NVIDIA's new AI assistant for games could kill the game guide

NVIDIA has just announced what definitely sounds like a giant leap for gamerkind, and it might feel like a bit of déjà vu for some. Back in 2017, NVIDIA played a hilarious April Fool’s prank on us all with the GTX G-Assist, a fictional USB stick that supposedly used AI to play games for you, even taking down bosses while you were away.

It was a wild concept that seemed too good to be true, and at the time, it was. But fast-forward seven years, and NVIDIA has unveiled something that echoes the spirit of that prank. On the eve of Computex, the company gave us a first look at Project G-Assist, a real-life AI assistant for gamers powered by its GeForce technology.

This isn’t about letting AI take over your controller (yet). Instead, think of G-Assist as your personal gaming guru, ready to offer tips on the best weapons and tactics, guide you to hidden crafting materials, or even fine-tune your game settings for peak performance.

The need for G-Assist

NVIDIA highlighted the complexity of modern PC gaming with its intricate skill trees, complex questlines, and detailed gameplay systems. The company claims there are around 3 trillion words of game knowledge spread across numerous sources, including encyclopedias and videos.

According to NVIDIA, 70% of gamers are seeking easier access to this wealth of information, and that’s where G-Assist comes in. While it doesn’t play the game for you, it offers a level of support that has never been available before, potentially laying the groundwork for future advancements in gaming AI.

Project G-Assist can respond to voice or text prompts and integrate context from the game window or system telemetry. This data is processed by AI vision models, and the assistant then provides the requested help. It can operate both via the cloud and on-device. The company says the assistant can also help with the optimal settings for a game.

In a demonstration using the game ARK Survival Ascended, NVIDIA showed how G-Assist can answer questions such as “What’s the best early game weapon, and where do I find the crafting materials for it?” The AI delivers both text and audio responses, understands the game screen, and can handle follow-up questions, such as identifying creatures on screen and advising on how to tame them. It can also offer guidance on how to allocate skill points effectively.

Is this a good or a bad thing, though?

While we’ll reserve our judgment until we’ve done some real-world testing on other games as well, Project G-Assist does have the potential to be a valuable tool for both new and experienced gamers, offering insights and guidance that can enhance the overall gaming experience.

NVIDIA stressed during a media briefing that this was just a tech demo and that the assistant could be trained by developers or using online resources. However, we do wonder whether G-Assist has the potential to adversely affect the game guide and walkthrough industry. After all, we’ve seen a rise in AI-generated articles and news websites showing up in search engines in recent years (coinciding with platforms like ChatGPT), drowning out more legitimate sources. So we wouldn’t be surprised if G-Assist or something like it has a similar effect on the game guide industry.