Inworld AI Blows Up at GDC 2024 with Ubisoft’s NEO NPCs, Xbox’s Narrative Graph Tool and More

GDC 2024 is in full swing, and it looks like Inworld AI will be one of the hottest exhibitors at San Francisco's convention of game makers.

Following yesterday's unveiling of the Covert Protocol demo made in partnership with NVIDIA and their Avatar Cloud Engine (ACE) platform, Inworld AI takes center stage once again today with a slew of announcements.

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To start with, Ubisoft presented NEO NPCs, their first prototype for generative AI powered characters and gameplay. NEO NPCs is powered by Inworld AI's Character Engine and large language model technology, which allowed a Ubisoft team led by the Paris studio and supported by the Production Technology Department to build a full background, knowledge base, and conversational style for each NPC. The NEO NPCs prototype also leverages NVIDIA ACE, specifically its Audio2Face component, which enables real-time facial animation.

In the demo, players talk directly to NPCs with their voices. The non-player characters react in real time based on the conversation, allowing the NPC to unlock new story elements or even generate new quests on the fly. The NPCs possess a situational awareness that lets them react dynamically to points of interest; they can also share insights, ask questions, and plan actions.

Virginie Mosser, Narrative Director on the project, said:

My creative work has become much deeper since I get to work on their (NEO NPCs) psychology. I have to give them a soul and do so with a certain finesse that we have never before allocated to NPC creation. As a writer, seeing my characters come to life and actually converse with me for the first time has been one of the most fulfilling and touching moments of my career.

Xavier Manzanares, Director and Producer of the project, added:

It could be the start of a fantastic paradigm shift. For the first time, the game world actually listens to and dynamically responds to