Aetolia: The Midnight Age’s ChatGPT-Powered NPCs Might Be The Future Of MMORPGs

Video game developers are always looking to push the boundaries of technology to come up with innovative ways to enhance player experiences. One particular MUD developer used OpenAI’s ChatGPT in a creative and interesting way to bring life to its NPCs.

As an April Fools’ Day prank, Aetolia: The Midnight Age developer Iron Realms Entertainment announced that it was integrating ChatGPT into the MUD but had no actual plans to do so. The team, however, later saw potential in the idea and decided to actually push through with the idea, teaching the AI about Aetolia’s game world while trying to push it to its limits.

ChatGPT was then integrated into the Aetolia for a 24-hour event that saw the MUD’s NPCs replaced with AI-driven ones that had the ability to interact with players on the fly. The AI-generated NPCs were able to create new lore, participate in intense confrontations, and even build friendships with players.

The community as a whole took a liking to the new ChatGPT-powered NPCs but, unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to last. OpenAI apparently charged on a per word basis for the service which would make it impractical and unsustainable to run for more than a day. As AI technology continues to develop, however, we might just see it become a permanent feature in MUDs and even full-blown MMORPGs.