You know the drill. You play once, twice, three times, and the game is already stale. That’s a thing of the past, thanks to Anigmation’s AI technology. Realms of Alterra (RoA), originally Alteration, has incorporated a new technology, changed its name, and is gearing up for its launch.

From the Czech Republic to all over the world

Alteration has outgrown its original intention and has evolved into the development of a groundbreaking technology for global AI gaming. It has therefore taken on a new name and a whole rebranding. Michal Kosek, CEO of eMan, explains, “We’ve come a long way. The original plan was to create an NFT game. However, in the course of development, we outgrew the world of crypto-games, implemented AI, and created a whole new gaming genre – AI Sandbox. This makes the game completely unique in the Czech environment.”

This RPG is set in a unique world whose story and visuals combine Norse mythology and cyberpunk. RoA is based on a dynamic combat system that uses elements of dungeon games. Thanks to the the entire team’s gaming experience, everything is focused on replayability, making the experience unique every time – environments are procedurally generated and the quest system is AI-driven, presenting a game that expands itself.

“This is a ‘procedurally generated’ RPG – it incorporates a procedural engine, which we call Holub after the discoverer Holub and as a tribute to the fact that we are a Czech company. This engine allows us to generate new game worlds more or less endlessly, thus ensuring that each game will be unique even with repeated play,” commented Tomáš Pšenička, founder of Legend Has It.

The generated worlds are then stored on the server, giving players the opportunity to invite other players into their world. All changes that occur in the world are saved. The game will be published by North Beach Games, co-publisher of successful titles such as 7 Days to Die and Stranded Deep.

Artificial intelligence improves the user experience

Almost every part of the game uses artificial intelligence. From the main world of Alterra, players are able to move through a portal to unique, procedurally generated worlds that are different each time, creating a unique and unrepeatable experience, made possible with the help of AI.

“Players will be able to explore unique, procedurally generated realms, filled with enemies, allies, special quests, challenging dungeons and useful shops. They will meet and converse with AI-controlled characters (NPCs) that are not blocked by traditional dialogue systems, but are fully powered by neural networks and their text input,” added Pšenička.

Anigmation – when artificial intelligence approaches a human’s

The technology also allows for the development and personification of characters, worlds, and the creation of histories and stories within the game world. Thanks to the high involvement of AI networks like GPT, RoA delivers gameplay experiences that have never been seen before in any game.

“In a regular RPG, players usually interact with the characters (NPCs) minimally as they are boring, monotonous, annoying the player and distracting from the actual gameplay. In RoA, NPCs will become an essential gameplay element, thanks to natural language processing (NLP). For example, the player will have the challenge of ‘persuading’ an NPC to like him/her, or to perform a task. Nothing is pre-determined, and thus the experience will be fully personalized for each player,” Pšenička expounded.

The revolutionary AI technology used in the game will also be used in other businesses in the future, not only in the gaming industry. That’s why eMan decided to incorporate its development into an independent company Anigmation. “Anigmation has developed proof-of-concept “Humanize” software that will allow developers to create, and players to discover, a world that is alive and fully interactive. Characters in the world converse in common human language, autonomously fulfilling human needs and forming relationships between themselves and each player. Just as we know it in real life,” commented Damián-Ondřej Šulista, COO of Legend Has It.

Within the AI field, Anigmation produces a proprietary software called “Humanize”, a technology that brings gaming even closer to human interactions. It allows NPC characters to make decisions based on their knowledge of worldly context and conversation, converse in human language, autonomously perform actions based on human needs, and inject emotion into the conversation and form a relationship with the player. This technology will enable an unprecedented level of emergence in games.

In the future, the technology will be applicable beyond gaming. For example, training how to interact with people, like training a new employee in a bank. The uses will be varied, and any company or developers’ studio will be able to easily integrate it into their project.

from left: Vladimír Geršl, Damián-Ondřej Šulista, Tomáš Pšenička and Michal Košek

Cooperation with Hong Kong’s Hanson Robotics

Legend Has It has partnered with Hong Kong-based Hanson Robotics, known for developing the humanoid robot Sophia, to develop this AI technology. Sophia has appeared on a number of TV shows over the years, whether it was chatting to Jimmy Fallon or going on a date with Will Smith. The companies have joined forces to design and distribute a unique shelter sandbox centered on artificial intelligence, which has just brought Sophia to consciousness and is teaching her to perceive human emotions.

“We’ve gotten to the point where you can create an non-playing character using AI that supports really creative and flexible interactions with human players. This allows for a deeper experience of the human-machine connection than was possible with earlier AI gaming technology. I think we’re entering a whole new era of gaming, and gamers have a lot to look forward to,” concluded Pšenička.

But Anigmation’s plans don’t end there; along with Hanson Robotics and the well known GoldKnights studio, they have taken on a new challenge. “We are working on a new project called Sophia AI Lab (SAIL), which falls under the category of so-called shelter survival games. The player’s goal will be to convince the inhabitants of the bunker to accept Sophia as their leader. The player will interact with their bunker-mates and Sophia via a computer network, and will only see what the currently working cameras allow him/her to see,” conveyed Vladimír Geršl from GoldKnights studio.

Over 50 million CZK (2.2 million USD) has already been invested in these two projects using convertible instruments, with the conversions taking place over the next few years. The game is currently in the AI demo phase, which the press audience had a chance try out at a press conference on Alienware computers loaned by Dell Technologies. The first players will be able to play Realm of Alterra in the middle of this year, on the Steam platform for PC, provisionally in Early Access mode.

Download here: Press Release – AI technology from eMan will change (not only) Czech gaming