Profiler's Log #2 - No AI... no game

Today, we take time to address a topic that's been sparking debate in our industry: the use of generative AI.

Why this transparency? Because you're investing your time (and maybe your money) in this project. You have the right to know what you're supporting, where AI is involved in development of Profiler Files - New Orleans... and what comes directly from the developer's brains and hands (spoiler alert: most of the game)!

Profiler’s Log will continue throughout development, with regular entries covering design, writing, production, gameplay direction, and the people behind the work.

You can view Episode 2 right now on our YouTube channel, Profiler Files - New Orleans - the game - YouTube or reald the transcript below.

Thank you for following the journey and supporting the project as it grows. More episodes soon. Don't forget to play the demo - it's free and you can play the full first episode of the game. and of course, please, wishlist Profiler Files - New Orleans - it matters a lot to us.

Profiler Files - New Orleans on Steam

Hey everyone! This is David, the creator of Profiler Files.

Today, let's take five minutes to address a topic that's been sparking debate in our industry: the use of generative AI.

For those just joining us, Profiler Files is mostly the work of a single person who codes, writes, composes, translates, communicates, debugs... You get the picture.

Last year, we tried our luck with Kickstarter to raise funds to collaborate with talented graphic artists and bring the visuals we had in mind to life.

Maybe it was too early, maybe not well-prepared enough. Long story short, the campaign failed. But we learned a lot – and it led us to rethink the game, for the better. No drama, no giving up. Just a reality: we had to find another solution to keep moving forward. That's when generative AI entered the equation.

To put it simply: either the game was made with the help of AI, or it wasn’t made at all.

So Let's be precise. Here's exactly where AI is involved in development:

• Character expression variations: When a character goes from joy to anger, AI helps generate these variations from the base designs.

• Background elements: Backgrounds, props, environmental details that dress up the scenes.

However, all these graphic elements are systematically touched up, refined, improved, or radically modified by hand in Photoshop.

• Music remixing: To create atmospheric variations and adapt tracks to different in-game situations. Sometimes we have the complete music that AI helps rebalance (we're not great at audio production), sometimes it enriches the composition, especially for instruments we don't master well or at all (like percussion).

• Communication visuals: Some illustrations you see in our promotional material.

• Python programming assistance: Because let's be honest, having an assistant that answers "why is my code doing nonsense" is more efficient than re-reading 400 pages of documentation at 2 AM.

• Translation assistance: The game is written in French and translated into English. We manage pretty well in English, thank you very much, but it's always good to have some support on the side. Here too, we would have preferred to hire a professional translator, but it's like with the graphics. No budget.

Now, what comes directly from your developer's brain:

• All the narrative: The story, the dialogues, the characters, their histories, their secrets. Every word is weighed, every plot twist is thought through. It's the heart of the game, and it beats thanks to human hands.

• The musical foundations: The melodies you hear? They were originally played on real instruments — guitars, piano, bass. With real wrong notes, sometimes.

• The programming: All the Python code, the Ren'Py architecture, the game logic, the systems... It's all handcrafted. This is actually one of the major repercussions of the failed Kickstarter campaign: we decided to switch from TyranoBuilder to Ren'Py and honestly, it's the best thing that could have happened to Profiler Files. Not only is the engine more robust and reliable, but it also allowed us to do things we couldn't have imagined doing in TyranoBuilder. Creativity took flight.

• Communication: These dev diaries, the responses to your messages, managing the Steam page.. . It's really me talking to you, even if I let an AI voice dub me in English. Because of my French accent. Without it, you probably wouldn't understand much of what I'm saying.

• The bugs, mistakes, and stupid stuff: Oh, that's guaranteed homemade. It's 100% authentic occasional human incompetence™.

Why this transparency? Because you're investing your time (and maybe your money) in this project. You have the right to know what you're supporting.

AI is not a magic wand. It's a tool — like Photoshop, like a spell checker, like a metronome. It doesn't replace the vision, the intention, the hours of work. It just allows a solo developer to create a project that would have otherwise required a team of ten people and a budget they unfortunately don't have.

This game exists because a human wanted to tell this story. AI just helps show it.

And if Profiler Files does as well as we hope, we hope to be able to fund our future games more comfortably and hire paid human artists. Honestly, that's all we dream about.

See you soon for the next Profiler's Log!