The Divinity Developer Details Its Application of Machine Learning for Upcoming Divinity

The developer behind hit RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity: Original Sin just shown its upcoming project, generating immense excitement within the industry. However, recent remarks from the studio's co-founder have added clarity to the narrative, addressing the developer's stance toward machine learning.

Augmenting Workflows, Not Cutting Jobs

In a new statement, Larian's director detailed that the developer is employing machine learning for particular ancillary tasks. These involve fleshing out presentation materials, producing early-stage concept art, and creating draft copy.

Notably, Vincke emphasized that the final content in the game will be crafted solely by human writers. "Larian is writing every line manually," he affirmed.

Our studio is constantly growing our roster of writers and are busily assembling writing teams.

Given that concept art is being particularly mentioned — we right now have over twenty artistic staff and have roles to fill for more artists.

Each initiative we do is incremental and aimed at letting our team spend more time on making content.

Any AI system applied correctly is supplementary to a artist's workflow, never a stand-in for their craft.

Tempering Reactions with Clear Intent

The news of using AI originally generated unease among portions of the community. In reply, Vincke issued further clarification on social media.

"At Larian, we employ AI tools to research ideas, just like we use search engines and reference books," he wrote. "During the initial planning process we use it as a rough outline for layout which we then replace with authentic illustrations."

He added, "Our studio recruits creatives for their creative vision, not for their ability to follow what a algorithm proposes."

Focused Uses for Machine Learning

Vincke had previously broken down the company's focused strategy to this technology, grouping its use into primary functions:

• Handling Monotonous Jobs: This includes polishing mocap data, audio processing, and pipeline-specific tasks like adjusting assets for various species.
• Fast-Tracked Experimentation: Using technology to quickly build rough versions of scenarios to experiment with concepts before complete development.
• Experimental Frontiers: Exploring how machine learning could in the future facilitate emergent reactivity, especially in simulating player-driven narratives in a complex RPG.

He explicitly affirmed that central narrative domains — such as music composition — are are absolutely not fields where the studio is replacing human talent. In fact, Larian is actively hiring in these exact fields.

"Larian is neither launching a game with any AI components, and we are certainly not looking at cutting creatives to swap them out with AI," Vincke concluded.