Using Artificial Intelligence As A Creative Starting Point
Let me preface this post by saying a big skeptic of emerging technology - especially AI.
We are entering uncharted territory with computing and I don’t think enough people in the room creating these new technologies have humanity’s best interest at heart. There also just isn’t any diversity in those rooms either, which is bound to - and already has - caused some severe issues.
All of that said, I’m still cautiously optimistic in general about the future of AI. Computers are built to help us humans do what we are not so great at - like doing complex math in a negligible amount of time. The “what” that computers can help us with is now changing at a rapid pace.
Which leads me to the purpose of this post! Something I struggle with is coming up with ideas for personal portfolio projects - when I can do anything, I get overwhelmed with indecision. One of my professional goals is to learn more about UI/UX for games - and the best way to learn is by doing. Since I’m not a game developer (yet) - I need a starting point.
So I asked my bestie, ChatGPT, for help!
My prompt:
Please give me some game UI/UX portfolio project ideas, including game platform, game genre, art direction of the game, target audience, what menus or game screens to focus on, and a list of icons needed.
As a result, I got back 5 specific game ideas - including a cyberpunk turn-based strategy game, a cartoony mobile game about space exploration, and an anime fighting game inspired by the elements. It’s much easier to manage deciding between 5 game ideas to work off of rather than make something up completely on my own!
And yes, I always start my prompts with “Please” - it just feels wrong otherwise.
To assist with my decision making I made some generative images.
Before you run away - please hear me out!
I am generally against generative images. However, in this specific case:
No one’s job is being replaced - this is a personal project and no money will be gained or lost by using AI. I have also made mock game screenshots using my own art - so if anyone’s job is being replaced it’s my own.
I’m not trying to pass off the generated images as my own. They are not the primary goal of the project, but rather a supportive element.
It is being used for educational purposes, unrelated to what the generated images are for. I’m not an character artist, environmental artist, or level designer.
Again, it’s just a starting point!
With game screenshots, and really any AI generated image, it’s really hit or miss. For example, the anime fighting game was just about impossible to get right - once I finally got some images that looked like actual gameplay, it also was full of wonky UI elements that were impossible to crop out.
You can always count on AI to make UI feel like body horror
The ones that came out the best were the cyberpunk turn-based strategy game and a VR fantasy game. The cyberpunk game is obviously AI generated, but it would work well enough for overlaying UI elements.
The level design is a HOT mess, but if you squint it looks like a game - which is good enough!
The VR game actually had the least amount of AI weirdness! I’ve been working on a course from the Interaction Design Foundation about designing for AR and VR, so I’m kind of leaning towards the VR game as a nice challenge.
Still pretty clearly AI generated - but looks more believable and a great canvas for UI
I’ll make another post once I get this project all done - but in the meantime I can share a project I’ve already started using the same concepts! This is a WIP sci-fi shooter game concept I’ve started - the screenshots and game art are AI generated, but all the UI and graphics work on top is original by me.
Work in progress options screen for Nova Strike, a totally made up game.
