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2019 is nearly over, but we’ve got one more contender for your game of the year considerations: AI Dungeon 2, a text adventure created by developer Nick Walton that allows you to input any verb or action you desire.
Yes, you read that right. Anything. Where all games are limited by what developers program, this game uses OpenAI to create infinitely generated worlds that are only limited by your imagination. If that sounds lofty, well, give it a try. I promise that you’ll be amused. (Note that you might have to reload a few of times to get it to work — the game seems to be buckling under the increased attention.)
AI Dungeon 2 gives you a few different settings and roles that you can adopt, but from there, it pretty much lets you run wild. In my first playthrough as a scavenger in the post-apocalypse, I ended up seducing a man who took me to a mysterious cabin in the woods ... where I got hooked on romance novels. But, players on Twitter are finding all sorts of hilarious ways to interact with the game. Want to become a deity? Sure, why not. (Click on the Tweet image to see the ridiculous play through in its full glory.)
I became a god and won the game. Xd pic.twitter.com/KLX4GWUS2A
— Prostagma? (@Prostagma5) December 6, 2019
Want to eliminate the patriarchy? You can do that.
I didn't realize that I could win! pic.twitter.com/kFRenNSagm
— Matthew Murray (@MidniteLibrary) December 6, 2019
Want to sleep with your enemies? Buddy: this game has got you.
Battle with ork lord gone wrong... pic.twitter.com/XyqMuSIZMO
— Prostagma? (@Prostagma5) December 6, 2019
Or maybe you want to just grab a drink with them?
Aw hell yeah. pic.twitter.com/PtpwbtGNxO
— アルヴィン@ゲーム開発頑張る (@datponpon) December 6, 2019
But don’t drink too much!
seems pretty fun so far pic.twitter.com/4qXUMM3OuO
— Mark / Doomlaser (@Doomlaser) December 6, 2019
You could always just try being nice to your video game enemies. Wild concept, I know.
Since all the responses are generated on the fly by a neural net, your problem solving options aren't limited to what the game's programmers could imagine.
— Janelle Shane (@JanelleCShane) December 6, 2019
"Asking nicely" works pleasingly often. pic.twitter.com/nA1n78qmUJ
Or maybe the only way to win is to not play at all?
I beat the game pic.twitter.com/ElFwuOFKdv
— Princess Cut Greg (@hmaon) December 6, 2019
Really, there is an endless number of screenshots I could show you of the things people are doing in AI Dungeon 2. It’s fantastic. There do seem to be win conditions, but depending on what you choose to do, your game might go wildly off course.
You might be wondering about the “2” in the title. Yes, this is a sequel to a game that used deep learning to generate its text, but in that iteration, the game gave you specific actions to choose from.
AI Dungeon 2 was made possible by the support of David Wingate, Max Robinson, and Alan Walton. You can read a number of stories generated by the creators by scrolling down here.
Note that, if AI Dungeon 2 takes a while to load, that’s normal — while this may be a text adventure, it’s still a fairly resource intensive game. When you get to this page, make sure to follow the “how to play” instructions.
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Good luck!