NCSoft, the South Korean game developer and publisher behind the popular MMORPG Guild Wars, has recently announced the development of a suite of AI language models called VARCO. These models are designed to streamline game development and offer a range of products and services, including digital humans, generative AI platforms, and conversational language models.
The four models that make up VARCO are VARCO LLM, Art, Text, and Human. The LLM is the base model and will be the first to be released, with the Korean-language version available on August 16th and English and bilingual versions to follow by the end of the month. The LLM has been trained with various datasets, including publicly available data, data collected from the internet, and internally constructed data.
A key concern in the development of these models is bias. NCSoft has put efforts into improving the performance of the models and ensuring that the generated text aligns with universal values. The company uses a pipeline approach to construct high-quality datasets, where collected data are analyzed and evaluated based on various aspects, such as format, content, and ethics.
NCSoft plans to release larger-parameter versions of the LLM later in the year, allowing for more nuanced and complete responses from the system. However, the company also emphasizes the importance of balancing computational power with computational lightweightness to manage operating costs.
The other three models in the VARCO suite, Art, Text, and Human, build upon the foundational LLM. VARCO Art is a text-to-image generator that can emulate the style of specific artists with their permission. VARCO Text generates and manages the core settings of a game, including plot scenarios and character worldviews. VARCO Human is an integrated tool for creating, editing, and managing digital humans.
NCSoft plans to release its VACRO Studio suite in 2024, which will allow users to utilize and manage the Art, Text, and Human models. Initially, the VARCO models will streamline game development efforts, similar to Ubisoft’s Ghostwriter. However, NCSoft aims to go beyond the gaming industry and believes that VARCO is a versatile AI that can solve specific pain points in various domains.
While the generative AI technology offered by VARCO can handle low-level repetitive tasks in game development, NCSoft acknowledges the importance of human judgment and additional work to produce sophisticated results. The company sees generative AI as a tool to inspire and assist human designers in reaching higher goals with the aid of AI’s creation capabilities.
NCSoft’s ambitions with AI extend beyond the gaming industry. The company plans to explore new high-value businesses in different fields, such as fashion, life, health, mobility, bio, robotics, and content. The combination of AI and these fields is expected to unlock greater potential and synergy.
