AI and Games Podcast

For this episode of the AI and Games Podcast we welcome Dr Wesley Kerr, the director of tech research at Riot Games. Recorded at Riot's LA offices, we chat about how his team de-risks AI so it can be used to support gameplay in Riot's titles. The value and importance of running an R&D team within a large games company, how we first met at GDC back in 2023, and how he tries to communicate innovations happening in and around the AI space to his fellow Rioters.

The AI and Games Podcast is presented by AWS for Games.

Follow us on Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube Music | YouTube | PocketCasts

All of our work including the AI and Games YouTube series, newsletter, and this here podcast is fan-funded by our community. You can support our work and get access to bonus content by visiting AIandGames.com.

This week we took a bit of a detour as Tommy sits down with Roper and friend of the show Matthew Syrett to discuss their recent trip to the see the Street Fighter movie in cinemas. How does it compare to the other adaptations of the series? Does Jason Mamoa really need another film franchise? What’s going on with Bison’s foot fetish? All that and more.

Plus, be sure to check out Hunter’s Moon which Roper is putting the finishing touches to on PS5.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKMaeHoJY2A

The AI and Games Podcast is presented by AWS for Games.

Follow us on Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube Music | YouTube | PocketCasts

All of our work including the AI and Games YouTube series, newsletter, and this here podcast is fan-funded by our community. You can support our work and get access to bonus content by visiting AIandGames.com.

This week Tommy’s back at home, loaded up on throat lozenges and paracetamol to overcome a cold. So what better time to sit down and smash through some news stories.

In this edition we talk a little about about what to expect at this year’s AI and Games Conference, revisit some highlights from this week’s newsletter and dig deeper into the concerns of Japanese studios with GenAI and the Google Playground announcement.

This week’s newsletter can be found at:https://www.aiandgames.com/p/capcoms-new-ai-venture-gets-lost

For premium subscribers, the code for discounted tickets can be found at:https://www.aiandgames.com/p/fenris-creations-embark-warhorse

The AI and Games Podcast is presented by AWS for Games.

Follow us on Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube Music | YouTube | PocketCasts

All of our work including the AI and Games YouTube series, newsletter, and this here podcast is fan-funded by our community. You can support our work and get access to bonus content by visiting AIandGames.com.

Apologies for the sound quality: we’re still figuring out the new lapel mics, plus we recorded this outside and my voice is absolutely shot after the first three days of Gamescom week. By this point I had been on a panel, gave a talk, hosted a roundtable, had a bunch of meetings and also chatted away with loads of people into the wee hours of the morning down the Alter Markt in downtown Cologne. So yeah, not in the best conditions for recording a podcast!

The AI and Games Podcast is presented by AWS for Games.

Follow us on Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube Music | YouTube | PocketCasts

All of our work including the AI and Games YouTube series, newsletter, and this here podcast is fan-funded by our community. You can support our work and get access to bonus content by visiting AIandGames.com.

With Gamescom (Dev) now in the rear-view mirror, we have Tommy, Shraddha Gupta (AI and Games bizdev manager), Andrew Roper (Goal State programmer), and Duygu Çakmak (co-founder AI and Games Conference) sit down to talk about their week in Cologne. We talk about the mood and sentiment around AI at the Gamescom Dev developer conference, how Tommy and Duygu’s talks went at the event, the rising interest in code generation and agentic frameworks, trying to find time to play games at the trade show, and the all important industry gossip!

All that and we answer listener questions too!

The AI and Games Podcast is presented by AWS for Games.

Follow us on Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube Music | YouTube | PocketCasts

All of our work including the AI and Games YouTube series, newsletter, and this here podcast is fan-funded by our community. You can support our work and get access to bonus content by visiting AIandGames.com.

AI and Games is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

We’re joined on the AI and Games podcast by Andy Kelly, a former games journalist and now PR manager at Devolver Digital, who is largely famous for being that guy who bangs on about Alien: Isolation on social media more than we do! You might remember Andy as a voice in our Alien: Isolation retrospective on the AI and Games YouTube channel in 2025.

Andy sits down with Tommy to talk about ‘Perfect Organism: The Assembly Cut’, a new version of his unofficial companion book about Creative Assembly’s horror game. There’s a lot of interesting stuff to talk about in this episode, including:

* How Andy got screwed out of royalties from Unbound: the publisher of the original version of ‘Perfect Organism’

* How the conversation around Alien has changed since the original book launched in 2024.

* What to expect in the updated edition published by Lost in Cult.

* How the 10 year anniversary of the game provided more info for the book.

* Andy and Tommy muse about the recently released Alien: Isolation 2 trailer.

You can pre-order your copy of Perfect Organism: The Assembly Cut athttps://www.lostincult.co.uk/perfectorganism

You can find Andy Kelly over on Instagram and BlueSky:https://www.instagram.com/ultrabrilliant/https://bsky.app/profile/ultrabrilliant.xyz

Timestamps

* [00:00] Preshow Stinger

* [00:45] Intro

* [01:10] Welcome!

* [10:57] Andy's Alien Love Affair

* [15:12] The Perfect Organism

* [17:05] Why Update the Book?

* [23:21] Alien is back in the conversation.

* [25:32] Building an updated edition.

* [29:30] Sponsored by AWS

* [30:35] Revision or Expansion?

* [38:10] Still Nothing Really Like It

* [43:16] Alien: Isolation 2

* [57:26] Final Book Plug

* [59:03] Closing

AI and Games is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Welcome to the first edition of Below the Line on the AI and Games Podcast where Tommy jumps into the comment section of the AI and Games YouTube channel, and bring up some of the interesting conversations happening over there.

Be sure to check out our YouTube channel and leave your comments at:http://www.youtube.com/@aiandgames

The videos we talk about in this episode are:

AI 101 - Director AI: youtube.com/watch?v=Mnt5zxb8W0Y

AI and Games #85: Forza Horizon 6: youtube.com/watch?v=kTpYThv3L3k

AI and Games: COTA Explained: youtube.com/watch?v=LpXl0EPU8uY

The AI and Games Podcast is presented by AWS for Games.

Follow us on Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube Music | YouTube | PocketCasts

All of our work including the AI and Games YouTube series, newsletter, and this here podcast is fan-funded by our community. You can support our work and get access to bonus content by visiting AIandGames.com.

Since the AI and Games Podcast launched Tommy’s been out and about and busy attending games industry events. So we’re circling back to some of the big stories that have happened recently, including EA’s Generative AI adoption targets, Xbox continuing to burn brightly, EU AI Act, Stellar Blade’s K-Pop/K-Slop music video, and more.

Timestamps

[00:00] Preshow Stinger

[01:16] Welcome!

[06:42] Support AI and Games

[09:17] Catching up on my Backlog

[12:57] Pragmata

[20:03] MINOS

[26:33] Sponsored by AWS

[27:39] Headline Catch-Up

[28:14] Japan’s JOGA Report

[30:47] Shifting Policy on AI for UK and China

[32:11] Xbox is Burning

[39:37] EA’s GenAI “Adoption Targets”

[47:17] Stellar Blade’s AI-Generated K-Pop Video

[52:32] EU AI Act Transparency

[58:32] Introducing ‘Below the Line’

[01:01:41] Credits

Links and References

Pragmata on Steam:https://store.steampowered.com/app/3357650/PRAGMATA/

MINOS on Steam:https://store.steampowered.com/app/3181650/MINOS/

Our newsletter on EU AI Act transparency: https://www.aiandgames.com/p/what-does-the-eus-ai-transparency

Our newsletter covering many of the stories in this issue from last week: https://www.aiandgames.com/p/uk-and-chinas-shifting-ai-mandates

That weird Stellar Blade K-Pop music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ncuote9ADo

--The AI and Games Podcast is presented by AWS for Games.

Follow us on Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube Music | YouTube | PocketCasts

All of our work including the AI and Games YouTube series, newsletter, and this here podcast is fan-funded by our community. You can support our work and get access to bonus content by visiting AIandGames.com.

We welcome our first guest to the AI and Games podcast: Dr Michael Cook is a senior lecturer at King’s College London and has over a decade’s experiences as a researcher in procedural content generation and generative design for video games. Earlier this year he published ‘Next Level’, a book designed to be an introductory text for people new to PCG in games, and provides a fun and accessible entry point for people who don’t have a background in computer science to understand what’s happening.

Tommy sits down with Mike for a right good natter about the process of bringing ‘Next Level’ to life. From the challenges of introducing complex subject matter to a general audience, deciding on what topics to cover, and why you can’t talk about Dwarf Fortress without also bringing up Caves of Cud.

Catch Tommy’s review of ‘Next Level’ on the AI and Games newsletter:

https://www.aiandgames.com/p/next-level-a-warm-and-encouraging

The AI and Games Podcast is presented by AWS for Games.

Follow us on Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube Music | YouTube | PocketCasts

All of our work including the AI and Games YouTube series, newsletter, and this here podcast is fan-funded by our community. You can support our work and get access to bonus content by visiting AIandGames.com.

For the opening episode of our shiny new AI and Games Podcast - presented in association with AWS for Games - I wanted to give an overview on how and where AI exists within the video games industry.