We don’t use it, we have no interest in it” Romeo is a Dead Man’s Suda 51 dismisses AI development tools, says AI images and videos “feel kinda ‘off’

Speaking to Eurogamer, Grasshopper Manufacture co-founder and Romeo is a Dead Man director Goichi Suda (also known as Suda 51) has spoken more about his opinions of generative AI in game development, after previous statements indicating the technology wouldn’t be used in the upcoming action game.

Eurogamer asked Suda on whether the Romeo is a Dead Man people will play in a few days would be as good, or artistic, a game if generative AI were used in its development, he responded with the following:

“For me personally, a lot of the AI stuff I see pops up on social media. As far as it’s come, there’s something about the images and videos you see that feels off. Most people have that same kind of sense, something psychological lets you know something isn’t right here. Something’s kinda funky.

“They’ve been saying the day will come when AI will fool people, when you won’t know something is AI. That may be true, but honestly, I don’t think it has reached those levels yet. When I see something made with generative AI something in the back of my brain gets set off.

“If I used AI to make Romeo: A.) it would have been a fake Romeo. Not that he was a real person to begin with, but people would notice something shallow about the character. He would be hard to relate to, and kind of creepy.

“And, B.) The way we make games now, the specific skills of the studio and people we know, be it practical effects, art, creating graphics on their own… those skills and passion the humans put into their works comes across to players. It’s something people can feel, not just that it was person-made not AI-made, but you can tell someone poured their heart into this. Someone worked hard to make this happen.”

When asked about his previous statements, and how he felt about Japan’s Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association survey last year which found over half of Japanese developers were using the technology in some form, Suda emphasised he didn’t have strong feelings on it, and shared his belief that wider use of the technology would depend on player wants.

He also revealed that, at one point, Netease had a research section looking into generative AI, but eventually shuttered it for reasons Suda couldn’t confirm for certain. He did, however, have his theories.

“As far as not using any AI for our games, it started as a Netease policy for all their companies,” Suda said. “They originally had a section researching and developing AI-related stuff, but at one point they decided not to do that any more. They folded that section and told their studios to not use AI in games, to not use it at all.”

Suda, when asked why exactly the section shut down, shared his own assumptions. “I don’t know, they never explained directly why. If I had to assume, it was probably one or both of two things. A lot of gamers out there don’t like AI and having it in their games. Another thing is issues with copyright infringement. That can be tricky to get around, and clear before making something. That was probably part of it too – it would be easier to get rid of it altogether. But, again, that’s my assumption. No one told me directly.”

You can read Eurogamer’s full interview with Suda 51 now, which dives into other topics including Grasshopper (and Suda’s) style, how they make games, melting faces, and Tom Cruise.