EVE Online Introduces AI Rookie Assistant

Most game developers are, at best, quiet about the benefits of using AI, but EVE Online’s CCP Games is happy to stand out.

They have announced Aura Guidance, a prototype chat tool designed to help new players onboard.

This long-term initiative, trained on over 5.8 million help messages previously received from rookie players, aims to lower the barriers to entry for a notoriously complex game.

After analyzing these messages, it was found that they contained over 700,000 genuine questions, of which only 176 were identified as common, repeated questions.

So, in addition to handling the wide range of questions players ask, it’s also hoped that Aura Guidance will allow players to feel comfortable asking “stupid questions.” Furthermore, the system operates within the game screen and can guide players directly within that UI.

It’s also noteworthy that CCP Games is being cautious in its deployment of what it calls “an early prototype that’s in ongoing development.”

Indeed, Aura Guidance will be deployed in a classic A/B test manner, with half of new players gaining access to the tool and the remainder experiencing the current flow. Even players given access to the tool can choose to switch it off.

This approach will allow CCP Games to observe how the two groups perform across key metrics such as retention, engagement, and monetization.

“Aura Guidance is an opportunity to drastically improve the way players find information and reduce friction for new capsuleers taking their first jumps into New Eden,” said creative director Bergur Finnbogason.

“Players submitted over 5.8 million Rookie Help messages in just the nine months we analyzed. That’s an impossible amount of content to navigate when you’re trying to answer a single question. We built Aura Guidance to make that process easier, enabling capsuleers to get fast, accurate answers drawn from the generations of rookies and veterans who helped them navigate EVE’s complexities.”

However, given the negative reaction to AI from some hardcore gamers, it’s notable that CCP Games has also tempered this new initiative with executive producer Snorri Árnason pointing out that the technology does not use generative AI.

He also emphasizes that it “does not produce game content, create art, or replace creative work.”

“Aura Guidance has been carefully designed by our team and is grounded in existing player support data to supplement Rookie Chat, not supersede it,” Árnason adds.

CCP Games also reports that the cost of the system will be “comparable to running a single small European household for a year,” noting this is a negligible amount compared to the energy consumed by the game servers.

Source: https://www.blockchaingamer.biz/news/41714/eve-online-new-ai-rookie-help-tool-aura-guidance/