Google is making another big swing at building a dedicated video game platform—this time opting to produce one for games made with generative AI. The new venture, Google Playground, is a platform for making, sharing, and playing games made using generative AI tools.
In today’s announcement, a Google spokesperson described Playground as an “experimental gaming platform” that “Lets users create, play and share fully custom games with no coding experience required.
“With Playground’s conversational interface, users can create custom games by typing what they want, remixing starter prompts or getting guided support to help them share their creativity with the world,” the company stated. “Essentially acting as a director, users can refine the rules with prompts, customize characters and tweak the environment until it’s what they envision. And since Playground is browser-based, games are playable across phones and laptops.”
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Developers interested in experimenting with Playground can also take advantage of Unity Spark, a new, separately-announced tool from Unity built to work with Playground.
Google’s new platform appears targeted to both veteran game developers and would-be game-makers who want to turn their ideas into games without going through the traditional development process. This comes as developers continue to experiment with generative AI, but do so with grave concerns about its impact on the video game industry.
Those curious about Google’s new platform can try the games for themselves here.
About the Author
Senior Editor, GameDeveloper.com
Bryant Francis is a writer, journalist, and narrative designer based in Boston, MA. He currently writes for Game Developer, a leading B2B publication for the video game industry. His credits include Proxy Studios’ 4X strategy game Zephon, Iron Anchor Studios’ Down With The Ship, and Amplitude Studio’s 2017 game Endless Space 2.
