With the use of generative AI in game development being a major subject of discussion these days, Yang Qi, the co-founder and art director of Game Science – the studio behind Black Myth: Wukong and the upcoming Black Myth: Zhong Kui – has said that the team is avoiding the technology for design and asset production.
On Chinese social media platform Weibo (via GamerSky), Yang was asked whether generative AI is being used to accelerate the development process for Black Myth: Zhong Kui. To this, he responded by saying that the team wants to rely on its own methods rather than using the tool. However, he also acknowledged that the development team isn’t opposed to using generative AI. Rather, it simply doesn’t want to rush towards using it.
Black Myth: Zhong Kui was announced last year with a teaser trailer, and since then, Game Science has continued to quietly work on the project. Back in February, however, the studio released a new video for the game celebrating Chinese New Year for the Year of the Horse. The video didn’t feature any story or gameplay elements from the upcoming title.
The studio has confirmed that Black Myth: Zhong Kui will feature an entirely new character instead of a returning Wukong. The eponymous Zhong Kui will be based on a mythological exorcist from Chinese folklore. When it came to the decision of making an entirely new title rather than DLC for Black Myth: Wukong, studio CEO Feng Ji spoke about the team’s desire to work on a brand-new project.
“What I really couldn’t shake during that period was mostly confusion, emptiness, and a kind of dread (I know that sounds melodramatic — don’t shoot me). No matter how ashamed I felt for ‘not being able to be happy,’ those emotions kept coming, uncontrollably and in waves, especially when I felt pulled under by questions like ‘Are you working on a DLC or not? Which characters will be in it? When will it be released?’”
“As a professional adult, I’m good at hiding those negative feelings and convincing myself to pull myself together and get on with making the DLC, because I knew clearly that the people asking for a DLC were, without doubt, fans who love Black Myth: Wukong and Game Science, the very people who carried us to where we are.”
As for generative AI, use of the technology has been becoming increasingly common in game development, and while many companies, like CD Projekt RED and Pocketpair, have spoken about avoiding it, PlayStation’s development teams have been confirmed to be using it to create placeholder voices and art in the earlier stages of production. This was confirmed just last month during a Q&A where Sony noted that AI has been “enhancing” the work of development teams by “removing repetitive tasks and enabling faster iteration and higher-quality outputs.”
“For many years, AI has been deeply embedded in our development processes. We are increasingly seeing its impact on more immersive in-game experiences, where characters and worlds are enhanced by AI capabilities,” said Sony.
