🔗 Share this article Larian Studios Explains Its Implementation of AI Tools for New Divinity The developer behind acclaimed titles like Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity: Original Sin recently teased its upcoming project, generating immense excitement within the industry. However, subsequent remarks from the studio's co-founder have introduced a new dimension to the narrative, focusing on the team's philosophy toward generative artificial intelligence. Augmenting Workflows, Not Cutting Jobs In a new message, Larian's director explained that the company is using machine learning for specific preliminary tasks. These include enhancing pitch decks, creating rough artistic references, and drafting draft dialogue. Importantly, Vincke stressed that the shipping assets in the game will be authored exclusively by human writers. "Larian is developing every line ourselves," he affirmed. Larian is constantly expanding our roster of writers and are busily putting together writing teams. Since visual development is being particularly called out — we presently have over twenty concept artists and have roles to fill for more artists. All our efforts we do is incremental and focused on letting our team spend additional energy on the creative process. Every AI system applied correctly is a boost to a creative team workflow, never a stand-in for their craft. Responding to Feedback and Defining the Path The revelation of AI usage at first provoked unease among portions of the fanbase. In reply, Vincke offered further clarification on social media. "We use AI tools to explore references, in the same way we use the internet and art books," he stated. "During the very early ideation stages we use it as a rough outline for layout which we then replace with hand-crafted artwork." He noted, "Our studio recruits talent for their unique talent, not for their capacity to follow what a machine suggests." Three Pillars of Practical Application Vincke had in the past outlined the company's focused strategy to this technology, categorizing its use into primary areas: Streamlining Repetitive Work: Areas like polishing mocap data, voice editing, and pipeline-specific tasks like adapting animations for different models. Accelerated Iteration: Using tools to speedily create rough mock-ups of gameplay ideas to experiment with concepts prior to expensive development. Long-Term Aspirations: Exploring how AI could one day enhance emergent gameplay, particularly in simulating player-driven narratives in a complex RPG. He clearly noted that key artistic disciplines — like writing — are not fields where the team is cutting human talent. Conversely, Larian is recruiting more in these very roles. "We are not launching a game with any AI components, and we are certainly not looking at reducing staff to replace them with artificial intelligence," Vincke summarized.
The developer behind acclaimed titles like Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity: Original Sin recently teased its upcoming project, generating immense excitement within the industry. However, subsequent remarks from the studio's co-founder have introduced a new dimension to the narrative, focusing on the team's philosophy toward generative artificial intelligence. Augmenting Workflows, Not Cutting Jobs In a new message, Larian's director explained that the company is using machine learning for specific preliminary tasks. These include enhancing pitch decks, creating rough artistic references, and drafting draft dialogue. Importantly, Vincke stressed that the shipping assets in the game will be authored exclusively by human writers. "Larian is developing every line ourselves," he affirmed. Larian is constantly expanding our roster of writers and are busily putting together writing teams. Since visual development is being particularly called out — we presently have over twenty concept artists and have roles to fill for more artists. All our efforts we do is incremental and focused on letting our team spend additional energy on the creative process. Every AI system applied correctly is a boost to a creative team workflow, never a stand-in for their craft. Responding to Feedback and Defining the Path The revelation of AI usage at first provoked unease among portions of the fanbase. In reply, Vincke offered further clarification on social media. "We use AI tools to explore references, in the same way we use the internet and art books," he stated. "During the very early ideation stages we use it as a rough outline for layout which we then replace with hand-crafted artwork." He noted, "Our studio recruits talent for their unique talent, not for their capacity to follow what a machine suggests." Three Pillars of Practical Application Vincke had in the past outlined the company's focused strategy to this technology, categorizing its use into primary areas: Streamlining Repetitive Work: Areas like polishing mocap data, voice editing, and pipeline-specific tasks like adapting animations for different models. Accelerated Iteration: Using tools to speedily create rough mock-ups of gameplay ideas to experiment with concepts prior to expensive development. Long-Term Aspirations: Exploring how AI could one day enhance emergent gameplay, particularly in simulating player-driven narratives in a complex RPG. He clearly noted that key artistic disciplines — like writing — are not fields where the team is cutting human talent. Conversely, Larian is recruiting more in these very roles. "We are not launching a game with any AI components, and we are certainly not looking at reducing staff to replace them with artificial intelligence," Vincke summarized.