HomeNewsUncover the Smoking Gun
AI’s habit of just making stuff up apparently adds to the mystery
Image credit:ReLU Games
Image credit:ReLU Games
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The thing that sets Uncover the Smoking Gun apart then - read that however positively or negatively as you like - is its central use of AI to generate the conversations that players have with the suspects in each case. Interacting with one of the game’s robot suspects - they’re all robots, presumably a handy cover for any distinctly unhuman responses - allows you to write freeform questions in a chat box, whether that’s “What were you doing last night?”, “When did you leave?” or even “What’s your favourite Steely Dan song?”
Image credit:ReLU Games
“Our main goal in development was to test if deep learning could significantly enhance the game’s design and playability,”saiddeep-learning engineer Gi-mun Lee, who worked with the team on the game. “And this game has proven the significant role of deep learning in creating an engaging experience. It’s more than a game with ChatGPT - it’s a game that embodies ChatGPT at its core.”
The developers generously propose that AI’s well-documented habit of just making up bullshit under the pretence of truth here works in the game’s favour, making the suspects prone to misleading the detective during their interviews.
“Choosing the detective genre didn’t make things easier right away,” producer Gyu-sun Han acknowledged. “But then, it struck me that inconsistent testimonies, shown as “system overloads” in the game, could be a good fit for our detective game. It seemed like this could really add to the game’s appeal.”
Even so, the team claim they have overcome the problem of AI ‘hallucinating’ fake information, with some robots being ‘hacked’ in the game’s narrative to explain their fragmented delivery of information.
Uncover the Smoking gun TrailerWatch on YouTube
Uncover the Smoking gun Trailer
Despite the use of AI in dialogue and ReLU’s focus being on ways to integrate the tech into games, the studio seemingly didn’t use it for the game’s artwork or music - with clarinet player Han (who said there were some days last year where he only spoke to AI) recording the soundtrack himself in GarageBand due to the limited budget and tight development cycle.
For what it’s worth, the devs cite Quantic Dream’s android morality-play adventureDetroit: Become Humanas one of the game’s key inspirations, alongside the likes ofBlade Runnerand I, Robot, both in terms of its visual style and setting - god help anyone who decides to ask one of these suspectsabout racism or civil rights.
Uncover the Smoking Gun will beout on Steamthis June, having previously put out a demo onItch.io- an updated demo is due to arrive on Steam sometime before the full release, if you’re curious.
