There has been some discourse in the comments of Time is Solid Here so I wanted to make a post so I can make my thoughts on AI art clear.
When I made Time is Solid Here and Cohabitation, the most early AI art models had just released, and had this imperfect, surreal look to them. As a computer scientist, I was fascinated by what it could do, and since both of these games were made for a school projects, and had a development cycle of only a couple of months, I decided to use that art because I felt it complimented my surreal tone of both titles quite well. Since then, it has become much more clear that these models are trained by stealing art (and the models that have came out after the one I used are much more obvious about that), which means that my popularity, in part, has been built on stolen art, a fact I am ashamed of.
So now I am left with some options. I could delete the two games, since I feel like they don't represent me anymore, but from the comments and private reviews I get, I can see that they mean a lot to some people, so I feel like deleting them would be a disservice to them. I could also make remakes of these games where I replace all the AI art with real art. This is something I am actually heavily considering doing down the line, but I'm holding off on doing now for two reasons: for one, it would be a revisionist history where I try and cover up my own mistakes (while making the originals of the games lost media in the process), and two, it would take a lot of time, as I would have to not only replace the portraits of the characters but also the animations within the game, the covers, and create new trailers that use the new art. Since all my free time (which has become all the more precious because I am now in a full time job) is going into my new game, Project Obelisk, and one of the reasons I'm making that game is to show my new vision of games without AI art at all, I want to prioritize making that first and foremost.
My current decision is to create this notice, put it near the top of both games, and promise to never use AI art again. I am an artist (my second side hobby is making webcomics) and my next game will be worked on in conjunction with many of my artist friends. Because of this, the concerns about stealing art matter a lot to me, and I understand the worries of everyone who has commented. Between these ethics concerns, which were not made clear to me back in the day, and the complete lack of anything interesting from new AI models, I don't think it has anything to offer to my work anymore.
Please look forward to Project Obelisk. I know that, with it, me and my team will be putting our best foot forward.
-Algebra
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I think this is already the best way to deal with it. No hiding anything, just admitting that your opinion has changed along with how AI has changed, and it gives people a glimpse into those times when AI art really seemed like something unique and good. I remember when I liked the idea of a computer 'making up' it's own art, before it became clear how bad it is. Maybe someone will even change their mind alongside you.
Also, you seem like a clever person. That's not really related, I just think it's a very down-to-earth approach you've taken.
It was not a moral failing that you used ai art. Ai art back then had a quality and essence of its own, even if it was fed on human art. Such art these days is fairly bland an boring, but the way you used it gave it its own form. It's fine bro, don't worry about it.
Your note is much appreciated! Thank you for being honest about it. We do understand that the context at the time you created the games was totally different. I can only wish you the best for your new games. Cheers!
W creator! Your AI game were still great because you put all the art into the storytelling, setting eerie and unsettling scenes with a deeply emotional story, and even though the portraits were AI you told your own story about those portraits, and mixed those stories into the characters personalities and made the characters unique.
Thank you for taking the time to preface this for players and viewers alike. Your honesty and humility are greatly appreciated. I wish you all the best on future games!
Thank you for posting this.