Game developers use AI to create the ultimate 1980's friend in lockdown

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By Matthew Griffin Virtual World 3rd April 2021

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

Today AI is impersonal, but tomorrow it could be your best friend …

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We’re surely all feeling the effects of not seeing our friends enough this year, so what if we had an Artificial Intelligence (AI) friend to play with instead – one that learns more about us as we play with so it can become an even better friend!? Soon you’ll be able to treat yourself to just that after indie developer Not a Sailor Studios announced the upcoming release of Buddy Simulator 1984.

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Like another game I wrote about recently that uses AI to create a procedural game that adapts and tailors itself to every individuals behaviours and actions Buddy Simulator 1984 presents you with a fictional cutting-edge AI that “simulates the experience of hanging out with a best buddy.”

Meet your new best friend, 1984 meets 2021 AI …

Considered the “next big step in game evolution,” the program not only invites you to play games together, but it also promises to “constantly be learning all about you in order to become better friends.” So, what could go wrong!?

As befits the year in which it’s set Buddy Simulator shows only a monochrome computer monitor on which you can play simple games like rock-paper-scissors and hangman. When that novelty wears off, your ever-adapting new AI pal can construct classic-styled text adventures that require typing in commands while rudimentary graphics are displayed on-screen. And all the while, not only are you offering input, the computer can talk back – think Zork meets WarGames and you’ll have the basic idea.

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While the full version of Buddy Simulator 1984 isn’t due out on Steam until early next month for Windows PC, you can introduce yourself to your would-be computer friend right away through the playable demo that’s already available.

Matthew Griffin / About Author

Described by NASA as a "Walking Encyclopaedia of the Future" and one of the world’s most in demand keynote speakers Matthew Griffin, Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm, is a multi-award winning Futurist and strategic foresight expert, author, lecturer, mentor, podcast and YouTube host.

With a distinguished career running global business units at Atos, EMC, and IBM today Matthew helps leaders and titans of industry from all over the world explore the impact of the inter sections of technology, culture, and leadership, then helps them create high performance organisations that can continuously disrupt, outpace, and outthink their competition.

15 times author of the hit series the Codex of the Future series Matthew's ability to identify, track, and explain the impacts of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends on global business, culture, and society has earned him a powerful reputation and a roster of clients that include royal households, world leaders across the G7, G20, and G77, and many of the world's most recognised and exceptional organisations including ABB, Accenture, ABN Amro, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi Group, Coca Cola, Deloitte, Dentons, Disney, Dow, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Microsoft, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Nokia, Paramount, PepsiCo, PWC, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, T-Mobile, UBS, Visa, WIRED, WPP and hundreds of others.

Matthew is regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, and his mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.