Sluggy wrote: ↑Mon Mar 27, 2023 8:05 pm
It comes down to the systems that actually generate the quest goals, the actions needed to be taken by the player, and the systems that judge the success or failure of those goals based on those actions - something that a language model has zero capacity for.
Oh, I don't think this is right at all!
It's true, a LLM can't rewrite mechanics or modify the game's core programming -- yet. To use your example, it can't create a new quest condition where you have to smash up the windows on the shop. Because smashing up windows isn't a feature that's programmed into the game. As such, the LLM would have no way of tracking it or understanding it.
But a LLM is definitely capable of generating entirely new quests on the fly within the parameters it DOES understand:
- Interact with x person in y location
- Interact with x item in y dungeon
- Escort x person to y location
- Bring x item to y person
- etc.
You can tell a lot of story within the bounds of what the vanilla game allows you to do! And LLMs can ABSOLUTELY code. If you teach an LLM to code Daggerfall quests, it can code Daggerfall quests. The trick is devising a way for the LLM to inject its generated code/quest text into the message box.
Sluggy wrote: ↑Mon Mar 27, 2023 8:05 pm
The rules and goals define the gameplay, not the story text.
But I don't think it's right to say the text is just "window dressing" and therefore irrelevant to people's gameplay experience. This goes double for a game like Daggerfall! Remember, a lot of us fell in love with this game because it was a
virtual life simulator.
In vanilla, I go down to the Bat and Wolf Tavern. I click on the barkeep, a box comes up that allows me to rent a room, buy food, buy drink, or cancel. It's boring, stale.
Conversely, what does a LLM allow you to do?
Let's carry this out to the (somewhat fanciful, but still THEORETICALLY POSSIBLE with CURRENT TECHNOLOGY) scenario.
A mod has come out which abolishes the vanilla yes/no dialogue box. Now, EVERYTHING in the game is done through natural language. I wear a headset on my head and talk into my microphone, and the game translates my speech to text.
With a LLM, I talk to that same barkeep.
Barkeep (text box popup): "OH! It's so good to see you again, Andel! It's been an age since you've been here in here! What have you been up to? Gone delving into another shithole dungeon for that Fighter's Guild of yours? Heh! Here, have an ale on the house!"
[Editable text box pops up for player response]
Player (speaking into microphone): "Actually, I've been away on business in the Dragontail Mountains, of all places."
[Text box auto-fills with the player's response]
Barkeep (in text box): "THE DRAGONTAIL MOUNTAINS? By Thorig's Beard! What in the blazes sent you out that way? It's cold as hell this time of year, isn't it?"
Player (speaking into microphone): "Colder."
The game keeps a running file for each NPC with current and past interactions. It remembers you have a relationship with this barkeep and what the context of that relationship is.
Now I have a reason for preferring for certain establishments. Every tavern is no longer a copy/paste, because I've built up a relationship with this barkeep, with the people in this particular tavern. I come in, they're glad to see me. They're my friends. The LLM generates backstories for them, personalities. Maybe they give me leads on work.
Barkeep (text box popup): "Well, it's grand to have you back! Grand! Say, I think Morvyn Greencroft was asking about you. He normally comes in about seven."
[CREATE QUEST: MEET QUESTGIVER MORVYN GREENCROFT. MORVYN GREENCROFT SPAWNS IN THE BAT AND WOLF BETWEEN 1800 AND 2000.]
I come back later that night and talk to Morvyn Greencroft.
Morvyn Greencroft: "Andel! It's good to see you! Say, remember a few months back, when I had that little rat infestation problem in my house? Well, the past few days, I've been dealing with a pest of a different sort, and I was just thinking I could use a good strong arm to take care of it..."
This could lead to another custom quest, taking you to a house, a town, a dungeon... Possibilities are limitless. I think this DEFINITELY affects gameplay. It's not just window dressing.
Things we used to only be able to imagine are suddenly becoming possible. I don't think any of this is far-fetched. Not at this point. I'll bet $100 when TES6 comes out, it'll have natural language AI, along with most other industry games.
With Daggerfall, the hard work is already done: recreating the game engine. Now all you need is a lightweight, open-source AI you can plug into the game. It would take work, maybe a team, but the result would be completely transformative. I don't think it's doable now, but doable within the next couple years once open source catches up to GPT-4, definitely.