In an
industry where the conversation about artificial intelligence and art seems to
be endless, the executive producer of Blue Archive has just
laid out his position more clearly than most. Yong-Ha Kim stated
in a recent interview that using generative AI to create characters and
illustrations goes directly against the core philosophy of the game, and that
this is not just an aesthetic preference – it is one of the core values of the
development team.
Kim's
argument is not based on technological ignorance. The producer has personal
training in artificial intelligence and actively follows developments in the
field, giving him a particular point of view on where the tool's usefulness
ends and the problem begins. Their stance is that AI can be valuable for
technical tasks such as programming and automating certain development
processes, but that applying it to the game's visible creative elements
would undermine one of its core strengths.
The reason
he gives is concrete: Blue Archive players perceive the careful, artisanal work
of the human artists behind the characters and illustrations, and that
perception is part of what draws them to the game. Removing that human origin
in favor of algorithmically generated, while visually acceptable, content would
break something Kim describes as difficult to quantify but easy to notice. It
has used the term "superficial" before to describe certain
AI-assisted content, noting that it prioritizes appearance over substance.
The
position stands in direct contrast to that of Nexon CEO Junghun
Lee, who has spoken positively about the growing role of generative AI in
the industry and suggested that most large companies are already integrating it
into their workflows. Kim doesn't deny that trend, but she makes it clear that
Blue Archive will follow a different path, at least when it comes to character
design and art.
The
principle Kim describes isn't just a public statement: it functions as an
internal guide for the team. The focus is on preserving and maximizing human
participation in areas where people still have a distinct advantage over
current AI systems, rather than looking for ways to replace artists.
Blue
Archive is a
mobile role-playing game developed by NAT Games and published
by Nexon. It stands out within the game market with characters for
its careful visual aesthetics, its narrative with tones ranging from light
comedy to deep drama, and a tactical combat system. Since its launch in South
Korea in 2021 and its global expansion, it has built a sizable player base that
particularly values its character design and the quality of the illustrations,
making Kim's stance on AI particularly important to those who follow the game
closely.
