Independent Games Festival jurors have issued a statement declaring they will refuse to vote for any games utilizing generative AI in any capacity. The statement, signed by creators including Sam Barlow and Lena Raine, follows a significant increase in entries developed with generative AI tools. The jurors noted that the rise in AI usage has caused intense disagreement within the industry, as they believe AI-generated code is not an exception to the harms caused by generative technology.
The controversy intensified following a statement from House House, the developer of the co-op adventure game Big Walk, regarding the studio's use of large language models. House House reported that the studio used AI "sparingly" during the final stretch of development to address technical challenges and bugs. The developer estimated that well under 0.1% of the game's code was derived from LLM responses, primarily using chatbots to research third-party code issues after extensive manual research and consultation with a Unity engineer.
House House stated that the studio disclosed its AI usage during its IGF submission but did not include such details on Steam because the platform does not require disclosure of chatbot or code usage. The studio described its lack of a formal AI policy during the development of Big Walk as a "failure" and pledged to implement a more comprehensive policy in the future.
"This is not an endorsement of, or argument for, the use of AI tools, however minimal," House House said in a statement.
Sam Barlow clarified that while Big Walk was not the primary impetus for the IGF discussion, the title became a "tricky edge case" regarding minimal AI usage. Barlow emphasized that the jurors' stance was intended to reflect what an award should mean for the indie alternative to mainstream development, rather than serving as a call to boycott specific games or teams.
