Earlier today, the GMTK Game Jam - the largest game jam on itch.io, and second only to the Global Game Jam - concluded.
Last year, I raised concerns about our game’s disqualification over AI-generated assets. Meanwhile, participants who used AI for code throughout the competition seemed to face no penalty at all.
I theorized that code was seen as fundamentally a tool, or at worst a necessary hurdle, and that AI-generated code was therefore acceptable. It frustrated me, because in my view art assets are as much a tool as code - both serve to convey the gameplay and the concept my team envisioned.
This year, an explicit statement in the jam’s FAQ disproved my theory:
You must not use generative AI to make art or audio assets for your game, or your Itch.io page. This will lead to your game being disqualified. In general, we ask that you do not use artificial intelligence for the GMTK Game Jam. Just make the game yourself, or find someone who can help! However, we are only able to actively police the use of generative AI for art and audio assets.
Notice the choice of words: “actively police”. AI-generated code is supposed to be left at the door as well (because AI is “evil”? No reasoning was given, for whatever reason), but the jam’s “judging board” only polices assets it suspects of being AI-generated.
This year’s theme was Countdown.
Instead of participating in the jam, I spent the little time I had over the weekend adding a long-overdue countdown mechanic to an upcoming game - codename ‘Privateer’ - which you’ll be seeing more of in the coming months. I’ve been working on it on and off with a team of enormously talented people.
As of the latest update, the Empire pursues your buccaneering crew of scurvy curs while you loot and pillage your way across the archipelago - a countdown by another name. I used artificial intelligence to build it, and I have no hesitation in saying so openly. Fable is amazing. So is gpt-image 2.
Did I blatantly lift a mechanic from a game I love and hold dear? Yes. If you haven’t played FTL, you should; it’s a masterpiece. Copying is a way of iterating on an idea. Every game, and every piece of media, begins somewhere. The mechanic is exceptional in FTL, but Privateer is a different game, and playing it in context handed me several refinements and new ideas for the formula. I couldn’t have gotten there in a weekend without AI.
Is my progress attributable to the “Machine”? I don’t believe so. It was used as a tool.
Game jams are about making games, about using tools in different contexts, and about working with a team on an idea. Sometimes, yes, they’re about creating art.
I’ll grant the organizers this much: too many teams enter GMTK with the explicit goal of making it into the video for the visibility, and reach for AI to polish their games until they shine above the rest. That does miss the Mark (pun intended), in my opinion. But perhaps that’s the jam’s own fault - it has become too popular for its own good.
I’m working on Privateer mainly for myself, to ship a game I’m proud of. It’s not meant to be a hit, or to keep me afloat financially. It’s art for art’s sake. And that, in my opinion, is the true spirit of game jams.
So why am I writing this post?
Some of my colleagues now live in fear of being cancelled by the “AI Police”. They have a gap in the implementation department - time, professionals, funding. AI could bridge that gap, but the risk of being humiliated by the AI police outweighs it. It takes the wind out of your sails.
I’m writing this to tell you that you don’t need permission to use these tools. You CAN be irreverent. If what you make is worthy in your own eyes, disregard them. Dance to the beat of your own drum. And if you believe it has value to anyone else - by all means, ship it!
As for the AI doomers and purists out there, I have one message for you.
The countdown is ticking. AI is a great tool in the hands of those who know how to use it. It’s here to stay, and it will empower the people with the skills to integrate it properly into their work. Ignoring it won’t change that. It will only make you obsolete.