House House clarifies use of AI tools in Big Walk's "final stage of development"
House House disclosed minimal AI tool use in Big Walk’s final development phase after IGF jurors pledged to reject AI-developed games, estimating AI contributed under 0.1% of code.
Australian indie studio House House issued a statement clarifying its limited use of generative AI tools during the final development stage of Big Walk, addressing technical challenges and bugs. The disclosure followed a group of 2027 IGF jurors announcing they would not vote for any game developed with generative AI, citing a significant rise in AI-assisted submissions. House House emphasized its use was restricted to resolving specific technical issues, including a performance problem during sunrise and sunset rendering.
The studio explained it used large language models (LLMs) to research third-party code issues, with snippets copied as starting points for modifications. House House estimated that well under 0.1% of Big Walk’s code involved AI-generated content, and no other AI tools were used in development. The fix for a Unity URP performance issue amounted to approximately 10 lines of code, derived from an LLM suggestion after extensive research failed to yield a solution.
House House noted it had not disclosed this information on Steam, as the platform does not require reporting AI or chatbot usage. The studio chose to make the disclosure publicly due to growing interest in AI’s role in game development. The developer stressed this was not an endorsement of AI tools but a response to public scrutiny following the IGF jurors’ policy.
The studio acknowledged the absence of an internal AI usage policy during Big Walk’s development as a failure and committed to implementing a more comprehensive policy moving forward. House House expressed support for efforts to mitigate harm caused by generative AI in video games and apologized if its minimal use did not align with those standards.