Technology

So Clair Obscur, the game that absolutely won game of the year, lost due to a technicality.

The generative AI use everyone is pearl clutching about would be textures. As in things that have been procedurally generated (you don't actually care what they look like, they are just there to smooth out wrinkles) for years.

As someone who hates AI, this is just fucking stupid. Like, you are a virtue signaling luddite if you believe that this usage of AI tarnishes the rest of the fucking game.

Apparently only one other person in these comments actually read the article. They failed to disclose that the game was released with AI assets. Whether this action was purposeful or not, their submission was disqualified according to the rules. That's really all there is to it.

Oh no, they used gen AI filler art which they immediately replaced with human one. They did it the one way they could do it right, let's demonize them into submission while the flagrant violators get away with murder because why bother?

As someone who hates the AI bubble, this anti AI circlejerk is making me hate the circlejerk more than the bubble. Plan successful?

People keep saying the problem 'wasnt that they used AI placeholder assets, it's that they lied on the disclosure', but boy does that still seem like a reach

When you have dozens of people working on a huge creative project, it would take an almost omniscient creative director to know where every asset in every scene came from with certainty. It isn't hard to imagine a designer somewhere on the team sneaking an AI asset into a pre-release build and forgetting about it. The fact that it was later disclosed suggests that whoever was applying for the award wasn't aware of that asset being used and then replaced at the time of submission.

I dont mind having some awards dedicated to genAI-free works, but people really need to stop getting their pitchforks out at every mention, otherwise they risk turning into a lynch mob. This doesnt sound like an intentional omission to me.

Over placeholders? Jesus.

I at least understand it if they were actual final assets. Is the worry that they weren't really placeholders?

Next up, if you used photoshop you're out because it has AI features that you might have used.

People pointed out that the game did use AI-generated assets as placeholders, but then replaced them with human-created assets later.

I don't see why this is such a big deal?

Sandfall Interactive further clarifies that there are no generative AI-created assets in the game. When the first AI tools became available in 2022, some members of the team briefly experimented with them to generate temporary placeholder textures. Upon release, instances of a placeholder texture were removed within 5 days to be replaced with the correct textures that had always been intended for release, but were missed during the Quality Assurance process

Sauce: https://english.elpais.com/culture/2025-07-19/the-low-cost-creative-revolution-how-technology-is-making-art-accessible-to-everyone.html

Not exactly a massive AI slop problem, right?

Off topic, but this is why I love Lemmy; Look at this comment section. Many people here have a logical stance, either for or against the genAI use. Both sides are making good points. Reading through the article alongside the comments, my opinion was really teetering. It's nice to be able to come in with an open mind and be challenged like this.

Barely anyone in this topic acknowledges the actual reason: They lied about not using genAI and were disqualified when the lie was revealed.

I hate when people try to shift the goalposts

These guys didn't disclose the usage of AI when initially sold as well as for the award, and there's nothing more to it than that

There's still not even a disclaimer on the steam store page or anything

From what I've heard, the placeholders came from some stock Unreal engine textures they used and forgot to replace.

I suppose this is a warning to any companies who were thinking about disclosing their uses of AI for placeholders

I'm not a fan of gen AI either, but this feels like taking it a bit far. Getting pissed over them using gen AI for placeholder art, that was then replaced by human art in the release feels utterly ridiculous.

I don't understand why they need GenAI for placeholders; part of the fun of the creative process is coming up with fun, crude drawings that are clear placeholders.

Quoting the quote from the article (so it's more obvious and accessible here):

The Indie Game Awards have a hard stance on the use of gen AI throughout the nomination process and during the ceremony itself. When it was submitted for consideration, a representative of Sandfall Interactive agreed that no gen AI was used in the development of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. In light of Sandfall Interactive confirming the use of gen AI art in production on the day of the Indie Game Awards 2025 premiere, this does disqualify Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 from its nomination. While the assets in question were patched out and it is a wonderful game, it does go against the regulations we have in place. As a result, the IGAs nomination committee has agreed to officially retract both the Debut Game and Game of the Year awards.