AI Can’t Replace Human Creativity, Game Devs Say

A leading game studio has reaffirmed its commitment to human creativity as the irreplaceable core of its development process. Infold Games, known for titles like Infinity Nikki and Love and Deepspace, argues that while AI tools offer valuable assistance, they lack the essential quality needed for meaningful art. The company’s Chief Technology Officer, Ji Zhang, shared this perspective during a recent industry event, noting the technology’s current limitations. “AI is developing rapidly and will shape the industry,” Zhang stated. “But it cannot overcome a fundamental fact: it cannot add any soul to content creation. It will not replace the jobs of core creators.”

The conversation at the event also turned to pressing economic challenges, particularly the rising cost of RAM. With component prices soaring, concerns are mounting about the affordability of next-generation hardware for average gamers. Valve’s pause on its Steam Machine lineup and Xbox’s announcement of a new high-spec console have only intensified these worries. For a multiplatform developer like Infold, such market pressures could pose a significant risk. Zhang, however, views the situation as a temporary hurdle. He compared the demand for premium memory to the constant push for better CPU performance, suggesting it is a normal cycle for the industry. “PC games will continue to demand higher performance, while AAA and mobile games will also see increased memory demand,” he explained. “We believe that the increase in cost is only temporary.”

Zhang also detailed the distinct technical approaches behind Infold’s two recent global successes. Both Infinity Nikki and Love and Deepspace are free-to-play games that rely on a steady stream of new content, including outfits with highly realistic fabric textures. Achieving this requires sophisticated, yet different, technological foundations for each project. The studio’s focus on advanced graphics began in earnest with 2019’s Shining Nikki, which marked a transition from 2D to 3D development. “One goal is trying to ensure the clothing is very realistic,” Zhang said. “That includes physics-based materials and clothing simulation.” For Love and Deepspace, the team concentrated on nuanced facial expressions and character fine-tuning. Infinity Nikki presented the new challenge of building a compelling open world.

The development pipelines for these games started on commercial game engines, Unity for Love and Deepspace and Unreal for Infinity Nikki. These platforms served as essential foundations, but Infold’s engineers built proprietary in-house tools on top to enhance performance and address specific needs. The studio also collaborates directly with hardware partners to optimize the final product. Zhang describes this as an evolving, iterative process. “No pipeline at the beginning will reach the perfect state,” he noted. “We identify the most time-consuming elements and the bottlenecks we experienced. Then, based on that, we do the adjustment and fine-tuning.” This flexible, problem-solving approach allows the studio to maintain its high standards across diverse projects while keeping human ingenuity at the forefront.