New research conducted by the University of Bristol and developer Meaning Machine shows that gamers enjoy playing with AI-powered non-playable characters.

The study comprised 68 people – 31 male, 31 female, seven non-binary – playing the studio’s murder mystery game Dead Meat, in which users are tasked with interrogating suepects. The investigation showed that 95% of study participants found the experience enjoyable, while 97% found playing the game to be rewarding.

75% found that Dead Meat allowed them to “express themselves or make meaningful choices”. University of Bristol researchers say that all the above sentiments remained true across the different types of games that were in the study.

One sentiment expressed by participants was how the AI-powered NPCs in Dead Meat allowed for freedom of expression.

“I did find it really rewarding, just like making my own questions up for once,” wrote one participant.

However, researchers note that this freedom can be overwhelming due to a lack of clear direction.

“The freedom can be very exhilarating at first, and it feels immersive, and it feels cool,” one player wrote. “And it can also feel overwhelming.”

“This research helps to ground what is otherwise quite an emotionally charged debate about AI in games,” the project’s lead researcher Dr Richard Cole said.

“It does this by putting the player at the heart of the debate – asking what they feel about AI-powered experiences in practice, not just in theory.”

Meaning Machine’s co-founder, Thomas Keane, added: “Players kick back at AI that is taking away from creativity. But when AI is used to power totally new types of interactive experience, then it’s a very different story.”

Keane is correct in that there has been a backlash to some of the uses of AI within game development. At the end of last year, our sibling title Eurogamer marked extraction shooter Arc Raiders down for its use of AI to generate voice lines, while BAFTA-winning actor Jane Perry warned of the threat the tech poses to performers within games.

There is a full paper coming out at the end of the year, which also includes a similar analysis of people playing Meaning Machine’s more recent title, Blood Will Out. Researchers collected the same volume of data and noted that this game is built on a more advanced version of the studio’s technology.