For those who know me or have seen my other works, you may be wondering: "crispy, why did you start another project? Are you going to finish it, or will it be tabled like the rest of them?"
I was compelled to create this project because I wanted to make something interactive that was for humans, by humans.
With AI-generated content taking over the internet, it's hard not to fall into its rabbit hole. I would be lying if I said that I didn't fall into its clutches. This dating simulator was created to break from the use of AI. I wanted to use my own creative abilities to weave together the story and its choices. I am not guiltless in terms of being free of AI usage—it's something I still struggle with because of how tempting it is, but that's why I made this project. I strive to break free from it and to highlight the human beings that had inspired this game's story.
I heavily support artists and work done by humans—there is beauty in the products and processes done by real people that I cannot describe. It is hard work, but the hard work alone is what makes art so artful.
This game was originally going to be on a platform that uses generative AI to make stories interactive. When I found said platform, I was enamored. I do believe that it is a wonderful way of creating something interactive and fun, and it gave the authors control over the story. Yet even so, generative AI still steals from other artists. It is not inspiration, it is not fair use—it takes from writers across the internet in order to do its job of generating content.
When a human takes inspiration from something, they're using their own creativity to weave things together, to expand and make something of their own. AI takes things and mashes them together, but only using algorithms and data. It does not possess the same human creativity, and with the state of everything, we need that human creativity more than ever.
This isn't a bash on the creators that are on these platforms—I'm not trying to say that the people who use these things are inherently bad people, because they're not. These authors are creative, wonderful people that have so much talent and skill. The problems presented by generative AI are not the fault of the creators on these platforms—it is the fault of generative AI and its predatory system.
Do I think AI can be a useful tool? Yes. Are there platforms that have given the artists control whilst generative AI remains as said tool? Yes. Do I think AI should still be used? No.
In another world where AI doesn't destroy human creativity and the environment, then perhaps this would have ended up as a mere interactive fic. But we don't live in that world.
