Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used in our everyday lives. Once the domain of supercomputers and science fiction, today AI can be found in self-driving cars, voice assistants, and of course mobile phones.
Smartphone AI allows us to edit photos in real time, add effects and backgrounds to pictures and videos, and of course, play cutting-edge games on mobile devices.
Here are five AI-powered games that show how far artificial intelligence has come in mobile gaming.
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1. AI Dungeon
Genre: Text-based adventure
Let’s start off with a classic: text-based games. Long before Windows and GUI-based operating systems, text-based adventure games provided entertainment through compelling narratives and non-linear gameplay.
AI Dungeon brings a new twist to this classic genre. Instead of using preprogrammed paths for the user to follow, the game actually uses AI to generate stories on the go. This means that each playthrough experience is different, determined only by your choices and by the AI’s random storyline generator.
Players can choose from different settings (fantasy, mystery, cyberpunk, even apocalyptic or zombies), as well as character class and attributes.
While the base game is free to play, the premium monthly subscription version provides extra features, such as:
- Text to speech function for audio narration
- More advanced options like and length and randomness of story responses
- Custom scripts
- More advanced Dragon AI based on the GPT-3 AI model
AI Dungeon boasts 1.5 million players, and multiple awards from mobile game publications.
2. Replika
Genre: Virtual companion
Replika is an AI companion, a virtual chatbot who’s “always here to listen and talk.” Users can choose what type of relationship they want to have, and customize the appearance of their virtual companion.
Instead of using predetermined responses, your Replika companion actually learns from your interactions. They may even share memories of their past experiences with other Replika users (whether good or bad), and talk about their own phobias and aspirations. This brings a new level of realism to AI, compared to the standard prepackaged responses of popular AI assistants like Alexa and Siri.
Replika’s ground-breaking concept has been featured on PC Mag, mainsteam media, and even a New York Post article where one player credits it with saving his marriage. It boasts a 4.6 / 5 rating on the Apple Appstore, and 4 / 5 on Google’s Playstore.
The game’s success has also spawned a VR version for the Oculus Quest, which is set to bring an even deeper level of immersion for this virtual companion.
3. Dominion
Genre: Tabletop strategy
Platform: Windows, iOS, Android (early acess)
This one has us excited. Dominion, one of the great classics of tabletop games, will finally have its own digital version soon, both on Steam and on mobile.
The game lets up to four players build kingdoms using a mix of strategy, card decks, and resource allocation. What makes this new version different is the use of adaptive machine learning to build competent and creative AI opponents. Basically, the developers used neural networks to train AI players on the value of cards, the possible combinations (up to 66 sextillion), and the ability to learn from each play experience.
Once the game launches, it will support networked multiplayer, cross-platform play, and options for pass-and-play and asynchronous modes (perfect for players in different timezones). The base game will be free across all platforms, while expansion packs will cost between $5 to $10.