TL;DR:
- European startup Versed aims to revolutionize game development by allowing anyone to create their own RPGs through text-based storytelling.
- Versed’s AI interprets narratives and assigns characters and locations to create immersive game worlds.
- The company recently raised €1.6 million ($1.7 million) in a pre-seed funding round led by Google’s Gradient Ventures.
- Versed’s approach differentiates from other generative AI efforts by focusing on storytelling rather than coding.
- The platform combines Language Learning Models (LLMs) and proprietary algorithms to match assets and build dynamic game worlds.
- Versed plans to integrate generative AI to fill gaps in their asset library as they aim to train their own text-to-3D models.
- Unity game engine powers Versed’s gameplay mechanics, ensuring compatibility across platforms.
- The company targets creators in the interactive storytelling space, initially focusing on role-playing games (RPGs).
- Versed’s business model is likely to be subscription-based, with revenue-sharing between the platform and creators.
- The platform’s potential to democratize game development and empower creators has garnered significant interest.
Main AI News:
The realm of generative AI has been buzzing with excitement, thanks to the efforts of Microsoft-backed OpenAI and ChatGPT. While the societal and ethical implications of creating diverse content from simple prompts are subjects of debate, this transformative technology has paved the way for numerous businesses that were unimaginable merely a year ago.
Generative AI startups have caught the attention of venture capitalists (VCs), who are pouring significant investments into this emerging field. In a recent development, Salesforce Ventures revealed its intention to double its generative AI investment fund, initially set at $250 million, to an impressive $500 million.
Amidst this thriving landscape, a promising European startup called Versed has emerged with a mission to empower individuals to create their own role-playing games (RPGs) by simply crafting text-based stories and instructions. Versed’s unique proposition lies in its AI-powered system that interprets narratives and assigns characters and locations from an extensive in-house database, ultimately resulting in immersive game worlds.
Founded just four months ago in the Netherlands, Versed is the brainchild of CTO Cat Burton, a former Unity developer, and CEO Robert Gaal, an experienced entrepreneur with a successful track record in startups and a background at Google. Since its inception, Versed has rapidly expanded its remote-first team to include seven talented individuals situated across the United Kingdom, Denmark, Bulgaria, and the United States. As the company gears up to scale its operations from an early-alpha stage to a full-fledged commercial product in the coming year, Versed has recently secured €1.6 million ($1.7 million) in a pre-seed funding round led by Google’s Gradient Ventures.
The Advent of a New Game Generation
Generative AI has already begun making waves in the gaming industry. Developers have showcased their ability to generate original visual assets, as exemplified by San Francisco-based Scenario, which recently secured $6 million in seed funding for this very purpose. Notably, gaming giant Roblox unveiled new tools enabling game developers to generate entire virtual worlds through natural language prompts. Meanwhile, Microsoft is actively working on incorporating generative AI capabilities into its immensely popular Minecraft franchise.
While Versed aligns tangentially with these efforts, its groundbreaking ambition to enable creators to build entire RPGs through storytelling alone, without requiring any coding skills, propels it to the forefront of innovation.
Robert Gaal explains, “Most of our competitors are more focused on the developer side, but that’s not our target audience. We are providing a way for individuals to create their own role-playing video games by simply writing a story. We use that story as a basis to generate fully immersive 3D worlds with turn-based combat, branching dialogue, and everything that makes a role-playing game exceptional.”
To achieve this, writers describe characters, locations, and other specifics such as costumes or historical eras, and Versed’s AI matches these descriptions with visuals crafted by its in-house artists.
Behind the scenes, Versed combines Language Learning Models (LLMs) with proprietary algorithms to match assets and construct dynamic game worlds. LLMs summarize the creator’s descriptions, while procedural generation—a technique where computers create data—is employed to build locations and match them with assets in Versed’s extensive library.
While Versed currently utilizes OpenAI’s GPT-4, Cat Burton emphasizes their platform’s flexibility to seamlessly transition to other LLMs if more suitable models emerge. She says, “Given the rapid evolution of generative AI, with new LLMs and advancements emerging almost every week, we have decoupled our platform to ensure compatibility with any future LLM developments.”
For gameplay mechanics, Versed relies on the powerful Unity game engine, ensuring compatibility across multiple platforms. However, initial gameplay availability will be limited to Mac and PC.
An Immersive Revolution
Versed shares some similarities with platforms like Twine, which have spent the past decade facilitating the generation of text-based interactive fiction on the web. However, Versed takes it a step further by fully immersing users in a 3D environment.
The ultimate goal for Versed is to eliminate the technical and design complexities associated with game development, effectively hiding the game engine in the background to allow storytellers to focus on their core strengths.
Cat Burton elaborates, “Game engines have always posed significant barriers to entry for aspiring developers. You needed coding, art, audio, marketing, and editing skills to create a game. We bridge this gap by enabling individuals to write a story as they would with Twine, but with the end result being a fully immersive 3D game.”
Having witnessed an early demo of a game created through Versed, TechCrunch acknowledges the potential for a truly revolutionary approach to democratizing game development. However, one cannot help but wonder if the essence of “generative AI” lies in enabling users, in this case, storytellers, to generate their own in-game assets rather than relying on a pre-existing library of characters and scenes developed in-house at Versed. Though it may not be possible at present, the team recognizes this as the ultimate goal. Burton explains, “Our initial focus is on building assets manually. By doing so, we can train our text-to-3D models using our own assets and art style, ensuring that we do not infringe upon anyone else’s intellectual property.”
This strategy holds several advantages, including establishing Versed’s unique brand identity and overcoming limitations associated with building an extensive asset library by hand alone. As seen in the case of stock photo giant Shutterstock, even established players are embracing generative AI to supplement their offerings.
While Versed intends to continue developing its own art, it plans to augment this effort with generative AI. Burton affirms, “In the long run, we aim to generate assets that are currently unavailable to us. We value our art team immensely; however, if a user writes a story that features a three-headed dragon wearing a top hat, chances are we won’t have that asset in our database. Therefore, we will strive to create it for them.“
Targeting the Visionary Creators
Versed primarily targets creators who are already active in the realm of interactive storytelling, particularly those looking to transition from offline to digital platforms.
“Our initial focus is on role-playing games because this format has a well-established tradition of storytelling,” Gaal states. “Many of the creators we are working with currently are gamemasters who livestream on platforms like Twitch. They sell their own board games or adventure novels that can be used with board games. This makes them the perfect fit since they are already familiar with interactive storytelling; they just need to adapt it to the digital format.”
While Versed’s potential to revolutionize game development is evident, the question of its business model remains. While details are still being finalized, Gaal suggests that a subscription-based approach is likely, with gamers subscribing to individual creators or types of adventures, with Versed taking a percentage of the revenue.
“Our goal is to create a platform where creators can make a sustainable income,” Gaal affirms. “We are dedicated to ensuring that creators can release new adventures regularly—whether it’s on a weekly or monthly basis—keeping in line with their existing engagement strategies, such as hosting a weekly podcast or sharing a monthly newsletter. Our focus is on aligning with creators and empowering them to deliver quality content to their fanbase.”
Currently, Versed is working with ten creators as part of an early alpha program and plans to introduce its first roster of games around October, coinciding with the private beta launch at New York’s Comic Con. The full public launch is scheduled for the second half of 2024.
In addition to Gradient Ventures, the lead investor, Versed’s pre-seed funding round included participation from Cherry Ventures based in Berlin, as well as notable angel investors from Unity, Twitch, Remote, and Framer.
Conclusion:
Versed’s innovative approach to empowering storytellers to create immersive video games through text-based storytelling and generative AI has the potential to revolutionize the gaming market. By removing the technical barriers of coding and offering a user-friendly platform, Versed opens up opportunities for a broader range of creators to bring their storytelling visions to life. With its recent funding and strategic partnerships, Versed is well-positioned to disrupt the market and provide a platform for unique and engaging gaming experiences.
