A new subscription service promises an evolving collection of 'bold and bizarre' indie games
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What's this about?
Publisher Pantaloon says the Playbill won't feature games that use generative AI in any way.
The one-panel cartoon
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A cluttered home office with a desk piled with indie game controllers, VR headsets, and screens displaying glitch art; a person in a hoodie holding a letter-sized envelope marked 'Pantaloon Playbill Subscription' with a puzzled expression
Caption: Your games are too bizarre for our bizarre game collection.
Read the full 3-panel strip
Based on the original story on engadget.com.
Editor's note
This subscription service sounds like a breath of fresh air for gamers who crave unique and unconventional experiences. By excluding generative AI, Pantaloon ensures that each game is a carefully crafted work of art, rather than a product of automated processes, which is reassuring for those of us who value human creativity and craftsmanship.
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Panel 1
(a) The subject is a new subscription service called Playbill, which promises an evolving collection of indie games that are The service is notable for explicitly excluding games that use generative AI. (b) The irony lies in the fact that the service is embracing unique and unconventional games while explicitly banning the use of one of the most innovative and cutting-edge technologies in gaming today: generative AI. (c) The highlight is a dry, deadpan observation that contrasts the innovative nature of indie games with the service's decision to exclude generative AI, highlighting the apparent contradiction.
Narrator: bold and bizarre.
Panel 2
*A small, cluttered office filled with indie game posters and a coffee mug with a logo. A laptop screen shows the Playbill homepage with the tagline An employee, a bearded game developer, sits at the desk, typing away.*
Narrator: Game Dev
Narrator: Bold and Bizarre Indie Games.
Panel 3
*The same office. The developer is now holding a thick document, reading with a furrowed brow. The document has a title that reads A stack of indie game CDs and thumb drives sits next to him.* Developer (mumbles)
Narrator: Playbill's AI Policy.
Developer: I can't believe they won't let us use generative AI... that's like prohibiting rocket engines on a spaceship.
Panel 4
*The office now has a large poster of a bold and bizarre indie game featuring a surreal, glitchy landscape. The developer looks out the window, sighing, with a bemused expression.* Developer (to himself)
Developer: Guess we'll stick to making the 'bizarre' the old-fashioned way.
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