Many have assumed (correctly) that Halcyon Online's (current) artwork is AI-generated. This means different things to different people, depending on their view of AI, it's impact to industry, usefulness or other aspects. The fact is that AI-generated content offers immense value to a project that is being designed, developed and funded by 1 person (me). To that end, AI provides an incredible opportunity to be able to reduce the initial costs in order to launch the game, and delivering on a promise earlier. But the game's art won't stop there: the AI generated content is just the beginning.
AI art is limited
Despite its usefulness in providing a proof-of-concept (PoC), AI generated art is very limited: AI cannot (and may not ever be able to) produce original works of art and this is because it is trained on existing concepts and designs. To that end, that means that if you want something truly unique (which I do), AI art can only achieve so much. That said, it can get the project to a launchable state and help to drive revenue so that the real art can be made.
The art you see in Halcyon Online in its development state is almost all AI. The only work that isn't are the galaxy backgrounds and planets, which is a combination of AI generation, Photoshop and Blender (which I use for the planets). There are things I can do in Photoshop and Blender AI simple cannot, and for the latter (Blender), I want to use it to create planets that are stylised and gorgeous, based on true 3D models, like below:
This was a test planet I did, which uses procedural shaders to create very interesting displacement maps and textures, but it doesn't go far enough. However, it does create a very realistic and believable outcome - and so I'm definitely on the right path.
All celestial bodies in the game will have 3D art created by myself, including planets, asteroids, stars - you name it. However, my 3D skills are somewhat amateur, and assets such as spacecraft and structures will require a skilled 3D artist to create, which requires funds that I do not have, so that will have to come later (assuming that the game generates enough revenue to be able to afford such an outcome).
But this is another aspect of AI art that is so valuable - generating concepts. I can use and train models to generate artwork that is similar to what I would like to have in the game, but never quite hits the mark. However, I can then pass those concepts onto designers to create the real artwork, which will be able to fulfill the vision I have for those pieces.
User interface design
For the UI and UX for Halcyon Online I kinda knew what I wanted: a visually stunning interface that stays out of the way of the game's art assets as much as possible. To do that, I generated hundreds of potential user interface concepts, and gave these to a designer to execute on my vision, and the outcome is nothing short of outstanding, and this is what I believe AI art is currently best at - generating concepts for others to work from. This eases communication, provides essentially a mood board for future designers, and reduces costs - all important factors for a project that is effectively a 1-person team.
UI/UX concepts generated by AI
The end result, is something that is both unique and in alignment with the mood board:
And this is where the money goes - to designers whom are skilled at executing on a vision that has been conceptualised through AI - and this will apply to all the in-game art, as well.
I hope that gives you some indication regarding the "why" of using AI-generated art, whilst also providing insights into the future direction of Halcyon Online's assets.
Until next time, space travellers!