Matt Radford, a former visual effects artist at Naughty Dog, fears that new technologies could change the gaming industry so drastically that future generations will view today's games as handcrafted works of art. He shared his concerns during an appearance on the Kiwi Talkz podcast.
Radford previously worked on The Last of Us and Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. He believes Naughty Dog creators, among them Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley, deserve recognition for their work. They spend years of their lives making games loved by millions of people. However, he doubts the industry will be able to keep producing large-scale, story-driven titles with the same attention to detail.
To explain his concerns, Radford pointed to Cologne Cathedral and other historic architectural monuments. These buildings were constructed by craftsmen who spent years mastering difficult techniques and devoted enormous effort to individual details. Builders today use more efficient methods, but Radford believes modern buildings rarely match the craftsmanship and decorative detail found in structures like Cologne Cathedral.
Radford believes something similar could happen to video games. Future generations might look at Uncharted 4, The Last of Us Part II, or Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet and marvel at the amount of work performed by real actors, writers, 3D modelers, sculptors, and artists.
"Nobody would build an old cathedral like Cologne Cathedral today. And nobody ever will again, because those craftsmen simply don't exist anymore. People have moved on, working methods have changed, and so have the professional skills themselves. We now have more efficient ways to construct buildings. Yet none of today's buildings can compare with certain architectural masterpieces of the past.
And I wonder whether the same thing could happen to video games. Perhaps one day we'll look at Intergalactic, Uncharted 4, or The Last of Us Part II and marvel at how much work went into them from real people: actors, writers, 3D modelers, sculptors, artists…
And we'll be amazed, thinking, 'That's incredible! Did people really make all of that by hand?' Much like how we're amazed today when we see someone painting the upper sections of an old church. I'm afraid that's exactly what our future will look like. So many new technologies are appearing, and they're genuinely changing how games are made. The number of people working on games will change, along with the kind of work they'll be doing."
Radford did not mention artificial intelligence explicitly, but his concerns are part of a larger discussion about how new technologies affect game production. Some industry professionals believe automation could harm the creative process and change the traditional responsibilities of artists and other specialists.
Earlier this week, for example, reports emerged that Epic Games had instructed its employees to switch entirely to AI for writing game code. According to media reports, the requirement also applies to an unannounced shooter featuring characters from Marvel and Star Wars.
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With over 17 years of playing games and 7 years of writing articles, Yaroslav is a CEO and content creator at HermitGamer. Yaroslav regularly plays video games, creates useful guides, and writes reviews with his opinion on new and old titles. His main goal is to make HermitGamer a platform, where each gamer can find the answers.
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