WotC Would you buy WotC products produced or enhanced with AI?

[MoonSong]

D&D games.

For any commericial work I do, I'll hire an artist; althought I might use AI to "layout a concept" for the artist, but for non-commercial use AI works great for me and just keeps getting better and better and better.

Please don't, that'd be very degrading.

 

[kayakingpoodle]

Have you ever participated in the growth and learning of an infant? Same thing. AI is still just an infant.

False equivalence, "ai" is software in alpha functioning exactly as designed, to profit from theft. It is not a living being, and had no way to do things even infants can do.

Attempts at humanizing it is just buying into the marketing deception attempting to allow it a toehold.

 

[Incenjucar]

LLMs do not function in a way resembling humans. There are some vague apparent similarities to how people without strong language skills will cobble together words they don't understand, but the same techniques can be done using blocks of wood.

 

[ezo]

Please don't, that'd be very degrading.

Whatever.

If an artist feels that "degraded" I can find an artist who understands AI is a tool to be used (or not) if it makes your life better. I'll be happy to support an artist who understands that.

 

[LordEntrails]

Do not support companies using AI to generate content which is intended to replace the efforts of artists trying to make a living wage.

There is zero requirement to support these companies. We, humans, can do everything Wizards can do and its proven every day.

Ok, so you are fine if AI is used to generate content for companies that do not currently have artists? So for personal use it should be fine? For the individual RPG creator?

Now, take this individual creator. They're generating product that they would not otherwise be able to. And maybe it's good enough to share it. If they don't share it, they add no value to our community and the world is a little dimmer.

So they share it. Now, if they give it away for free, it lower (slightly) the value of all other RPG materials. And this slowly leads to the further decline of the industry being able to pay human's livable wages.

But if they charge for it, now they are profiting off of stolen things. But, they keep the value of RPG material higher.

Hmm, interesting. Maybe AI shouldn't ever be used. But what about ethical AI? What about the single producers that can now generate? Why are we oppressing them?

Well, and eventually, in 100 years maybe, AI will be used, and if WotC is the only one not using it, will they be viable? With the niche folks who want to buy non-AI content be enough to support them?

Why would someone get paid for this, when its literally something we can do with a click while we sit in a meeting?

Scale. Why do large companies have managers? Scale.
Desire. Why don't we all create our own adventures? Because not everyone wants to.

Because humans learn and innovate. We take things we see, get ideas from them, and then alter then according to their own, very different personalities.

AI grabs stuff and sticks it together, but because it's not actually sapient, it doesn't create.

So you believe sapience is required to create. Well if that's your view then no point in discussing that further. Though I will say, that pretty much goes against every definition of create I'm familiar with.

This completely ignores how the actual Luddite movement was about replacing skilled laborers and paying the new hires sub-par wages. Which is exactly the same problem that AI is causing.

Well, it was responding to that all farmers were happy with automation. But as for the skills argument. The market decided that it did not need the best most skilled created good. A kitchen chair built by a machine was good enough, especially at the fraction of the price, of a chair built but an expert carpenter.

How very elitist to believe that everything created must be the absolute best that can be created. In general, that's just not true. And the people purchasing the items decided they were fine with "good enough".

You think creativity is going to be obsolete? Seriously? Are you even a gamer, when gaming is all about being creative?

What? You definition of creativity is very limiting. And then you are telling me what I am and am not... ok. So now you are telling me what I must do to be a gamer. Really?

Because "don't take things from other people without their permission" is the kind of basic, kindergarten-level standards that everyone should meet. That's like the lowest bar necessary to be part of a society.

Except people have been taking things from each other since the beginning of time. So yea, it's not the lowest bar.

 

[gnarlygninja]

Why would someone get paid for this, when its literally something we can do with a click while we sit in a meeting?

AI discussion will inevitably turn to people talking about the importance of prompts, and trying to elevate it to a craft. If you can get people to accept this, you can dismiss bad AI art because the person who generated it just doesn't know how to use it. I don't think I've ever seen a discussion about AI not go there. I'm personally inclined to agree with you, if "AI Stimulation Manager" ever becomes a job I can't imagine it would be for very long. It just doesn't seem like a great long term strategy to become a skilled worker attached so closely to something that has companies salivating over how many skilled workers they can replace with it.

 

[aiouh]

WotC can afford to pay real artists and has a backlog of fantastic fantasy artists.

I am a lot less lenient for D&D than I would for some indie game on itch.io

 

[Dire Bare]

WotC can afford to pay real artists and has a backlog of fantastic fantasy artists.

I am a lot less lenient for D&D than I would for some indie game on itch.io

Cool.

Not me!

Yes, WotC has the resources to easily avoid AI generated art. Hopefully they will continue to do so.

But I will not support ANY creator using AI generated art in their projects. If you want to share an RPG with the world (or any other artistic project), do it right. Does that limit creators with low budgets? Yup, and I'm okay with that.

I'm a Kickstarter "super-backer" (which is probably not a good thing), but when a project has AI art or discloses they will be using AI generated art . . . I'm immediately passing on that project.

Indie or large corporation . . . use real art (human-generated) and pay your artists. It's more expensive, but makes for a better product, doesn't screw over your fellow artists, and doesn't lead to the dystopian future where real artists can't compete with AI generated slop.

 

[Scribe]

Ok, so you are fine if AI is used to generate content for companies that do not currently have artists?

No, I'm not fine with it being used for profit in any capacity.

Maybe AI shouldn't ever be used.

Now you are getting there.

Scale. Why do large companies have managers? Scale.
Desire. Why don't we all create our own adventures? Because not everyone wants to.

So you dont want to do the arduous work of clicking a button while you AFK through a meeting?

The consideration of scale is only a negative. Do we NEED a firehose of dubious quality AI generated 'work' flooding the world driving down quality, wages, and so on? Really?

 

[LordEntrails]

If you want to share an RPG with the world (or any other artistic project), do it right.

So we say their is no one right way to play. But apparently there is only one right way to create.

The consideration of scale is only a negative. Do we NEED a firehose of dubious quality AI generated 'work' flooding the world driving down quality, wages, and so on? Really?

It's going to happen. It doesn't matter what you want.

It's why I keep going back to the question, how do we, the TTRPG community, help transition the current/legacy creators out of their current pay model and into something new? Take a look at Game Tile Warehouse. A successful creator who saw the writing on the wall and got a different education so he could change fields.

And don't forget, their current pay model sucks eggs. Not very many of "our" creators can make a living at it. And even the "famous" ones often end up on Go Fund Me's when anything unplanned happens in their lives. Let's not pretend that "we the RPG community" have a happy and healthy creator community we do a good job of supporting.

So, sure, we can refuse to buy RPG products created or enhanced with AI. That might help with the decline for maybe 2 years. And then in 20 years it might support enough human only creators to carry on a legacy with a company the size of Frog God or EN Publishing. But it won't be mainstream.

Can we help these creators change how they create with the new tools so they can remain marketable? Maybe instead of an RPG adventure having maps for half the encounters and portraits for 2 or 3 key NPCs; every encounter, every locations, every NPC will have a unique portrait. Maybe it's 3D models to go with the locations. Maybe interactive stories built and validated by human writers and played through by a party with a computer. Maybe, probably, it's something else.

So, what meaningful steps can we implement that will have a long-term positive effect on the creators of RPG content? And burying our heads in the sand and say that we can prevent the future is not one of them. (i.e. please don't bother to reply if that's your only answer).

The Luddites didn't win. They were NEVER going to win. More people want good enough for a fraction of the price than those that want and can afford the best of the best.