TiGames' ZooPunk is a prime example: It relies on NVIDIA ACE to generate dialog, a virtual voice and lip syncing for an NPC named Buck. But as you can see in the video above, Buck sounds like a stilted robot with a slight country accent. If he's supposed to have some sort of relationship with the main character, you couldn't tell from the performance.
ACE can craft entire conversations out of thin air, simulate voices and try to give NPCs a sense of personality. But while all of that that might sound cool on paper, I hated almost every second I saw the AI NPCs in action.
There's simply nothing compelling about it. No joy, no warmth, no humanity. Every ACE AI character feels like a developer cutting corners in the worst way possible, as if you're seeing their contempt for the audience manifested a boring NPC.
I think my visceral aversion to NVIDIA's ACE-powered AI comes down to this: I'd much rather scroll through some on-screen text, at least I wouldn't have to have conversations with uncanny robot voices.
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