Vapor World: Over The Mind Developer Promises to Remove AI Cutscenes Following Backlash

The newly released 2D souls-like platformer, Vapor World: Over The Mind, is set to undergo rapid changes after facing immediate backlash regarding its use of AI-generated content. Developed by ALIVE Inc., a small team consisting of only a few people, the game launched on August 19th and was simultaneously added to Xbox Game Pass. However, players quickly took to Steam, leaving "Negative" user reviews in response to the inclusion of AI-generated elements in the game's cutscenes.

In response to the criticism, the game's director issued a passionate statement addressing the community's concerns and promising to remove all AI cutscenes by the upcoming weekend. The director admitted that utilizing AI-generated cutscenes was a "hasty judgment" made because the team struggled to deliver the game's complex narrative using their own resources, describing their original hand-made cutscene attempts as "devastating every time."

According to the director, the team turned to AI to reach a level of expression they felt their existing resources could not achieve. However, they revealed that original in-game cutscenes had actually been created prior to the shift. The AI-generated elements were only recently introduced as part of an incomplete transition, meaning the original assets still exist and are ready to be restored.

"Looking back, that replacement was the wrong call," the director acknowledged, explaining that because the original in-game versions already exist, the team is capable of making a swift transition back to original assets. "We will begin the replacement right away, and we will have it done by this weekend. The in-game versions already exist, so this will not take long."

ALIVE Inc. has made two specific promises going forward: the game will never use AI-generated cutscenes in the future, and all existing AI-generated cutscenes will be entirely deleted. The developer plans to share the specific details of this transition in an update scheduled for the weekend, hoping to put the controversy behind them and reverse the early negative reception.