TheRetroArcade
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Posts: 1,997
Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
Participants ate up Dead Meat and other gen AI powered detective games.
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Hands up if you've ever thought the following: "Sure, Elden Ring is pretty great, but what it really needs is the mournful, silent creature I'm fighting to say something FromSoft didn't write like 'come at me, ye tarnished dickhead'" during a tense encounter. If you do have your hand raised, I imagine you likely already work for Meaning Machine, the company who still proudly boast their 'Battle Banter' tool on their website, a "Game Conscious™" system that "gives NPCs the ability to deliver reactive dialogue in response to real-time gameplay." You spin. A gargoyle with no voice box calls you out for spinning. That sort of thing.
Meaning Machine is also the developer behind Dead Meat, a noirish murder mystery detective game which, from the limited footage I've seen, doesn't immediately strike me as the sort of slop you might expect. It's broadly stylish in a classic cartoon sort of way. The idea is you'll interrogate NPCs by asking your own questions using either microphone or keyboard, and they'll give custom responses in slightly offputting AI voices. You know the type. They sound adjacent to humans, but there are uncanny wrinkles in the delivery that just make it all seem off.
Still, it would seem I'm an outlier here, at least compared to the 68 people who recently played Dead Meat at a study Meaning Machine conducted with the University Of Bristol, via Gamesindustry.biz. 95% of participants "found the experience enjoyable", 97% found it rewarding, and 75% felt the games let them "express themselves or make meaningful choices".
"This research helps to ground what is otherwise quite an emotionally charged debate about AI in games,” said lead researcher Dr Richard Cole. “It does this by putting the player at the heart of the debate—asking what they feel about AI-powered experiences in practice, not just in theory."
"Players kick back at AI that is taking away from creativity," said Meaning Machine's co-founder Thomas Keane. "But when AI is used to power totally new types of interactive experience, then it’s a very different story." I suppose it is technically possible that someone could say those words in that order and not come across as so smug I want to throw myself into a lake, but not someone who's got a horse in the race.
While the full paper will be out at the end...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
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Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
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Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
Hands up if you've ever thought the following: "Sure, Elden Ring is pretty great, but what it really needs is the mournful, silent creature I'm fighting to say something FromSoft didn't write like 'come at me, ye tarnished dickhead'" during a tense encounter. If you do have your hand raised, I imagine you likely already work for Meaning Machine, the company who still proudly boast their 'Battle Banter' tool on their website, a "Game Conscious™" system that "gives NPCs the ability to deliver reactive dialogue in response to real-time gameplay." You spin. A gargoyle with no voice box calls you out for spinning. That sort of thing.
Meaning Machine is also the developer behind Dead Meat, a noirish murder mystery detective game which, from the limited footage I've seen, doesn't immediately strike me as the sort of slop you might expect. It's broadly stylish in a classic cartoon sort of way. The idea is you'll interrogate NPCs by asking your own questions using either microphone or keyboard, and they'll give custom responses in slightly offputting AI voices. You know the type. They sound adjacent to humans, but there are uncanny wrinkles in the delivery that just make it all seem off.
Still, it would seem I'm an outlier here, at least compared to the 68 people who recently played Dead Meat at a study Meaning Machine conducted with the University Of Bristol, via Gamesindustry.biz. 95% of participants "found the experience enjoyable", 97% found it rewarding, and 75% felt the games let them "express themselves or make meaningful choices".
"This research helps to ground what is otherwise quite an emotionally charged debate about AI in games,” said lead researcher Dr Richard Cole. “It does this by putting the player at the heart of the debate—asking what they feel about AI-powered experiences in practice, not just in theory."
"Players kick back at AI that is taking away from creativity," said Meaning Machine's co-founder Thomas Keane. "But when AI is used to power totally new types of interactive experience, then it’s a very different story." I suppose it is technically possible that someone could say those words in that order and not come across as so smug I want to throw myself into a lake, but not someone who's got a horse in the race.
While the full paper will be out at the end...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?