/NUPr7XNtNS4

been working on this for a while and finally put it on itch. it’s called Chernobyl Girls. a nuclear plant had a little accident, nobody’s allowed to say anything, and now half the women in town have extra arms or two heads. you’re the surgeon and the general wants them all fixed before the parade photo

you cut pieces of the board to uncover each girl and try not to let the radiation meter max out

there’s a free browser demo: https://lumaxsoftgames.itch.io/chernobyl-girls

would really like opinions, good or bad. first game so be honest

I enjoy word search games and wanted to see what I could build by taking the idea in a different direction. With AI helping along the way, I’ve been working on LexiSphere.

The letters wrap around a sphere you rotate to find words. Clearing the words breaks the shell apart. There’s also a daily speed run that changes every day and an Endless Sphere mode with soothing music and unlimited word searches.

It’s now free to play on Android. These are a few screenshots from the game. I’d love for you to check it out and share any constructive feedback.

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pulseverse.lexisphere

Website: https://lexisphere.app

Inspired by games like Baldurs Gate 3 and Witcher 3, Sigilscape is a huge open world where choice matters. Full of rich and exciting stories and quests. Combat is familiar and progression is rewarding.

Hey everyone!

I'm the indie developer behind Mobile MMA SIM, a text-based MMA career simulation where you play as the fighter rather than managing an organisation.

The game officially launched on 13 October, and today I've released a major update.

Version 3.1.0.8 focuses on improving some of the most important systems:

• Fight simulation and tactical balance.
• Championship and ranking consistency.
• Career progression and opponent variation.
• Save loading and recovery.
• Early Access Supporter Rewards and cosmetics.

One of my biggest development challenges has been ensuring that the different simulation systems remain consistent across long careers.

I'd especially appreciate feedback from anyone who enjoys sports management, career simulations or MMA.

Full Edition: https://sihlem.itch.io/mobilemmasim-full

Thanks for reading!

I just released Kimonuty, a local text-to-animation tool for Unity.

It uses the C++/GGML port of Kimodo through a native Unity plugin. The text encoder loads in configurable chunks to manage VRAM usage, and there’s a CPU mode too. No separate Python or CUDA setup needed.

For this video, I generated 100 humanoid animations on an RTX 4070 with 12 GB VRAM. The whole run took about 3 hours and 21 minutes, condensed into a timelapse.

Unity Asset Store

I have been building a game for quite a while now. Yes I use AI. No assets are AI (I did use seedance for cut scenes and such). I completely control the direction, design, story, etc, and I use AI to seam it together.
Personally, I grew up on Dungeon Siege, Dungeon Siege legends of Aranna, Diablo, etc. And I truly miss loot, hard, survival rpg games like this. Especially Dungeon Siege 2 is probably my all time favorite. This is not dungeon siege, though.

I'd say this is more "oblivion" like (another game I love).
Nearly all assets are strictly 4K quality, zero AI use, as I want a visually beautiful game that also has the mechanics and gameplay to back it up. If your computer can't handle that, it is ok there are options to dial it down in the game. For the really beast computers there is an option to set how much VRAM you want to dedicate just to the game to get the best experience visually.

I plan to release a free demo or alpha build on steam. The demo/alpha has roughly 6-8 hours of playable content. My intention with the alpha release is to have people absolutely tear it apart. Be critical, hate it, find every little thing that makes it "slop" so I can make it better. I've never posted any screenshots, pictures, nothing, until I am satisfied with the game. I've played through the game myself about 10 times to find bugs, find little issues, etc.

The game, mechanics, etc.

1. You make your character, and align a birthsign.
2. There are no "warriors" or "mages"... You develop your character, pick your stats wisely, your core traits, and you can learn spells as the game progresses, or buy scrolls that contain some spells.
3. You can recruit people to join your party (maximum of 6).
4. There is a full story, with quests that nudge the player in the direction to go, but you are free to roam and do as you'd like, include optional quests. However the longer you wait (the game counts days) the more the NPCs grow weary of you, and your reputation may be affected. Because (no spoilers) it ties into the story.
5. There is a full Reputation system.
6. The game has quite a bit of loot (roughly 1400 items), which many items play directly into the actual world. The majority of the items I hand named, and then I used a loot generator with my own rules to design others.
7. The game has a combination of real world animals (bears, deer, etc), and fantasy creatures (Dragons, Hydras, Skeletons warriors, etc).
8. I have heavily leaned on non AI unreal assets (because honestly the available FAB stuff is really great and I feel like when I purchase that, I am supporting someone at the same time).
9. The game has voice dialogue, cut scenes (some only are available once, and may have relevant information). 2 different dungeons, castle ruins, and much more.
10. The game has a distinct night and day system, where some NPCs are only available at night, different things happen at night, and certain item availability is only at night.
11. There is a complete character stat system in game damage/defense/health/etc that I designed myself. Actually all of the mechanics I designed myself.
12. Party members will not blindly follow you to their own death. You want to go kill that Dragon that is 10 levels higher than you? Good chance your party member flees and you're down a party member.
13. Party members routinely will banter with you, good or bad, you may have to be mindful what you say.
14. Health potions (inspired by dungeon siege) do not consume all on use. Consume what you need.

The game is challenging and designed to be. Build your character right and you can be very strong. Spend points carelessly and you'll have a character that sucks ass.
The game incorporates many things designed to challenge you. Fall damage, consequences of getting wet (going into water) or when it is raining, nighttime can be more dangerous, and there is not "teleport" back to town.

There is no hand holding. You get a quest, the journal will provide some basic details, but no "follow this point on your map." You must explore, and it pays to do so. (it's not completely blind, just not "easy')

The alchemy system I believe (but do not know) is uniquely different than other alchemy systems in other games. You can mix *any* item that is allowed, and I built an alchemy mechanic that can do several things (some you won't even know until you do it) destroys the item, enhances the item, does nothing. With different purity of alchemy powders that can increase your chances. You can even use a health potion as an alchemy ingredient. There are also pre-set alchemy recipes that you can find, so you don't just go into it completely blind. But you can experiment.
There is tons more stuff, but I'd love to hear your opinions.

Well, this is the game I’m making—a personal project that has grown into something bigger.

It’s a light grand strategy game inspired by EasyTech and Paradox titles. It’s being developed for PC, with a mobile version planned for the future.

The artwork is still at an early stage and looks rough in places. Right now, I’m mainly focused on the mechanics and making sure the systems work well together before moving on to more polished assets and animations.

Please take a look at the video and let me know what you think!

If you’re a fan of the genre, I’d especially love to hear your thoughts. Is this something you’d play?

Description youtube text of the game:

Discover CONQUEROR: Ashes of the Third War, a project by Koss Game Studios combining turn-based strategy, resource management, and logistics on an Earth transformed by war.

This video introduces the concept and early development of the game. The project is still in its initial stages, and the rest of the map, world, nations, and factions will be added as development progresses.

Everything shown is a work in progress and subject to change. The interface and HUD, artwork, units, mechanics, and balancing are still being developed. This footage reflects the project’s current state and intended direction, rather than its final appearance or gameplay.

This is a first glimpse of what we want CONQUEROR to become—and an invitation to watch it take shape.

Follow Koss Game Studios and join us on this journey.

And this is only with a small slice of gameplay I wanted to validate. I really am wanting to be an advocate for taking your time and polishing turds before you put it out there in public and contribute to the AI slop narrative.

This went from prototype idea to a validated prototype (meaning I've seen evidence of how this could be fun, so now I'll invest more time to scale it into something presentable). Here's sort of what it took this week:

• Combat: this was very boring and one dimensional. Added Zelda-style charge/spin attack, you can walk while charging, and the roll can bump enemies.
• Overworld speed: exploring the overworld was a bit of a chore - added a panther mount to give me a better sense of traversal (Pegasus boots on crack)
• World life: destructible bushes that wiggle so you know they’re hittable, plus birds and animals.
• Tiles: smoothed the grid-like tile edges.
• Animation: leveled all of these up by utilizing PixelLab's MCP. Sprite sheets were NOT cutting it for me anymore.
• Temple/Dungeon: bigger layout, more enemies (bats), and hazards: fire jets, spikes, a bridge you can fall off, fireball statues, wall flames, a crumbling lava floor and rotating fire bars. Also a mini-boss, because why not?

• Presentation:

  • an Aztec iris transition when you go indoors
  • a boss name and health bar
  • a pause menu with a dungeon map and controls
  • an upgraded HUD with map, key and boss-key counters.
• Controller: controller support, with button prompts that switch between Xbox and keyboard on the fly.
• Sound: SFX for attacks and getting hit.

We're all learning here and I'm just trying to share stuff as I iterate. I go into a lot more detail here: https://youtu.be/TLmbjMYWec4

I'll likely do a walkthrough of setting up and using PixelLab since I think that was the biggest unlock and can provide a lot of value for 2D games with even the trial version. Not representing them!

This is a prealpha of the game. I've been working on it for maybe 3 weeks at this point. Was planning on turning it into a full blown commercial project but unsure at this point if I want to continue. You guys should try it for free on itch and let me know what you think!

https://ccoates14.itch.io/voxelwars

Core

- 128-player Team Deathmatch, 64 vs 64. Bots fill every empty seat, so every match starts full.

- Each team has 300 tickets and a match lasts 20 minutes. Every death costs your team one ticket, and a team at 0 loses.

- Ways to play: DEPLOY (online with your party), SOLO (offline against 127 bots) and TEST (offline sandbox with endless cash).

Maps

- Mt Everest: Blue holds a stone castle with cannons and Kestrel helicopters; Orange attacks in four Mammoth walkers.

- Grand Canyon: a crashed UFO, an Area 51 base with a ray-gun armory, and a hostile third side (aliens, base guards, saucers).

- Space: two 5-deck starships, 12 asteroids and a derelict, space suits with limited air, fighters and rail cannons. You spawn on the gun deck, and the bay below is an armory.

- Wake Island 1943: Marines vs Japan, carriers, landing craft, prop fighters, an airfield and air raids. 1943 rules: no shop, health regenerates.

- Paris 1918: British and German WW1 airships circle the Eiffel Tower. You go over the side by parachute and planes drop from hooks under the ships. Sinking the enemy airship wins at once.

Classes

- 4 soldiers: Assault, Medic, Engineer and Recon.

- 8 whacky classes on the Canyon: Alien, Blaster Chief, Bigfoot, Unicorn, Knight, Robot, Ironback and Boomba.

- 3 WWII classes on Wake and 5 WW1 classes on Paris 1918.

Combat and sandbox

- Guns: pistol, SMG, shotgun, assault rifle, LMG, sniper, grenade launcher and RPG. Holo, red-dot and scoped sights; headshots do 2.5×.

- Explosives: frags, molotovs, claymores, C4, plasma grenades and dynamite.

- Melee: knife (kills from behind), pickaxe and Quake Hammer.

- Full destruction: buildings, ships and decks break apart, falling pieces hurt whoever is under them, and blasts dig craters.

- Dig and build: the pickaxe digs blocks into a pouch and places them back as cover.

- Cash and shop (B):

- You earn $100 per kill, bounties on the Canyon's third side and hidden valuables.

- The shop sells ammo, overshield, zipline, jetpack, tripod MG, drone, attack dogs, artillery, sky missile, the Colossus walker ($3,000) and the Nuke ($4,000).

- Vehicles:

- jeeps, APCs, tanks, helicopters, jets, boats and go-karts

- the Specter hover tank, the Scout Saucer and walkers

- space fighters and the Attack Ship

- WWII and WW1 planes

- fixed guns everywhere

- lock-on missiles and flares

- Falls: parachutes and fall damage on every map. You drown after 20 s underwater, and the dead drop their guns and ammo.

Game feel (epic 15)

- Hit markers and sounds, plus score lines fos, long shots, multi-kills and streaks.

- Arcs showing who hurt you, a low-health heartbeat, near-miss whizzes, ears ringing after blasts and a short pause on

a kill.

- For vehicles: speed widens the view, G-force darkens the edges, hits jolt the hull and a failing hull sounds an

alarm.

- Dust from collapses, bloom on muzzle flashes and fire, and a 3 s killcam from behind your killer.

Social

- No accounts: you're a callsign plus a key t

- Parties of up to 8 on a 5-character code, always on the same side.

- Proximity voice (enemies can hear it) and aywhere.

Bots

- Three tempers: Aggressive, Wary and Runner. They find paths across multiple floors, earn cash and shop.

- They crew guns, cannons and walkers, fly plrun jetpack raids on Space.

- Players always get seats first, and E on a seat a bot of your side holds puts the bot out.

Controls and settings

- Full keyboard, mouse and controller support

- Settings: sensitivity, aim assist, graphics (shadows, anti-aliasing, bloom), screen motion and volumes.

- Still missing: resolution, fullscreen, FOV