At Nyx Studios, we recognize the ongoing debate surrounding the use of AI in visual arts. As we explore new digital tools, we want to clearly state our principles and address the common question that pops up on social media in general and lately under our own posts: “Was this made by AI?” The short answer is no; however, we believe that the question is loaded and a short answer would oversimplify our creative process.
Our team consists of trained, talented artists who have devoted years and decades to their degrees and portfolios. We also commission artworks from accomplished freelancers whose illustrations can be found in games published by Wizards of the Coast, Fantasy Flight Games, and more. The reason we came together as a team was to create games like HAVOC, to realize our creative dreams, and bring exceptional experiences to you — the players. Everything we make is a result of human skills, imagination, and passion for creation.
We strongly believe that amazing games rely on artists who convey human experience, a quality that should never be automated. For that and many other reasons we will never abandon our pens, pencils, and tablets, which are, by far, the most advanced, liberating, and satisfying instruments in our workshop. It is the skilled artists and their rich imaginations that make our games come to life.
It is also true that we permit our artists to use machine-learning resources that are increasingly available in 2D and 3D art software. These include smart brushes, procedural texturing, internal diffusion models, generated image components for drawing moodboards, compositions, and prototypes, as well as various solutions for pixel adjustment and image-scaling. In our experience, these tools are highly imperfect and certainly do not compete with our artists. To achieve the level of visual fidelity that we are committed to, we rely on human skills. Our artists do all the hard work. That’s why we proudly say that no, their work wasn’t ‘done by AI.’
At Nyx Studios, artists have a leading voice and we are deeply aware of the ethical discussions surrounding AI and copyright infringement. When an artist creates original art, it inherently belongs to them, which is why we ensure all creators give us permission to use their work. Our approach aligns with industry standards, which involve using widely-sourced image references for creative inspiration and conceptual groundwork.
We believe that to completely reject the use of AI-assisted imagery for these preliminary steps would be unrealistic given the growing proliferation of AI-assisted software and the widespread acceptance of traditional concept-stage practices. We remain committed to navigating these complexities responsibly but also realistically. We have concluded that a total rejection of AI-related technologies would be dishonest and suggest control that we simply do not have.
Our goal beyond any one game we make is to foster, grow, and reward our amazing creative team. In our studio, we will never try to replace humans with machines. We prefer working with humans. We integrate digital tools to automate repetitive tasks and to provide our teammates with more creative freedom and less technical obstacles. We believe this approach has enabled us and will continue to enable us to hire more amazing artists, providing them with greater benefits, and higher compensation.
We care deeply about providing a supportive and stable creative environment where our teammates can thrive without the need to publicly prove their credentials. Given the current level of scrutiny and polarization on the topic, we wish to avoid dragging our artists into social-media debates, but we will always be open to constructive criticism from fellow game enthusiasts.
We also avoid engaging in social media disputes on the topic because we are a small team working very hard to bring this amazing game to the players, and we simply don’t have the time. We will remain adaptive, compassionate, and self-critical. We share your concerns and will continue to consider them in our work.
Our day-to-day focus is on completing our projects and sharing our process when appropriate, so after the game has been finalized and brought to the players. We will let the art speak for itself. We can’t wait to show you HAVOC — a labor of love and an amazing game that will take you on a distant journey to the world imagined and crafted by our talented game designers and artists.
