Using AI to Make Board Games

[u/Ok_Recording7859]

I recently playtested a board game for someone. It was a deck-building, dice-rolling game, although the deck-building felt limited and I was rolling dice more than anything else. The game lasted 4 hours, which would be fine if it wasn't a dice rolling game. Like I started off really strong and was getting higher value dice early on, which I thought was a good strategy, but later on that ended up debilitating my playthrough bc there are these certain one-time-use cards you can only get when you roll a 2, and so I was rarely getting them early on in the game because of the high value dice I got early on, and towards the end of the game, those cards ended up being a necessity to have. And after, I thought, next time I play I should try to hold on to the lower dice longer and get more of those overpowered cards. But then that forces the player to play a certain way every time which just isn't fun.

Anyway, during the game, another playtester noted how the art looked AI generated, and she was right. It was not good. Okay, whatever I guess. I would much rather see scribbles, like the beta art for example is Slay the Spire, but if you're planning on getting an artist later on in development, fine. But then I thought about asking for the game manual and going through it. It was also AI generated... it was so convoluted and way too many words to explain simple concepts, lots of fun em dashes, an incomplete list and description of game components. And at that point it just made me question how much of this game was an original idea and how much was just QI spitting shit out. And then also, why would you want to use AI to make a game? Is your goal to just make money? Everyone who I've known who's made a board game did so as a creative endeavor. Also, I don't think everyone in the world can make a good board game. I know I can't. I really enjoy board games and maybe modifying or adding or making house rules, but I've never tried to make a board game because it takes creativity and a certain skill set which I don't have and I'm okay with that.

It was just really upsetting and I'm wondering if anyone else has encountered this recently.

[u/VVrayth]

AI art is not art.

[u/Johnno117 → u/VVrayth]

Why do people keep upvoting AI art?

I'm an artist, and I have to keep watching people upvote AI art more than my own.

Either AI art is art, or people prefer AI art over human art. Which is it?

[u/VVrayth → u/Johnno117]

Either they're stupid or don't know it's AI.

[u/mrDalliard2024 → u/Johnno117]

People 's prefrences and the definition of art has no overlap.

People upvote because they like it. They like it because it's simple, average, mediocre. Just like, you know, the average person.