As part of Microsoft's continuing push into the world of generative AI, the company has recently released a new AI-generated tech demo based on Quake II that is generating some strong opinions online.
The new Quake II "replica" was built using Microsoft Research's recently unveiled Muse World and Human Action Model (WHAM) and is being offered to users as an in-browser demo available to play on the Copilot Labs' website.
Having been trained on thousands and thousands of hours of Quake II, it aims to dynamically generate gameplay sequences inspired by the classic game, "almost as if you were playing the original Quake II". However, as many online (including our friends over at Push Square) have noted, the demo isn't exactly a patch on the original, coming across as nothing more than "a poor impersonation of one of the snappiest shooters ever made".
Even putting aside its sloppy performance, players are also reporting various other major issues that make the experience a pretty miserable one to play through, including aspects of the level or enemies simply disappearing once you look away from them, only to have something entirely different generate in its place.
It's incredibly disorientating and we're not surprised that it has made at least one journalist motion sick from trying it out.
As for the general reaction from people on social media, it seems to be pretty universally negative (at least from what we can tell), with a lot of criticism being directed at Microsoft for pushing the technology despite its obvious flaws. This is something that has arguably been amplified by recent comments from key individuals at Microsoft like Phil Spencer, who have boldly stated that the technology may one day potentially be used to help with preservation efforts and ports.
Austin Walker, a writer and game designer working in the industry, for example, responded to Spencer's comment in a viral post on BlueSky, stating:
"Reading Phil Spencer talking about how maybe "AI" can help with ports and preservation and feeling my blood boil. What a fundamental misunderstanding of not only this tech but how games WORK.
The internal workings of games like Quake--code, design, 3d art, audio--produce specific cases of play, including surprising edge cases. That is a big part of what makes games good. If you aren't actually able to rebuild the key inner workings, then you lose access to those unpredictable edge cases
I think it's specifically egregious given Quake's history with speedrunning. The techniques that early Quake Done Quick runners were using rely on knowledge of the Deep Weirdness of the actual game. Any copy of the game that can't reproduce those strange interactions isn't a copy of the game at all."
Of course, as with anything AI-related, there will always be some people quick to jump in to counter Walker's comments by saying that this technology could get better in the future, but at the very least, right now, it seems to be a pretty clear cut case of overpromising and underdelivering.
Here at Time Extension, we'll stick with the hand-crafted original, thanks!