The recent arrival of Chapter 7 of Fortnite, which was anticipated as a moment of celebration for the community, has been overshadowed by a growing controversy. Fans have accused Epic Games of using generative artificial intelligence to create some of the images featured in the video game, leading to protests within the gaming ecosystem.
An artist accused of not doing their job
The trigger for this controversy was the presentation of an anime-style spray depicting Marty McFly, the iconic character from Back to the Future. Several players noticed similarities with AI-generated imitations of Studio Ghibli and pointed out inconsistencies in the representation of certain objects, such as watches with a blurred finish. These findings have fueled suspicion that some of the images may have been generated by algorithms rather than crafted by human artists.
Under community pressure, Sean Dove, the artist behind the illustration of Marty McFly, publicly defended himself. He shared a video showing his work process, presenting the image in layers to demonstrate that the work is original and not the result of AI. However, Dove admitted that he might have used AI-generated images for some elements, which, according to him, contributed to the confusion about the quality of certain details, such as the watches.
Additionally, players have pointed out other images within the game that seem to have the ‘blurry finish’ typically associated with generative AI. One of the most notable examples is the representation of a yeti that, according to players, exhibits anatomical anomalies, which has increased suspicion of misuse of automatic generation technology in the creation of the game’s art.
