Seraph is a character in Project Neural Nexus by Convai. Players can ask her questions, leading to open-ended conversations. Glimpses of the future often emerge at the Game Developers Conference. It’s where indie games generate a buzz or the kernel of a big idea is planted. This year, artificial intelligence took center stage as Nvidia showed off jaw-dropping capabilities of its chipsets and software companies such as Convai and Ubisoft revealed intriguing gameplay opportunities.
“Stormgate” is an upcoming real-time strategy game from Frost Giant Studio, and in that demo, a character named Dr. Fletcher offered me a sitrep on what’s going on in the battlefield. This demo wouldn’t be in the game, but I could ask the NPC about the world and she would offer hints into the lore.By far the most impressive demo was “Project Neural Nexus,” it takes place in a cyberpunk world and throws players into a situation where a woman named Seraph has to guide players to the roof.
I started with the doorman Tae, who I learned was also an aspiring comedian. I asked him to tell a joke and it was a bit tepid, but he did guide me to the reception Sophia. With Sophia, I straight up tried to ask her for the CTO’s room number but she rejected me citing the Wavre Hotels’ policy that protected clients’ privacy. I asked her where I could get a drink and she directed me to the bar right across from her.
Players have to look for openings in the back-and-forth and use those to find out more about the world and Bloom, my fellow resistance fighter. When I asked him, why he wanted to fight the megacorporations, he mentioned that he had a son, so I asked about his name. He said the child was named Evrand. That effort increased the trust level between us at the same time a robot beside us commented on my interviewing prowess.
The next section dealt with the guard, and the first thing I asked was if we knew anything about him. She said he had prior military experience so I knew maybe a tranquilizer dart may not be a good idea. I suggested sleeping gas and she liked that idea. The last section was the surveillance camera and I brought up the idea of an EMP but she said it would cause too much of a ruckus. It also wasn’t on the list of tools.