Comment by MagicMoonlight
Comment by MagicMoonlight 2 days ago
What I really want is a game where each of the NPCs has a tiny model like this, so you can actually talk to them.
Comment by MagicMoonlight 2 days ago
What I really want is a game where each of the NPCs has a tiny model like this, so you can actually talk to them.
I thought about this, chatbots existed well before LLMs (Eliza: 1966!) and the only time I have seen a commercially successful game with a (very simple) chatbot was Quake III Arena!
Quake 3 is probably the last game where you would expect a chatbot, as there are few games where storytelling matters less and it is a very little known feature, but Quake 3 bots can react to what you say in the chat, in addition to the usual taunts.
But that's the thing, Quake 3 can do it because it is inconsequential, in a story-driven game like a RPG, NPCs have a well defined spot in the story and gameplay, they tell you exactly what you need to know, as to not disrupt the flow of the story. Tell you too much, and they will spoil the big reveal, tell you too little, and you don't know what to do, tell you irrelevant details and you get lost chasing them. It has to be concise and to the point, so that those who don't really care know what to do to advance the story, but with enough flavor to make the world alive. It is really hard to find the right balance, and if in addition, you have to incorporate a chatbot, it borders on impossible.
It looks like a good idea on the surface, but it most likely isn't, unless it is clearly not part of the main gameplay loop, as in Quake 3.
Some people had some success using a (big) LLM as a DM in D&D, which I think is easier since it can make up the story as it advances, it is much harder to make up game elements in a computer RPG that are not programmed in.