This genius has programmed animal crossing characters to play alone. The first thing they have done is rebel against the landlord

The use of AI opens new exploration (and exploitation) routes for the Modders that manipulate the code of games so that they run into new expressive routes. The last test: Thanks to an advanced memory hacking technique and artificial language models, the residents of ‘Crossing animal‘They comment today, conspire against Tom Nook and explore new dialogue styles, in which there are no lack of social criticism.

What have you done to you, animal crossing. The josh fonseca hacker used the Dolphin and Scripts emulator in Python to replace the text messages saved in the RAM of the Gamecube and that function as dialogues during the games (and it was documenting on YouTube). Since the game uses its own text coding system, it developed decoding tools that allowed information to an understandable format for a couple of extensive models of GEMINI -based language (one to write the dialogues themselves, another to give them intention, emphasis and “direct” the charts of the characters) that began to generate new dialogues.

In order for the dialogues to be consistent with the game, the model was trained with specific examples and the animal crossing wiki was consulted to create character sheets of a certain complexity. It is an experiment that made, at a minor scale, in ‘Stardew Valley‘.

And what happened. In a few moments, the villagers did what they usually do in the game: conversing with naturalness and humor, but without registered in the real world. The thing changed when a Feed RSS, which allowed them to discuss political and current issues. Soon they started talking about Trump very positively, comically positive in fact. The reason: the feed that Fonseca used was of Fox News, simply because he was the one who had the most at hand. This behavior of the characters makes sense: if the knowledge they acquire includes those that belong to the real world, the machine has no way to distinguish them from their fiction. But the next step was even more unexpected.

To the barricades. Fonseca also installed a shared memory space thanks to which the characters could gossip. That is, remember the other characters, what they had said and what they felt for them. They began to plant rumors and criticism against Tom Nook, the iconic and discussed Magnate Tanuki of the game. The seed of the rebellion was soon planted: the characters realized that one of the key elements of the game, the high prices imposed by Nook, are an economic spring that forces them to work and trade continuously to pay debts. Suddenly, ‘Animal Crossing’ became a spontaneous reflection on undeniable traps (because if they end, there is no game) of capitalism.

It is not the same, but it is the same. In one Interview with 404MediaFonseca seems to recognize that the experiment can alter the original spirit of the Nintendo game, but considers that its experiment is a powerful exercise inspired by hauntology (philosophical current that studies the possible future that never came to complicate). In addition, it states to be convinced that well used is a tool that can enhance art and creativity, as long as human screenwriters continue in the center of the process.

The power of the past. Fonseca thinks that there is nothing like the games of yesteryear (something that is perceived on his YouTube channel, overflowing with nostalgic videos): “As a child I thought: ‘Video games will improve every year’. But after twenty years playing, I have become a little skeptical and think: ‘In reality there has not been so much innovation. Technologies of the future that interest me.

Header | Josh Fonseca

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