NieR Automata character modeller Yoshikaze Matsushita has expressed disappointment at the rising push for AI in the games industry. Following an interaction with Stellar Blade director Hyung-Tae Kim, the game developer pushed back against an “unpleasant” use of generative AI based on their hard work.
Following the announcement that NieR Automata creator Yoko Taro would be directing a new entry in the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime series, many fans released crossover artworks and other celebratory posts in anticipation of the new show.
Amongst the celebrations, Stellar Blade director Hyung-Tae Kim shared an image of protagonist Asuka Langley Soryu surrounded by a number of Emil heads from the NieR games. While some fans pushed back with messages like “your AI slop bores me”, the most powerful response came from the character modeller of Emil’s head, Yoshikaze Matsushita.
Following the post from Hyung-Tae Kim, Matsushita posted: “For the first time, I clearly saw something I’d made being incorporated into the generative AI. Everything from the peepholes to the paint quirks remained exactly as they were…”
Afterwards, the NieR Automata character modeller shared a post showing that the Stellar Blade director has blocked them on social media after being called out. “Ah, so you do have some self-awareness, huh?” the NieR developer said. “It’s basically a peephole, after all, right?”
Matsushita explaained that, even though they worked on NieR Automaata on commission and didn’t create the IP, they have “a lot of affection” for their work on the series. As such, seeing their creation be so easily replicated with AI is soul-crushing.
“Personally, I don’t like it, but more than that, the fact that a representative of a game company is doing it with glee shows they can’t even do risk management, and getting called out and blocking is just lame as a creator, I think,” they continued.
Since the call-out, the Stellar Blade director has apologised for blocking the artist, although not for the use of AI. In the apology, Tae blamed the use of an automatic block tool on the situation while also not noting the NieR Automata developer by name.
NieR Automata, and a large portion of Yoko Taro’s games, are beloved for their art direction and unique compositions. Automata largely became popular due to its unique character design of protagonist 2B, but it stayed popular due to its powerful human story, gorgeous music, and fantastic environment design that stays with you years after playing it.
Since release, NieR Automata has sold 10 million copies, a feat that was recently celebrated on Twitter with the release of some gorgeous new, human-made artwork and a celebratory video. In the video, Square Enix finally teased a new game in the series with the final seconds claiming: “NieR Automata to be continued.”
