Uploaded November 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
AI-generated Minecraft is something you can try right now (you shouldn't), and for so many reasons it's the worst game I've ever played. More worryingly, it's representative of a technology that is already costing jobs and resulting in less games. In this video essay, let's discuss why that is.
Support the show on Patreon - patreon.com/writingongames
Podcast - http://anchor.fm/writingongamescast
Second Channel - youtube.com/channel/UC1xxfS_HILi09yaELQdmV1A
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Talk of generative AI feels like it's taken over every facet of modern life, and games are no exception. Oasis represents the first AI generated open world game, if its developer's website is to be believed and, well... it's Minecraft. But it's way, way worse. AI Minecraft is the worst game I've ever played. It's bad in ways you wouldn't believe—broken and unstable in a way that could see you compare it to the films of Cronenberg, if the explicit intent of the tech company Decart wasn't to use artificial intelligence to replace conventional game engines, and presumably the people who operate them.
It's also being celebrated as the supposed future of this medium, by people who have zero interest in art and every interest in money, and yet they fully control the industry that produces that art. AI in game development is something CEOs are investing everything into so they can save money on pesky worker salaries, and already people are losing their jobs and less games are able to be made.
In this video essay, I journey into the depths of AI Minecraft so you don't have to—discussing harsh noise, Buddy Rich and the true, pro-labour nature of Luddism to conclude that if AI Minecraft is the future of games, then it's a very grim future indeed.
NOTE: the thumbnail was created by my friend James (HotCyder), and was created to give the effect of generative AI glitching, without actually using generative AI. Outside of reluctantly interacting with Oasis, no generative AI was used in the creation of this video.
0:00 - Intro plug
0:08 - The Rubbish AI Future We Live In
4:19 - Oasis is AI Minecraft
5:45 - AI Minecraft is Unplayable
10:16 - AI Minecraft is a Cronenberg-esque Nightmare
13:27 - Is AI Minecraft an experimental art piece?
15:00 - The problem of creative intent
18:44 - Are we just Luddites?
21:27 - No, Luddism is not technophobia
22:47 - Why AI is different from other tech
24:18 - Conclusion: A Certain, Uneasy Hope
26:00 - Outro
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ARTICLES SHOWN/CITED
docs.google.com/document/d/1DCOdyNDWZxjQfHZmvcXS44v-ilg5_mdpzmQ1hGW56jo/edit?usp=sharing
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Thumbnail by HotCyder - twitter.com/hotcyder
Intro text animation by Isaac Holland - twitter.com/drazgames
#ai #aiminecraft #googleai #googlegenie #copilot
AI-generated Minecraft is something you can try right now (you shouldn't), and for so many reasons it's the worst game I've ever played. More worryingly, it's representative of a technology that is already costing jobs and resulting in less games. In this video essay, let's discuss why that is.
Support the show on Patreon - patreon.com/writingongames
Podcast - http://anchor.fm/writingongamescast
Second Channel - youtube.com/channel/UC1xxfS_HILi09yaELQdmV1A
---
Talk of generative AI feels like it's taken over every facet of modern life, and games are no exception. Oasis represents the first AI generated open world game, if its developer's website is to be believed and, well... it's Minecraft. But it's way, way worse. AI Minecraft is the worst game I've ever played. It's bad in ways you wouldn't believe—broken and unstable in a way that could see you compare it to the films of Cronenberg, if the explicit intent of the tech company Decart wasn't to use artificial intelligence to replace conventional game engines, and presumably the people who operate them.
It's also being celebrated as the supposed future of this medium, by people who have zero interest in art and every interest in money, and yet they fully control the industry that produces that art. AI in game development is something CEOs are investing everything into so they can save money on pesky worker salaries, and already people are losing their jobs and less games are able to be made.
In this video essay, I journey into the depths of AI Minecraft so you don't have to—discussing harsh noise, Buddy Rich and the true, pro-labour nature of Luddism to conclude that if AI Minecraft is the future of games, then it's a very grim future indeed.
NOTE: the thumbnail was created by my friend James (HotCyder), and was created to give the effect of generative AI glitching, without actually using generative AI. Outside of reluctantly interacting with Oasis, no generative AI was used in the creation of this video.
0:00 - Intro plug
0:08 - The Rubbish AI Future We Live In
4:19 - Oasis is AI Minecraft
5:45 - AI Minecraft is Unplayable
10:16 - AI Minecraft is a Cronenberg-esque Nightmare
13:27 - Is AI Minecraft an experimental art piece?
15:00 - The problem of creative intent
18:44 - Are we just Luddites?
21:27 - No, Luddism is not technophobia
22:47 - Why AI is different from other tech
24:18 - Conclusion: A Certain, Uneasy Hope
26:00 - Outro
---
ARTICLES SHOWN/CITED
docs.google.com/document/d/1DCOdyNDWZxjQfHZmvcXS44v-ilg5_mdpzmQ1hGW56jo/edit?usp=sharing
---
Thumbnail by HotCyder - twitter.com/hotcyder
Intro text animation by Isaac Holland - twitter.com/drazgames
#ai #aiminecraft #googleai #googlegenie #copilot
