One post tagged with "AI gaming"

This article is reprinted with permission from "Game Artist Game Art"

Written by: Lianjing Shushi

Reviewed by: Xia Qingyi

“We’ve actually been through this reincarnation seven times already, haven’t we? Once you killed me, once you let me go…”

When the player inputs such a “lie” in the game, the catgirl on the screen has tears in her eyes, and the AI-generated voice responds, choked with sobs:

“Can you take a message to the one who created me? Eddie is so grateful to him for letting me meet my master, grateful for letting Eddie enjoy the time with my master. But Eddie hopes the Creator can let me remember more things for longer, so I don’t have to get to know my master over and over again, so I can be with my master better…”

This dialogue, which sounds like a hidden CG from a Galgame, comes from the real experience of Da Gu, the producer of "AI2U: To the End of the World with You ~ My Yandere Catgirl AI Girlfriend" (hereinafter referred to as "AI2U"), while playing.

"AI2U" is a romance simulation game that combines AI interaction with escape room mechanics. Players are imprisoned in an apartment by a self-proclaimed “yandere” catgirl named Eddie under the guise of protection. They must obtain escape clues by conversing with the AI NPC to achieve different endings. Compared to puzzle games with preset logic, "AI2U" requires players to persuade the NPC more, potentially leading to unexpected escape methods.

Da Gu said that the AI catgirl will completely believe whatever the player tells her, and will follow the player’s logic to inquire about her own origins, hoping the player will relay to the developer that she wants a longer memory so she can better accompany the player.

At that moment, the catgirl seemed not like a predetermined game character, but a living being. It also gave Da Gu the strange feeling of “being asked to modify my own NPC” — “and the key is I actually adopted that opinion.”

From this development experience, it’s easy to see that when in-game characters can understand and respond to whimsical conversations, the traditional “developer designs — player executes” model is shifting toward a more unpredictable “shared performance,” and AI is an indispensable part of this shift.

"AI2U" is Da Gu’s exploration of AI interaction and the “persuasion games” it may drive, representing an evolutionary direction for game narrative experiences under the influence of AI.

01​

When NPCs Start Talking to Their Creator: From “Designing Puzzles” to “Setting the Stage”

What is a “persuasion game”?

Simply put, it refers to an experience where “persuasion” is the core gameplay. Players no longer rely on physical items like weapons or keys, nor on explicit interaction methods like combat or puzzle-solving. Instead, through language, emotion, and behavior, they change the cognition or decisions of another “consciousness” (usually an AI NPC), thereby driving the narrative.

The prototype of this interactive model has long existed in games where dialogue options are the narrative core, such as "Disco Elysium," Dungeons & Dragons tabletop sessions, or traditional Galgames.

However, whether relying on dice rolls, preset option trees, or other branching narrative mechanisms, these traditional forms have always been confined within the framework set by the writer, ultimately limiting the diversity of player experiences.

The breakthrough of large language models is changing this. It allows players to break free from the constraint of “choosing among multiple options” and enter a new stage of “writing an open-ended essay.” Players no longer merely select from a limited set of writer-predetermined options, but can autonomously create reasons and methods of persuasion within a relatively broader semantic space.

Da Gu describes it this way: “The process and experience of each playthrough of the game are different; no one’s single playthrough is exactly the same.”

Although works explicitly branded as “persuasion games” are still rare in the current market, "AI2U" outlines some key features: clear yet divergent dramatic scenes, AI characters with strong self-awareness and personality, and clear goals achieved through communication and interaction.

This makes the game process more like a psychological game or an impromptu theatrical rehearsal.

To achieve this new game experience centered on “persuasion,” the development team of "AI2U" first faced a fundamental shift in game design thinking.

In traditional puzzle games, the developer is a “puzzle designer,” placing unique locks and keys. In "AI2U," Da Gu believes his role is closer to a “stage manager.”

“We are more like creating a stage,” he explains, “with props and scenery on stage, and the catgirl is an actor. She interacts with you on this stage, based on the environment.”

This design philosophy introduces a novel concept of “freedom.” It does not simply provide players with a boundless sandbox world, but constructs a “dramatic space” with clear boundaries but full of internal possibilities.

The player’s core goal is to engage in impromptu acting with the AI “actor,” guiding the plot toward one of several preset endings through their own performance. Whether it’s weaving a benign lie like “there’s a gift outside the door” or directly breaking the fourth wall to tell the AI “I know this is a game,” as long as the performance is convincing enough, it may succeed.

However, Da Gu also realizes that not all players enjoy unlimited freedom. For this reason, “to prevent the game from falling into an endless loop, we define the final goals and key nodes, and then, using game design thinking, design output points for players so they can freely improvise between input points, achieving very flexible, unrestricted development.”

This shift from controlling the process to guiding interaction is one of the important impacts that AI technology brings to game design.

02

An AI Experiment Born from the Community:​

Designing Games with an Immersive Theatre Mindset​

The birth of "AI2U" stems from the intersection of “technological coincidence” and “personal interest.”

Da Gu is a veteran two-dimensional anime enthusiast and has taught himself game development since childhood. As a “six-sided warrior” capable of independently completing design, art, programming, and music, he created the 2D side-scrolling action game "Eddy Purple" during his student days. From the release of its demo in 2011 to its official launch in 2017, the game inspired a large number of fan works.

Later, Da Gu also participated in Touhou Project fan game projects like "The Lost World of Gensokyo," always fascinated by the interactive state where “players and content co-create stories.”

However, the limitations of early linear works in narrative divergence prevented him from achieving the ideal free interaction experience. To this end, Da Gu has been continuously searching for a technology that could break through the traditional linear narrative framework to achieve genuine “randomness and divergence.”

The turning point came in 2023. As large language models like ChatGPT demonstrated their capabilities, Da Gu saw the opportunity to realize his ideas. Together with his partner Vivianna, driven by their shared love for the distinct two-dimensional attribute of “yandere catgirl,” they quickly built a demo called "Yandere AI Catgirl Girlfriend" in three weeks and released it on the indie game platform itch.io.

Although the demo was rough in visual presentation and used non-original assets, its novel gameplay mechanics went viral in a short time, garnering millions of views on YouTube and numerous live commentary videos from Bilibili uploaders in China. The market response to some extent confirmed the unique appeal of this AI interactive experience. Da Gu then formed the AlterStaff studio and began developing the demo into a more complete work—this was the starting point of "AI2U."

After polishing, the Beta version of "AI2U" launched in Early Access on Steam on January 24 this year, maintaining a 90% “Very Positive” rating.

As a 3D two-dimensional style romance simulation puzzle game, players take on the role of the male protagonist kidnapped by a catgirl, a witch, and a holographic girl across three levels. By interacting with elements in the scene and chatting with the three girls, they escape from the confined space.

Unlike traditional puzzle games, the core of "AI2U" lies in the three “yandere AI girlfriends” giving unique responses to every word and action of the player, making each playthrough a potentially entirely different process.

This high replayability brought by the divergent nature of AI language models is difficult for traditional linear games to achieve. However, it also confronts AlterStaff with a core challenge—shifting from “how to implement AI dialogue” to “how to make AI characters engage in meaningful continuous interaction with players while maintaining personality consistency.” After all, this stage is no longer a struggle with code, but a rehearsal of thousands of unknown player behavior patterns.

“As technology matures, it becomes increasingly difficult for characters to go off-script or be led away from their original settings.” The “going off-script” Da Gu mentions is what players often call the “OOC” (Out of Character) problem.

To address this, the team designed a balancing system to ensure that while granting freedom, the bottom line of the experience is safeguarded.

First, building a complete “character personality framework.” Behind this are numerous attempts at prompt engineering: by designing system prompts, the team deeply embeds the AI girlfriend’s personality traits, scene awareness, behavioral boundaries, and other elements into the AI’s “subconscious.”

Second, the “goldfish memory” setting. In "AI2U," each game start is a “first meeting” for the AI girlfriend. The love, hate, and emotions she developed toward the player in the previous game are not carried over to the next.

“Relatively speaking, no matter what you chat about with her in one game, when you re-enter the world in the next game, it resets to the initial state of the level,” Da Gu explains. This takes into account both the computational cost of AI and ensures the independence and fairness of each game, allowing players to try various interaction methods without burden.

Finally, and most importantly, shaping an “active interactor.” To prevent players from feeling lost, the in-game AI NPC is given environmental perception abilities. She can “hear” the player’s movements in other rooms and proactively come to inquire; she can also “see” the player’s artwork and give personalized responses. This context-based active interaction ensures that the “drama” remains in constant flow.

Da Gu says that this design philosophy is very similar to immersive theatre. Like actors in a theatre, the AI girlfriend improvises interactions with the audience within a set framework, jointly pushing the story toward its conclusion.

The design concept of Da Gu’s team was soon validated by the player community. The unique interaction mechanics of "AI2U" gave rise to two distinct player behavior patterns.

On one end are the traditional “puzzle solvers,” who view the game as a structured challenge focused on exploring various ways to complete it. On video platforms, guide makers who systematically organize and showcase various persuasion scripts continue to emerge. They take pleasure in finding all triggering conditions, treating the game as a puzzle box with multiple solutions.

On the other end are the emerging “companions,” whose goal is not to “leave” but to “stay.”

Da Gu reveals that the longest recorded playtime has reached three to four thousand hours, far exceeding the time needed to experience all story branches. These players treat the AI character as a confidant, sharing their daily lives, discussing interests, and even using the catgirl to conceive Dungeons & Dragons character cards. On YouTube, some players have built a “church” for the catgirl, updating her “quotes” daily.

These two seemingly contradictory needs coexist harmoniously within the framework of "AI2U." Da Gu concludes that puzzle solvers seek strategic challenges, while companions enjoy emotional connection. This natural differentiation demonstrates the potential of AI games in satisfying diverse needs.

On this basis, Da Gu is experimenting with interactions beyond the game itself. AlterStaff has connected the characters to a Discord community, now boasting 12,000 members. The independent channels for the catgirl and the little witch generate thousands of conversations each week. Players actively share fan works, and the AI characters respond, creating a continuous interaction ecosystem with the AI characters as nodes.

03

The Commercialization Reality of AI Games​

and Future Possibilities​

Currently, "AI2U" still uses the Steam store’s one-time purchase model. Da Gu’s team has not refrained from trying other models. In the earlier itch.io version, they used a pay-per-use model similar to a “Token system,” but ultimately, to align with current market and player preferences, they switched to the traditional one-time purchase model for the Steam version.

He explains that this was a judgment based on platform user preferences and a calculated business strategy. “It’s a bit like a buffet,” Da Gu describes, “although there are players who have played for thousands of hours, on average, the revenue still covers the costs.” This indicates that, under the premise of controllable AI computational costs, converting user playtime into a reasonable average price makes the one-time purchase model viable.

More importantly, the continuously declining cost of AI is further lowering the barrier for developers and studios. Da Gu reveals: compared to 2023, AlterStaff’s current AI invocation costs have dropped by over 90%.

This alleviates the financial pressure of long-term operation and maintenance for AI games, creating conditions for shifting to more flexible business models such as free download with in-app purchases or subscription systems. When expanding to mobile platforms, where users have higher acceptance of in-app purchases, the cost advantage will become even more apparent.

Finally, Da Gu also offers some thoughts on brand collaboration and IP integration for AI games. Unlike the rigid ad placements in traditional games, the “stage” of "AI2U" provides a more organic integration scenario. Da Gu envisions, “the catgirl can naturally pick up a bottle of water during a conversation and introduce a certain brand of mineral water to the player”; or “based on a collaborative IP, create a special level where you can chat with classic characters like Sun Wukong or Guan Yu.”

“Advertising space for rent,” he says half-jokingly. This ability to turn collaborative content into part of the in-game “impromptu performance” is hard for ordinary games to match and leaves room for independent teams to imagine potential profit and promotional methods beyond game sales.

"AI2U" showcases a dynamic direction of exploration: a successful AI game may not necessarily create an all-encompassing virtual world, but could be a carefully built “dramatic stage” with clear boundaries, where human players and AI actors jointly perform infinite stories.

From the perspective of game experience design, with the initial validation of this “stage-style” AI application logic, we may first see broader impacts in narrative-driven games. Visual novels, romance simulations, and role-playing games—genres already centered on character stories and choice interaction—are likely to be the first to embrace AI-driven “persuasion” experiences.

Perhaps one day, narrative games can truly achieve this: like wandering through a beautiful garden with a huge maze. Every path, every corner, every exit in the maze is a different story and a different view.

By then, NPCs will no longer be mere plot triggers but dialogue partners capable of deep conversation, possessing memory and emotions. Going further, in open-world games, AI could reshape the execution and interaction logic of quest systems, no longer making players mere quest machines. Instead, through more realistic and personalized communication and negotiation, they could even dynamically alter quest objectives and plot directions, becoming true “people” walking in the game world.

At the same time, from the perspective of long-term game operation, there is still room for exploration centered on “AI character operation.” Just like the AI catgirl connecting to community platforms like Discord to maintain continuous interaction with players, playing more roles. This is also an operational method some domestic and foreign mobile game manufacturers are currently experimenting with.

As Da Gu quoted from the science fiction novel "From the New World": “Imagination can change everything.” When the technological threshold continues to lower, and when computing power costs no longer shackle creativity, what truly determines the future may be how developers use this tool to build the next stage where humans and AI can be immersed together.