Surely we weren't the only ones who screamed with joy when Crazy Taxi: World Tour was announced last night to the tune of The Offspring's classic All I Want. At first glance, it looked like it would be a pretty classic reboot with exactly the look and gameplay we'd been hoping for from the series.
But... that happiness was short-lived. Several people on social media soon noted that the Steam page states that so-called generative AI was used to create the game. This is a red flag for many who believe that games are art, and art should be created by someone with soul and intent rather than lazily pressing a button and letting AI create our entertainment. There are fears that this will lead to an erosion of the art form, since AI builds everything on what already exists rather than trying to break new ground.
Sega itself describes the use of AI as follows:
"At Sega Corporation, we utilize generative AI as a support tool for developers, aiming to provide better content to our users and enable developers to focus more on creative tasks.
"We have used such generative AI support tools during development of Crazy Taxi: World Tour. No AI was used in reference to the performers in the game."
However, Game Informer wanted to know more and contacted Sega for further comment on this controversial decision. They received a slightly longer response that largely mirrors the original statement, with two additions. First, Sega states that some use of generative AI, which is apparently entirely optional, allows developers to focus on "delivering better games to our consumers", and they explain how this was used in the title, clarifying that humans still oversee and approve the results:
"Generative AI was used to support our teams during the development of background assets for Crazy Taxi: World Tour. Assets generated were still subject to review by the development team."
They also state that "no AI was used in reference to the performers in the game," so it is human actors in Crazy Taxi: World Tour.
What do you think about this? Is this a slippery slope toward a gaming world filled with dull AI-generated content, or is Sega's use of it at a reasonable level?