The Divinity Developer Explains Its Implementation of AI Tools for Upcoming Divinity

The team behind hit RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity: Original Sin just unveiled its next major project, sparking a wave of anticipation within the gaming community. However, subsequent comments from the company's figurehead have brought clarity to the conversation, touching on the developer's philosophy toward AI tools.

AI as a Creative Assistant, Not a Substitute

In a latest message, Larian's director detailed that the company is employing AI technology for certain preliminary purposes. These encompass developing presentation materials, creating early-stage artistic references, and drafting draft copy.

Crucially, Vincke stressed that the shipping content in the game will be created entirely by actual writers. "We are writing everything manually," he affirmed.

Our studio is actively increasing our team of concept artists and are actively putting together narrative groups.

Given that visual development is being specifically mentioned — we presently have twenty-three artistic staff and have roles to fill for additional creatives.

All our efforts we do is incremental and aimed at having people spend more time on the creative process.

Any AI system implemented properly is supplementary to a artist's workflow, not a replacement for their craft.

Addressing Concerns and Clarifying the Vision

The news of AI usage originally generated backlash among a segment of the fanbase. In reaction, Vincke provided more clarification on social media.

"Our team utilizes these tools to research ideas, just like we use Google and reference books," he wrote. "In the conceptual ideation stages we use it as a simple sketch for composition which we then substitute with hand-crafted concept art."

He continued, "Larian brings on artists for their creative vision, not for their capacity to replicate what a algorithm proposes."

Three Pillars of Practical Application

Vincke had previously broken down the studio's practical strategy to AI and ML, grouping its use into three main functions:

• Streamlining Repetitive Work: This includes polishing mocap data, audio processing, and pipeline-specific tasks like adjusting assets for various species.
• Rapid Prototyping ('White Boxing'): Using tools to rapidly prototype basic versions of scenarios to validate concepts before expensive development.
• Future Potential for Gameplay: Exploring how AI could eventually enhance new forms of gameplay, particularly in simulating player-driven narratives in a vast role-playing world.

He specifically affirmed that core creative disciplines — including visual art — are are absolutely not fields where the studio is cutting creative involvement. Conversely, Larian is expanding its staff in these exact roles.

"Larian is not launching a game with any AI components, and we are certainly not planning on reducing teams to swap them out with AI," Vincke summarized.