TiGames, the developer of rabbit-starring action game Zoopunk – one of the eye-catching trailers in Microsoft’s Xbox Game Preview Event yesterday – has defended itself amid allegations of generative AI use.
Suspicions arose after people noticed Zoopunk being part of an Nvidia announcement about new NPC-related generative AI tech. An accompanying video to that announcement focused entirely on Zoopunk and the generative-AI technology it will use, showing one of the game’s developers talking to an NPC through a microphone and using voice commands to customise the appearance of a spaceship. “This innovative experience allows players to interact with NPCs and customise their own landing ship, showcasing the potential for player-driven generative AI in next-generation games,” the video’s description read.
But Chinese developer TiGames has said Zoopunk was built by human hard work. Generative AI exists within the game, it clarified, but only in relation to user-generated content.
“All our works are original creations and the culmination of our artists’ hard work and dedication,” the company said in a statement received by Eurogamer. “AI will only be used to assist players in producing user-generated content (UGC) at a lower cost, such as vehicle skins, clothing color schemes, and similar items. In other words, AI serves as a tool to support players in secondary creations and in maintaining the mod community.”
Zoopunk is a fully 3D follow-up to TiGames’ 2.5D Metroidvania FIST: Forged In Shadow Torch from 2021. The game will once again star Rayton the rabbit, and the footage last night showed Rayton tearing around a post-apocalyptic sci-fi world on a motorbike, dispatching creature-people with dual-wielded energy swords. Think: Rise of the Guardian’s Easter Bunny but with a trench coat and proper weaponry.
“We spent a long time debating our next step. Deep down, we knew we wanted to continue expanding the world of Torch City. After countless moments of excitement, hesitation, and imagination, we finally made our decision – to breathe new life into the captivating universe of FIST,” wrote TiGames in a Zoopunk announcement post on Steam.
“Zoopunk is still in development, and far from perfect,” the developer added. “That is precisely why we want to share our world with you early – to listen, to learn, and to grow this universe together with the players who care about it.”
Zoopunk has no release date and is in development for PS5 as well as Xbox and PC. You can catch up with all of yesterday’s Xbox Partner Preview Event announcements elsewhere on the site.
