A Text-to-Game Engine for UGC-Based Role-Playing Games
This work addresses the need for more open and democratized game development, particularly for RPG creators, though it appears incremental as it applies existing generative AI to a new domain.
The paper tackles the problem of enabling user-generated content in role-playing games by introducing a text-to-game engine that transforms textual inputs into multi-modal RPG experiences, resulting in the 'Zagii' engine powering hundreds of games and tens of thousands of gameplay sessions.
The transition from professionally generated content (PGC) to user-generated content (UGC) has reshaped various media formats, encompassing formats such as text and video. With rapid advancements in generative AI, a similar transformation is set to redefine the gaming industry, particularly within the domain of role-playing games (RPGs). This paper introduces a novel framework for a text-to-game engine that leverages foundation models to transform simple textual inputs into intricate, multi-modal RPG experiences. The engine dynamically generates game narratives, integrating text, visuals, and mechanics, while adapting characters, environments, and gameplay in realtime based on player interactions. To evaluate and demonstrate the feasibility and versatility of this framework, we developed the 'Zagii' game engine. Zagii has successfully powered hundreds of RPG games across diverse genres and facilitated tens of thousands of online gameplay sessions, showcasing its scalability and adaptability. These results highlight the framework's effectiveness and its potential to foster a more open and democratized approach to game development. Our work underscores the transformative role of generative AI in reshaping the gaming lifecycle and advancing the boundaries of interactive entertainment.