Summary
Over the past few months, there’s seemingly been a sharp rise in AI-generated artwork across gaming and other forms of media. Call of Dutyfinallyrevealed it used AI, months after being called out forshowing off a six-fingered zombie, and another Activision franchise,Guitar Hero, wasslammed for using AI art in its reveal images. There were alsoaccusations levied against the new Fantastic Four movie, and a gamerevealed at The Game Awards, Catly, with the game’s developersfervently denying the claims.
Now, just days after its release,Fragpunkhas joined the party, with players unhappy at the supposed use of AI artwork in the game’s bundles and promotional images.
Fragpunk Suffers AI Artwork Accusations, Players Threatening To Quit The Game
There are various examples of potential AI artwork that have been brought to light in Fragpunk. One of the most egregious comes from the Redditpostembedded above, in which the character Serket clearly only has four fingers.
This artwork has caused a stink in the game’s early community, with players sharing their thoughts in the Steam reviews.
Fragpunk featuresdozens of negative reviews which call out the practice. One reviewer said, “While the gameplay itself is quite enjoyable, I cannot, in good faith, recommend a game that blatantly uses AI art in asset creation, especially in paid items.” A second added, “Was and did have a ton of fun playing, but if AI art is used, I uninstall and play the competitor’s FPS game,” and a third review read, “This game uses Generative AI artwork. If you look carefully, they are full of issues such as feathers that are incorrect, foliage that doesn’t make sense. Let’s NOT support soulless AI Art!”
While the gameplay itself is quite enjoyable, I cannot, in good faith, recommend a game that blatantly uses AI art in asset creation, especially in paid items.
These early negative reviews saw the game drop to “Mixed” on Steam, although that has now climbed to “Mostly Positive” after fansrallied around on the game’s subreddit.
In a time whenartists and voice actors are losing their jobs in the industry, taking a stand against generative AI production is a good thing.
