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Wolf Games describes itself as “a generative gaming startup backed by the minds behind Law and Order and Chicago Fire,” and that alone should give you some idea of what to expect from its first release. But even with that in mind, the new teaser trailer for the studio’s upcoming project Public Eye is wild, and more than a little off-putting.
Public Eye is set in the near future—the year 2028, according to the trailer—in a world where violent crime has exploded. The police need help, and so they take the obvious next step: No, not addressing the underlying issues driving the rise of antisocial behavior, but enlisting the public to help solve murder investigations.
To do that, aspiring Columbos will use an app called Public Eye that enables them to “work with Ada to review evidence, then use that evidence to submit an accusation.” Ada is “the program’s personality,” which is of course an AI, whose name just happens to be an acronym for Assistant District Attorney, one half of the “separate yet equally important groups” we all grew to know through decades of Law and Order.
When I first watched the trailer, I assumed Public Eye would be some sort of cautionary tale about the horrors of a surveillance society backed by the thoughtless embrace of AI. That would’ve been a surprising approach from the copaganda factories that are Dick Wolf productions. But there’s something of a disconnect there: Wolf, known as the driving force behind the Law and Order, One Chicago, and FBI series, is an investor in Wolf Games, but Wolf Games was actually founded by his son, Elliot Wolf. So maybe there’s some real space between them?
Apparently not, because as it turns out I was off-base from the start. Wolf Games clarified that Public Eye is a straight-up detective game, designed for true crime enthusiasts who want to solve mysteries and see the bad guys get what they’ve got coming. That’s disappointing, although I suppose it might have broader appeal than an ominous ACAB-tinged warning that the future championed by techbros may have some dark corners.
Separate from all that, you may also pick up on a certain sense of “uncanny valley” in the Public Eye trailer, and yes, that’s generative AI in action. While the use of generative AI remains controversial through much of mainstream game development, Wolf Games is embracing it fully.
From the press release: “At the heart of the company is its groundbreaking AI engine that revolutionizes daily casual gaming by generating richly detailed, responsive worlds in real-time. The technology shapes itself around player choices, dissolving traditional boundaries between daily gameplay and great storytelling for a deeply engaging and personalized experience.”
Wolf Games co-founder and chief creative officer Elliot Wolf added, “With our generative gaming platform, we’re building wholly new entertainment experiences that are deeply engaging and never before possible.”
The four comments in response to the trailer on YouTube at this point obviously don’t represent a statistically significant sampling, but so far the reaction isn’t entirely positive: One of them calls it, as I did, “off-putting,” while the other suggests the overall concept of Public Eye is “creepy,” an assessment I can’t really argue with at this early stage.
That said, I’m curious enough that I’ll want to give Public Eye a shot when it’s out this summer: I don’t care for overt “back the blue” messaging in mainstream media but I must confess than I am a big fan of early Law and Order reruns (I still use “stuff the blini” on a semi-regular basis), and I’m genuinely interested in how (or, I suppose, if) Public Eye will evolve police procedurals as a big player in mass entertainment. Just also, you know, appropriately cautious and mildly grossed out.
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Kurt Indovina
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