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John Carmack and Tim Sweeney defend Microsoft’s AI Quake demo

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Editor’s take: Thoughts on generative AI vary widely. Some love it, especially the companies that make it. Many others hate it, particularly when they feel it’s being forced on them, which is an ongoing trend. So, it’s not surprising that every new GenAI innovation leaves conflict and controversy in its wake.

Last week, Microsoft released a tech demo of its WHAMM (World and Human Action MaskGIT Model) “game engine.” The research project showed that the model could generate frames for a playable version of Quake II. However, it suffered many problems and, therefore, received a lot of hate, even though Microsoft was very clear about its intent and purpose.

“We do not intend for this to fully replicate the actual experience of playing the original Quake II game,” said Microsoft. “This is intended to be a research exploration of what we are able to build using current ML approaches. Think of this as playing the model as opposed to playing the game.”

Despite Redmond explicitly disclosing the project’s scope, many took to YouTube and social media to bag on the model. One X user who goes by Quake Dad called WHAMM “absolutely f-ing disgusting.” In his view, the model disrespects game developers.

Interestingly, Quake co-creator John Carmack quickly came to the technology’s defense, calling it “impressive.” When Quake Dad rebutted that this type of GenAI steals jobs and is “scary” and “spiteful” of developers’ work, including Carmack’s, the industry veteran set the record straight.

“I think you are misunderstanding what this tech demo actually is,” the real Quake Dad said. “My first games involved hand assembling machine code and turning graph paper characters into hex digits. Software progress has made that work as irrelevant as chariot wheel maintenance. Building power tools is central to all the progress in computers.”

As Carmack explains, the goal is to make game development easier, not to make it automated. He points out that game engines have entirely changed how studios create. For example, repeatedly writing millions of lines of code is no longer necessary with tools like Unreal and Unity game engines. GenAI game models will be similar. While they will eventually create fully playable games, the human element will not soon disappear.

“AI tools will allow the best to reach even greater heights, while enabling smaller teams to accomplish more, and bring in some completely new creator demographics. Yes, we will get to a world where you can get an interactive game (or novel, or movie) out of a prompt, but there will be far better exemplars of the medium still created by dedicated teams of passionate developers.”

The response garnered a comment from one user, saying, “Oof. This stung a little.” To which Quake Dad replied, “It sure did.”

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney also piped in, agreeing with his colleague.

“AI will ultimately be a powerful tool in the toolbox of every programmer, artist, and designer, just as high-level languages, paint programs, and visual scripting were in previous eras,” Sweeney said.

The OP muted the post not long after due to the overwhelming negative feedback but stood by his opinion.

“Alright, time to mute the post. I understand everyone here thinks that AI is going to be beneficial,” he said. “I disagree with you and with John Carmack. But we’ll see how the future determines who’s right.”

It is hard to say what the future of game development will look like. It is much easier to speculate, so arguments like this exist. The logic of any technology only makes sense in hindsight. In 1987, it was unfathomable to think that in just 20 years, we’d be carrying powerful, full-color computers in our pockets that also double as our phones. Now, that naivete seems quaint.





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