Have you ever wished you could have a natural conversation with the characters in your favorite video games? Well, NVIDIA has made that dream a reality with their groundbreaking technology called Avatar Cloud Engine (ACE). In a recent demonstration called Kairos at Computex 2023, NVIDIA showcased how gamers can now engage in meaningful dialogues with non-playable characters (NPCs), taking the gaming experience to a whole new level.
During the Kairos demonstration, players were transported to a futuristic Ramen shop, where they encountered an NPC named Jin. What made this interaction special was the ability to communicate with Jin using natural language. NVIDIA collaborated with Convai to develop ACE, which operates seamlessly in the cloud and on NVIDIA hardware.
The heart of ACE lies in its advanced language models, powered by NVIDIA NeMo. These models can be customized to incorporate unique character backstories, making the interactions feel more authentic. And to ensure appropriate conversations, safeguards have been put in place to prevent any untoward exchanges.
ACE goes beyond just voice recognition and text-to-speech tools. NVIDIA’s Riva technology is utilized for speech recognition, while Omniverse Audio2Face generates stunning facial animations that synchronize perfectly with the characters’ speech. This level of realism immerses gamers in a truly interactive and lifelike experience.
The Kairos demo was built using the powerful Unreal Engine 5, highlighting NVIDIA’s cutting-edge ray-tracing and GPU capabilities. While the dialogue in the demonstration may still feel somewhat artificial, it’s a clear testament to the immense potential of this technology. As ACE continues to evolve, we can expect even greater strides in creating believable and engaging interactions with NPCs.
Although specific game titles utilizing ACE have not been announced yet, two highly anticipated games, Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl and Fort Solis, have confirmed plans to implement the revolutionary Omniverse Audio2Face technology. This means that players will soon have the opportunity to converse with NPCs in these immersive gaming worlds, further blurring the line between reality and virtuality.