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ShortQuests -- Pocket Sized Adventures! An all-new collection of digest-sized D&D adventures designed for 1-2 game sessions.

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Yosano" data-source="post: 9870097" data-attributes="member: 7053909">As we argue about AI (AI is evil, AI is the future, etc.) here is a thought about what "AI" actually cannot do for RPG art. And then, sadly, a thought on why that may not matter, and the potential of human-created art is going to get overlooked anyway.This follows a walk-through of how we designed one of the first characters for <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yosano/the-serpent-sci-fi-rpg-campaign-and-setting?ref=a5fhpu" target="_blank">The Serpent</a>, and shows why we get better character design from humans than from computers.The character (sketches and final) looks like this:[ATTACH=full]431114[/ATTACH]But as a note, I'm saying "from computers", not "from AI". Because AI is just a hype term - these things are not, actually Intelligent. And that's the point. Humans can apply real intelligence to create things.<h3>Background: Where are we? Who is this?</h3>Our NPCs live their lives in a sunken domed city, surrounded by towering stone cliffs, and above the domes that seal the top of these pits a toxic atmosphere swirls. And because the feel that we want is the darker sides of classic Persian literature, they are going to be ruled over by a narcissistic monarch - perhaps charming, definitely cruel. So who is our monarch?<h3>Draft 1: Initial sketch</h3>The artist (Dian) comes up with sketch, for shape, feeling, etc. And immediately we start to have a dialogue, a discussion. The archaic "robed monarch" avoids sci-fi cliche, but it feels too much like a fantasy character... it's a great idea that if a civilisation lives entirely within domes, rugged boots are pointless and comfy sandals may be preferred (even for a noble)... the crown is a bit obviously medieval so we should lose that, but the big shoulder ornament is interesting and we can build on that idea... what if we push the idea of heavy, blocky design elements.... Okay so if we want archaic Persia without being stock fantasy, what if we look specifically at... let's look at some options... oh! Parthian visuals look distinctive but archaic! And for that heavy, blocky look, what if we start looking at Brutalist architecture...?<h3>Draft 2: Second Sketch</h3>We're getting a sense of who these people are, and the draft prompts more ideas and discussions. The people here will tend towards curly dark hair (from the Parthian sources, for example)... sandals for the wealthy, but what about workers - maybe flimsy footwear is a mark of status and high fashion? Clothing should be light fabrics but heavily ornamented to show status.... But then the heavy shoulder garb really stands out - but this embodies the heavy, brutalist aesthetic and hints at (with an almost Dwarven feel) the heavy metals on which the settlement's wealth is built. The prominent ring is interesting - what is it for? What if everyone here wears a ring that conveys status outwardly (material and design) but also subtly (like a digital ID card, but worn as a ring - which also provides digital and physical access)? A single ring isn't enough, we need the ruler to have more ornamentation - but now we've established that jewellery is also functional, let's wonder what, for example, an earring might actually do, functionally...?<h3>Final Version</h3>Now we have a clearer sense of the culture, we have some distinctive visual traits (like the curly hair) and we're building a sense of a unique fashion, jewellery, etc. We can use this. And it adds to the richness of the world - we can even cost out and write up some of this as equipment (like the Whispering Earring) that the PCs might want to acquire.And this journey is not one that we can take if we use a computer to generate the art.<h3>You Can't Prompt This</h3>If you go to Midjourney, and prompt it to create a sci-fi Parthian king (for example) then it will give you a generic space-fantasy character - not only will it be unable to engage with the key references, like Parthian dress or brutalist architecture, it won't even be able to reference these traditions well. Not only can it not creatively interpret, it can barely cosplay. And prompting art won't help you to refine the world or add details for the players.More knowledgeable "AI" fans will say that "prompting" is so 2025, and what we should be doing is creating context files and world bibles to train the computer. OK, fine. But in the real world, you don't create something great just because someone issues instructions and minions mindlessly execute.Everyone reading this will have found (at work, school, etc.) that instructions given are inadequate, that the doers bring their own insights and add to the instructions, that teams get better results when they can think, reflect, improve on briefs and deliver "this and more" rather than just do what they're told. Solutions emerge as the work evolves.And those who are genuinely creative will know that creation and discovery are interlinked. As you create, you discover and refine.And ultimately what we've described above is a process of communication, where two (or more) people iteratively explore ideas. (There is a reason why the ad industry, at its peak, relied on creative pairings.) The idea that the "definer" has some god-like genius that can't be improved by the person who gets into the execution, is simply hubris. Without this dialogue, we get more superficial art.<h3>But Is This A Losing Battle?</h3>So let's say we do this for all our art (and we will). So for every character there is a couple of hours of discussion, an iterative process of discovery... we spend half a day of time plus the time needed to actually sketch and then draw the character. And we end up with a simple, black and white ink drawing.Meanwhile, someone else tells a computer to spawn some full colour space-fantasy images. This takes a few minutes. It is way quicker. It is way cheaper. And in the end people buying games (e.g. looking at imagery on a Kickstarter page) will think "yeah, that looks cool!" when they see the superficial colour image, and will think "that doesn't look exciting" when they see the black and white image. Which means, so long as they don't think (or care) that an image is computer-generated, they are more likely to pledge money to the "creator" who just spams computer-created content. So that "AIer" spends less on art that makes less money, and the gamer gets more superficial computer-generated books.The economic incentives are simply against paying real people to create something nuanced, and in favour of getting computers to create something superficial. I can enthuse about the advantages of genuine human collaboration, but in the end, can we defeat the economics of "AI"?</blockquote>

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