Tommy Thompson’s AI and Games YouTube channel is popular. That results from Tommy’s depth of understanding of game development and AI. He has a PhD and master’s degree in AI and was the co-founder and lead developer at an indie game development studio for seven years.
So, we were pleased that he wanted to test Convai and offer his assessment. We were also happy about his conclusion as a developer that Convai is different from other AI NPC builders and that we are hitting on the right features for game devs.
Let us know what you think about Thompson’s evaluation. We believe he is fair and provides some nuanced insight into the space.
His comments are an excellent place to start. He is skeptical about the many claims of AI NPC solutions because they have often yet to deliver on their promises and also failed to offer practical tools that enable developers to move from prototyping to production. Convai has focused on production-ready AI NPCs from the start. Thompson said:
“All of the recent buzz surrounding generative AI for non-player characters is rather exciting, but from my perspective, it’s been difficult to see how it could all work in practice or at scale…
“Beyond making simple demos or even the purpose of fun and silly videos on social media, I've been watching these developments for a while, and I have to admit I've been rather cynical about a lot of it. But there have been several companies cropping up that appear to be working to address the specific issues I'm raising of using generative AI in a game. Convai is indeed one of those companies, given their advocating for creating a full stack of tools to help developers.”
Let us know what you think about the review and if you have any questions. Also, take a moment to give Convai a try if you haven’t already.