NVIDIA reveals ACE model with generative AI for NPC interaction in video games

Artificial intelligence has become this year’s buzzword, with generative AI bots such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google Bard and Baidu’s Ernie bot grabbing headlines. However, NVIDIA – which recently hit a $1 trillion market cap – has now incorporated generative AI into its gaming offerings at Computex 2023.

Dubbed the Avatar Cloud Engine (ACE), NVIDIA’s latest AI model allows players to interact with non-player characters (NPCs) naturally and even elicit contextual responses. NVIDIA’s demo, Kairos, featured a user-controlled character interacting with the NPC Jin in an environment very similar to Cyberpunk 2077. The demo was running in Unreal Engine 5 with ray tracing and NVIDIA DLSS. The company says this “brings virtual characters to life.”

NVIDIA’s ACE technology can be used both in the cloud and offline on NVIDIA hardware, and while we don’t have a clear window as to when we can expect this technology to make its way into publicly available games, the technology — which is on paper — is showing. promise to build. in the world and especially in genres like RPGs where creating dialogue and voice actors for hundreds of characters is unrealistic.

Imagine games like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, but with NPCs that interact with the player, or games like Pokemon, where most NPCs interact with pre-entered dialogue.

In theory, this should open up countless possibilities for a virtual world full of dynamic NPCs. Additionally, the company revealed that game developers and startups, including GSC Game World (developed by S.

“Generative AI has the potential to revolutionize player interaction with game characters and greatly increase game immersion. With our AI expertise and decades of experience working with game developers, Nvidia is leading the use of generative AI in games,” says John Spitzer, Nvidia’s vice president of development and performance technology.