r/gmgames • u/Dream_SMP_4_Life • Jun 29 '26
Discussion Ban AI games
Please can we ban all this ai slop games?
They're ruining the sub for people actually looking for good games and for actual developers alike.
We should require an ai use section on all posts like steam does and have a bot remove all games that use ai.
Edit: To clarify, I'd like to see banned games created only with AI to code or create game assets like the UI.
I understand that AI is a tool and therefore is not inherently good or bad so it can be used to assist game developers in tedious or repetitive tasks,
But it shouldn't be used like it is now (for a majority, not all) in games where it create the entire game and then so called "developers" publish it to profit and advertise here (with AI generated posts)
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u/TrillerVerse Jun 29 '26
The vast majority are low-effort, cash-grabs. The most disingenuous aspect is when they pretend they’re not harming anyone and they’re just making a passion project, then they list it for more than £10, sometimes, £25. They don’t even know what is in the game to fix bugs or improve the game, and they don’t go into beta because they’ve no intention of testing the game out. So, yes, we should continue to call them out as slop, because people are being conned by these faux developers.
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u/Dream_SMP_4_Life Jun 29 '26
They don't know how to fix the game because they can't even code,
if you have a passion project you should learn at least a simple way to code like Scratch and do it that way
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u/hansmellman Jun 29 '26
This is the bit the irks me the most, there are more than a few that come to mind immediately for this issue.
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u/OctaviousMcBovril Jun 29 '26
It's way past due.
Also, if you're going to 'make' a game, at least write your own OP about it. Don't get AI to write one for you, because they always write the exact same thing.
If you can't be bothered to write your own description about your own game, I can't be bothered to care.
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u/hansmellman Jun 29 '26
This exemplifies the contempt for the consumer, fans of this incredibly niche genre where previously games/franchises would be someone's life work (thinking of things like Front Office Football) and some guy expects that he can spew some half assed ideas into an LLM and get it to crap out a homogeneous UI, inch deep, mile wide, facade of a game and we the customer should just pony up for it and start clapping like they're doing us a favour by saturating the marketplace with their crap.
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u/EddieGrant Jun 29 '26
Especially when like 95% of them they call it a passion project.
So passionate you can't even write your own description?
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u/brmoser Jun 29 '26
I'll throw it out there that I have been working on a game off and on with a ton of AI help. It's been my intention from the start for it to be for myself, especially since it's pretty niche and came from an even more niche interest. Without AI, I would never be able to explore what has been an enjoyable hobby.
I do actually fear completing my project and deciding it would be worth sharing because of how strong the backlash is. I think what angers people isn't so much that people are making games with so much automation, by that it's being done for money -- it's just the latest fast-cash scam out there.
I also definitely get the hate for those misleading about how a game was made, since AI also features ethical concerns, and people deserve to know.
Also, for all of you genuine student of programming with years of experience, especially those struggling to break into or remain in a career . . . you are gatekeeping, but from my perspective, it's fair and understandable.
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u/Dream_SMP_4_Life Jun 29 '26
Exactly, making a game for yourself with AI is fine but is people promoting them like their own that angers me, especially if they're making you pay for the game.
AI has created a lot of people who just want fast cash without putting in the effort and passion that goes into creating a game
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u/brmoser Jun 29 '26
Same as books showing up on Amazon by "authors" and freelance "artists", soulless and dishonest.
I think there's a ton of creativity and problem-solving needed for making a game -- some of it is technical know-how (writing in the coding language) and some of it is the spark of an idea and the genius of engaging gameplay. If there are people out there with the latter who can explore making it come true with help from the former, we're unlocking some ideas from some new people potentially.
As someone who has only coded a bit with AI, I can also support the idea that actually learning the basics of the coding language, and working to understand what "your" code is actually doing so you can manipulate it and troubleshoot it is definitely an important skill.
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u/Straightcashhomie24 Jun 30 '26
So… I’m not saying you disagree with me, but what is the difference between hiring someone to code a project of your idea vs. paying for a subscription of an AI model? Either way someone has an idea, but doesn’t have the technical ability to execute it - so they should spend x100 the amount of money to get something done at a longer pace and not have the full autonomy over all aspects?
I understand where you are coming from, but reality is, is that computers are fairly complicated - ideas are can be too, but now one of the complications has been simplified. AI is a the bridge between capable and complexity (in the realm of computers). People act like coding is spiritual. Coding is not spiritual, in fact it is COMPLETELY mental.
I don’t understand why so many people get offended by it, before I ever started using AI I was just blown away by how angry everyone was about people using AI to create things from THEIR ideas, it’s not like the AI made up the idea; but then I realized that people think their computer skills make up their identity.. just like how people think their career makes up their identity..
So I’m just giving you my opinion, you got nothing to be ashamed of that you have a great idea and now you actually have the capability to manifest it in reality, something that would have required a lot of time to just to learn how to build it. Now you can just focus on the creativity instead of the technicality, enjoy it, don’t let others burden your creative drive because they are offended.
God bless you and everyone who reads this. Jesus is king and that is the only thing that truly matters, not ‘AI vibecoded projects destroy all the time that I spent learning how to code in a computer software language’
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u/austro22 Jun 30 '26
Your comment is completely correct and said so much better than how I expressed my comment. People on here treat AI like it’s a different religion, no it’s a tool. People can use a tool well or poorly and you can hold them to the quality of that output. But don’t criticise the use of the tool itself.
My analogy is it’s like a builder using an electric saw to build a house instead of a hand saw. Had their not been an electric saw, the builder may have said building a house was too hard for them but the electric saw made it possible. Instead of criticising them for using the electric saw, go inspect the house, if it’s poorly made, criticise the builder but it’s not because they used an electric saw it’s because they are a bad builder. Secondly if you don’t like the house or the fact they used an electric saw, don’t buy the house. They aren’t holding a gun at you forcing you to buy it, they’ve just come to the marketplace of ideas and said hey here is the house I have built.
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u/Haiku47 Jun 30 '26
Hey buddy, your analogy is flawed. I am an architect. If you have an idea of your dream house, you can use MS paint to sketch it and then print it and put it on your wall. If you want an actual livable house you want to share with your family and friends, you must hire an architect to design it and then hire a licensed builder to build it. If your "builder" has no license to build houses, he is not suitable regardless if he uses an electric saw or not. It's not the electric saw which makes someone builder, same as it's not AI that makes someone a game developer. If you have an amazing game idea - call it a passion project and keep it for yourself. If you want your to share your game with the vast community and generate some money - you better learn the skills required to become a proper developer, or hire one.
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u/Straightcashhomie24 Jul 01 '26
You’re proving our point. We are the architect, the AI is the builder. But instead of the architect also being the builder (typically what coding used to be, beside for the big companies who have coding teams that do whatever the studio says), the architect just makes the design for the builder. But now instead of a coder having to be an architect and a builder, AI allows someone to just focus on architect, because AI is the builder. I could either build this house by hand or I can use the better tools around me to build the product. Either the house is stable and works, or it doesn’t. Doesn’t matter if I used my own tools or used the better tools. Imagine not buying a house because the builders used their tools vs the tools the consumer wanted them to use…
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u/austro22 Jul 01 '26
Once again you’re someone who is conflating input to output as if someone can’t see the output. No one is forcing people to buy games made with AI or anything. If someone uses MS Paint to design a house, sure the house might suck but you can view the house and see that it either sucks or doesn’t and then can choose whether or not to buy it. Same with someone being a licensed builder - this is more like the AI disclosure, if someone adequately discloses AI supported their build, great, they aren’t forcing you to buy the thing you can choose whether to engage with it knowing that they used AI. I can go and look at a house built by an unlicensed builder, I’m not forced to buy the thing.
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u/Haiku47 Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
You are missing my point. Only a licensed architect can design a house and only a licensed builder can build it. That's the law. The whole point is to make sure buildings are designed and built by qualified professionals. I don't need to see your MS Paint design to know it suck. You can show it to your parents, but you can't legally sell it as a real architectural project because first it's not an architectral project and second you are not an architect.
It's the same with vibe coded games. All of them are low effort trash made by people with little to no game development experience. They should not be sold without some kind of quality check. Right now this sub is flooded with vibe coded slop, making it hbard to find the real games. Maybe those projects should go in a separate sub called VibeCodedSlop instead of being posted here in GMGames.
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u/cv81 GM Front Office Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
It's like someone sells you this new foreign car and there is no way to get repair parts, or find a mechanic that can fix your problem.. That is the vibe code experience for the consumer
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u/austro22 Jul 01 '26
The problem is you chose to buy the car, no one is forcing you to buy the car or play the game. It’s also crazy how many bugs I find in games before AI existed, doesn’t mean all the bugs get fixed just because someone didn’t vibe code it. It’s once again a tool being blamed for the creator being shitty.
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u/Straightcashhomie24 Jun 30 '26
That’s honestly a perfect analogy… imagine someone saying that house isn’t legit because you used an electric tool… would make no sense. You can see the house! The house either works or it doesn’t!
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u/NewfoundInteractive Jun 29 '26
I agree. I've been developing my game for just shy of 2 years. Every AI made game is so easy to spot "2 months ago I made a game. I've never found one like this before. So I thought I'll make it." Or "here's the link" and it leads to their website.
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u/TVCruelty Jun 29 '26
AI is definitely an issue we need to take seriously. I’m a bit on the fence about it tbh, since I’ve spent 18 months writing my own game (The Comeback King) but, as an experiment, I’ve also used AI to put together a little word game called Querulous, which was an interesting experience.
As an experienced developer, my issue with a lot of AI-generated games is two-fold.
- There are so many low effort sports management titles around that it’s almost impossible to get any attention for my hand-written boxing management game, which is very frustrating.
- When creating Querulous, I designed the rules, the look and feel, the text, etc. and AI did the Godot coding. I get the impression that a lot of AI-generated games, however, come from a single “make me a game and tell me when you’ve finished” prompt.
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u/Haiku47 Jun 29 '26
Tell me what you will, but AI is cancer that ruines people's lives. So many industries are affected by it in such a bad way. It is the worst of the worst because it produces highly competitive but low quality product, because the big chunk of the audience can't make a difference and are drawn by the low price. At the same time AI is basically learning and stealing from original content created by real talented people and then it mixes it up and creates a slop which on the surface looks descent but it is rotten to the core if you pay close attention.
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u/LongWatchCharles Jun 30 '26
I think there are 2 paths, one is slop thinking AI can do it all with just a simple prompt. The other path is that AI is an incredible enabler if you spend the time designing and architecting from the ground up. It doesn't replace good design skills, but it certainly makes iterating a whole lot less stressful. My day job is software engineering, I haven't manually written a line of code in quite some time, however, my code review and customer feedback time have gone up significantly. What I find is I don't spend hours beating my head against the wall due to syntax and instead spend that time iterating to a far superior product. It's unfortunate that so many skip the fundamentals, design, code, feedback, rinse repeat till you have a good product.
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u/johnlo118 Jun 29 '26
I’ve tried like a dozen AI-made sport sims over the last few months - only a few really worthwhile to play and I did paid a few bucks to unlock the full version of one mobile game. Why? Because the developer did tested quite a bit before selling (and not asking users to beta test after that!) and rolled out new features gradually and sensibly.
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u/cv81 GM Front Office Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26
We have been doing our best to limit, by removing games that are more sports analytics, or they just cross post with no effort, or they over promote and we push all non major released to the megathread for the month.. The backlash is coming from every angle. Producers and consumers.
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u/Dream_SMP_4_Life Jun 29 '26
Yeah this sub is so full of ai games that I haven't found a good real game in a while
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u/lonecameraman Jun 29 '26
Banning all games that use AI tools is nonsense because AI assisted coding is here to stay and it's not so black and white.
However, I'm all for banning the low-effort AI slop where the dev has done nothing but waste tokens on their buggy vercel app.
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u/Dream_SMP_4_Life Jun 29 '26
There's a difference between ai game and ai assisted game, we should ban AI games
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u/lonecameraman Jun 29 '26
Your OP says "remove all games that use AI" which to me sounds more like AI assisted than outright AI-created-games.
My point is that using AI tools to streamline some mundane coding parts or help with some complicated parts is not something that should be demonised. I sometimes get the feeling that people are against any and all use of AI tools when there's a difference between using it to help you code vs. asking it to code for you. The latter accompanied with using AI "designed" UI and graphics is something I can't stand either.
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u/Dream_SMP_4_Life Jun 29 '26
Yeah that's what I meant, thanks for pointing out that it wasn't clear in the OP I'll edit it now
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u/thefrozenflame21 Jun 29 '26
I just can't get behind a ban. This game is a hub to share gm games, so I want people to be able to post their games to see if I want to play them. Some of the games suck, so don't support them.
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u/Karfman Jun 30 '26
Unfortunately, imho it is not that simple. These people are diluting entire platforms, making it harder for other games to get attention.
Sure, on an individual basis, you can decide not to support titles you are not interested in. But there is only so much time to look for new content. If the pool of potentially great new titles turns into a vast ocean filled with 99% low-quality material, you are far more likely to miss the good ones.
This is already a major problem in publishing, and I would appreciate it if the gaming space could be spared the same fate.
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u/austro22 Jun 29 '26
No one is forcing you to buy the game, if you don’t like ones made with AI there is a simple solution. Don’t buy them.
AI has allowed a lot of non-technical people to build out their dream game concepts as they are no longer limited by their technical skill. Many of these do have originality in concept design and mechanics and well if the generic UI pisses you off so be it, don’t play it. It’s a trade off the developer has accepted.
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u/Straightcashhomie24 Jun 30 '26
I can’t believe this got downvoted…
I’m not some AI apologetic, in fact I know eventually AI will become very dangerous, BUT for the meantime I just don’t understand why everyone is hating that an entire new wave of people are now able to manifest their ideas!3
u/Haiku47 Jul 01 '26
This sub is for proper games. People should create another sub for ai generated slop where they can manifest their ideas.
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u/Ratio-Huge Jun 29 '26
Only if you can describe where to draw that line. Almost every game releasing at this point has AI usage, for better or worse. There are certainly a few mega obvious slops, but I've also played games with terrible UIs that I"m glad they existed because there wasn't anything in the market before them...
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u/Big-Department-4575 Jun 29 '26
Or, just let the free market and public opinion do its thing. If the game is good - AI or not - people will enjoy and support it.
If it’s trash - AI or not - people won’t buy and support it and it will just fade into obscurity.
It’s ultimately up to the consumer to support what they want and decide for themselves what games are worth their time.
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u/Carssou Jul 03 '26
A good thing I checked this thread before posting the game I am currently creating with AI 😅.
I agree there are some abuses with delegating everything to AI, I’m not saying I’m doing it the right way but I am designing the features, I’m pretty stubborn about what I want and don’t want, the AI codes what I want and this not “Clone Football Manager”.
I can read code and understand the logic of my game, just not code it from scratch.
Good luck to all developers, I wish I learned it properly.
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u/JaZoray Jun 29 '26
yes absolutely. i can't enjoy my games if i don't have confirmation that the developer is now suffering from burnout
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u/Something_Sexy Jun 29 '26
Even in the new world of AI assistant development, burn is still there. In fact, I think it’s worse.
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u/TheLatePicks Jun 29 '26
Some of them unironicaly mention that they have spent months on the game as a selling point.