Like many game companies, Ubisoft has been researching AI applications. At GDC 2024 last year, they held three closed-door demos of their AI NPC project, NEO NPC. Today, Ubisoft announced another new AI project called Teammates.
According to the official website, Teammates is a playable generative AI research project. Players are tasked with traversing an enemy base to find five missing teammates. Along the way, players will receive support from the AI voice assistant Jaspar, as well as two NPC teammates, Pablo and Sofia, who will fight alongside them.
Players can communicate with Jaspar using natural language. Jaspar can highlight enemies or objects, explain the game's world, adjust game settings in real time, and even pause the game. Ubisoft states that Jaspar's underlying system is designed to understand the state of the game environment, making it responsive and dynamic.
Simultaneously, players can talk to and issue commands to the two NPC teammates, Pablo and Sofia. Players can decide the timing, methods, and targets of their NPC teammates' attacks.
Addressing concerns about AI game development, the development team stated that their goal is not to replace creative personnel, but rather to find a way to combine technology with human creativity to enhance the player experience.
Currently, hundreds of players have experienced Teammates through closed beta testing. The development team will continue testing and developing the project and will share more content in the future. They emphasized that games are still created by human creativity, and AI is simply a way to expand the way players interact with the game.
