Ubisoft Unveils ‘Ghostwriter’ AI Tool to Automatically Craft Video Game Dialogue

Enhancing Immersion in Open World Games with Ghostwriter

A captivating open world game thrives on intricate details that immerse players in its universe. One crucial aspect is background chatter, consisting of unique dialogues known as "barks." Each bark requires careful crafting by game developers, making it a labor-intensive process. Ubisoft, the creative force behind renowned gaming franchises like Assassin's Creed and Watch Dogs, aims to streamline this task with Ghostwriter, an innovative machine learning tool designed to generate initial drafts of barks.

To utilize Ghostwriter, narrative writers input the desired character and interaction type. The tool then generates several variations, presenting two distinct options for each, enabling writers to select and refine their choices. As writers adjust the drafts, Ghostwriter learns and enhances its suggestions, leading to more tailored dialogues over time.

The goal of Ghostwriter is to alleviate the repetitive aspects of writing, allowing game writers to focus on essential elements like narrative depth, character development, and cinematic cutscenes. According to Ubisoft, "Ghostwriter was created hand-in-hand with narrative teams to help them complete a repetitive task more quickly and effectively, giving them more time and freedom to work on games' narrative and characters."

While Ubisoft positions Ghostwriter as a pioneering "AI" tool, the challenge lies in encouraging staff adoption. Ben Swanson, the R&D scientist behind Ghostwriter, recognizes that integrating the tool into production is paramount. To support this transition, the production team developed Ernestine, a back-end tool that enables the creation of new machine learning models within Ghostwriter.

If successful, Ghostwriter could empower writers to dedicate their energy to crafting more detailed and engaging gaming experiences, enriching the worlds for players to explore.