We sometimes receive concerned responses from students who notice AI being used at GameLab. In this article, we want to provide greater clarity.
Let us be frank: AI is everywhere. You cannot open LinkedIn without another 'expert' proclaiming that your job will disappear if you do not learn to prompt right now. At the other extreme are purists who label any AI-generated code or art as digital theft, harmful to the environment and soon to become unaffordable. They would rather return to typing C++ by hand and refuse to generate any drawing, picture or icon.
At THUAS GameLab, we sit somewhere in between. We have opinions, and we undoubtedly sometimes make incorrect assumptions, but one thing is certain: we are not ignoring it.
How do we, as lecturers and lab managers, view AI, and what do we expect from you?
The principle: do not bury your head in the sand
Freedom is an important principle at GameLab. We will not force AI on you. Do you want to build your game engine from scratch through sheer effort, sweat and litres of coffee? Without running a single line of code through an LLM? That is allowed. You are in charge of your learning process. If you can do that and achieve good results, that is fine.
The other side is also true: as lecturers, we are convinced that AI literacy is a crucial skill for the future. We are experienced game developers with decades of game development experience dating back to before AI arrived. Music, art, code, story, production... we know what we are talking about.
The games industry is changing. Developers, artists and designers who know how to use AI efficiently have an advantage. As a tool to amplify creativity. In our view, ignoring that is a missed opportunity for your own future.
Remember that it can also help with tasks you find less enjoyable or more difficult, such as writing documentation. That leaves more time for your creativity and game development.
And sometimes it is unavoidable
Although self-determination is our starting point, we must also be realistic. GameLab also runs projects defined and funded by clients.
Please note: Some projects require AI to achieve an outcome acceptable to the client within the available time. We believe it is important that you learn as a student and deliver value to the client.
Are you starting a new project or joining an existing assignment? Always ask the lecturers or lab managers beforehand about the best way to carry it out. If a lot of output is expected in little time, AI will probably be part of your workflow. Clarifying this in advance prevents you from being surprised by expectations halfway through.
What else we know:
- AI does not make you a better developer if you do not understand the basics. If you generate code you cannot debug yourself, you are gambling rather than programming.
- The 'AI hype' will settle down; the technology will remain. The skills we learn now, with and without AI, are essential to how we will make games in five years' time.
What is your playbook?
GameLab is a learning workplace that gives you considerable freedom. You decide how far AI forms part of your toolkit and workflow. We offer you opportunities. Whether you use them is up to you. Will you use it to prototype faster, test concepts or write better documentation?
We say NO to AI slop and YES to a better game.
What matters most is that you learn, prepare yourself for the future and deliver something great that you can be proud of.
PS: Yes, the image accompanying this article was made with generative AI. Deliberately. We are not going to hire an artist specifically for a blog article or use a paid stock photo... a good example of where generative AI can be useful. On the other hand, it is very obvious. For real game art, we will not use AI; we prefer to rely on human creativity and mastery.