Catly developer denies using generative AI or blockchain technology in its open-world cat game

Developer of open-world cat game Catley revealed Last week’s The Game Awardshas denied using generative AI for the game’s trailer or the game itself.

The game is set for release on Steam, Nintendo Switch, and Apple Watch and its trailer shows off a series of hyper-realistic cats, which quickly raises eyebrows as viewers suspect that generic AI was used. Was.

Since the revelation, reddit user Various oddities and alleged indicators of the AI ​​art used on the game’s website were noted, some of which have reportedly been removed. Additionally, commenters suggested that the developer has links to blockchain gaming. NFTWhich he has now denied.

A statement from a PR representative for Catley’s developer SuperAuthenticity, shared with ign And game DevSaid that generative AI was not used for the trailer or the game. “We are indeed very surprised by such speculation,” the statement said. “We don’t think there is any existing AI tool that can create this kind of video. This opinion has been echoed by industry experts.”

Both outlets were shown in-progress shots of the trailer at The Game Awards, confirming that the trailer was not AI-generated.

SuperAuthenticity is co-founded by Kevin Yeung, who also co-founded TenthPlanet – a studio Two blockchain games are reportedly being worked onOne of these is Alien Mews, a digital cat life simulation built in Unreal Engine 5 that on the surface shares similarities with Catly. Reddit users have also pointed to a previous game called Plantally: Mindful Gardening, published by SuperAuthentic, which has since been removed from the internet, but appears to have used blockchain technology.

Catley’s steam page Also includes a testimonial quote from League of Legends and mysterious creator Thomas Wu, a Famous Web3 Investors,

Another quote is from Ben Brode, game director stoveWho Answered on BlueSky He went on to say that he had watched 20 minutes of gameplay footage and “he thought it looked cool so he asked me for a quote”, adding that “it looked quite real to me, the cats looked wild”. .

As the game developer reported, SuperAuthentication did not comment on any business connections, but did say that “Catley is not a blockchain game” and “there are no NFTs.” The statement continued: “Our company/project has never issued any blockchain currency and any NFT. Our company has never owned any blockchain currency and NFT.”

SuperAuthenticity also confirmed to IGN that Cattle is developed in Unreal Engine 5, using “various software” to produce surreal hair and fur.

It is certainly clear that the prevalence of AI in the games industry has made it difficult to discern what has been generated by AI and what has been generated by hand.

AI is changing video game development foreverBecause its use is becoming widespread in animation, screenwriting, voice acting and other fields.

Most recently, Google explains its Genie 2 tool in detail It claims it can create playable 3D worlds from a single image prompt. It emphasized that the tool was for “rapid prototyping”.