The Creators of Baldur's Gate 3 Clarifies Its Use of AI Tools for New Divinity Game
The team behind popular titles like Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity: Original Sin recently teased its next major project, sparking immense hype within the gaming community. However, recent remarks from the studio's co-founder have added nuance to the conversation, touching on the team's philosophy toward AI tools.
Augmenting Workflows, Not Cutting Jobs
In a new clarification, the studio's founder detailed that the developer is employing generative AI for certain ancillary functions. These include developing pitch decks, creating early-stage artistic references, and creating placeholder text.
Crucially, Vincke stressed that the shipping content in the game will be created entirely by human writers. "Larian is creating every line in-house," he said.
We are actively expanding our pool of concept artists and are actively putting together narrative groups.
Given that concept art is being explicitly mentioned — we right now have over twenty concept artists and have job openings for further talent.
Everything we do is additive and aimed at letting our team spend more time on actual creation.
Every AI system implemented properly is additive to a artist's workflow, not a substitute for their skill.
Tempering Reactions with Clear Intent
The admission of AI usage at first sparked unease among portions of the player base. In reply, Vincke provided more elaboration on social media.
"At Larian, we employ these tools to gather inspiration, in the same way we use search engines and physical media," he wrote. "In the initial brainstorming phase we use it as a simple sketch for layout which we then replace with authentic concept art."
He noted, "Larian brings on creatives for their creative vision, not for their ability to execute what a algorithm proposes."
Three Pillars of Practical Application
Vincke had in the past outlined the studio's focused strategy to this technology, defining its use into three main pillars:
- Streamlining Repetitive Work: This includes polishing mocap data, audio processing, and technical processes like adjusting assets for various species.
- Rapid Prototyping ('White Boxing'): Using technology to quickly build basic mock-ups of scenarios to experiment with concepts ahead of complete production.
- Future Potential for Gameplay: Researching how machine learning could in the future create emergent gameplay, especially in managing unforeseen permutations in a complex RPG.
He clearly affirmed that central narrative domains — such as music composition — are are absolutely not fields where the studio is reducing artistic involvement. In fact, Larian is expanding its staff in these precise positions.
"Larian is not releasing a game with machine-made assets, and we are certainly not planning on cutting teams to substitute them with AI," Vincke concluded.
