AI art's ongoing spread into the board game industry over the last two years has been met by dismay, anger and fear by artists and illustrators working in the space. Many are concerned not only that the technology is built on artwork that has been stolen from them, but that their very livelihoods are at stake if publishers choose to make use of fast and cheap AI-generated images instead of hiring human artists.
BoardGameWire approached a host of tabletop game artists for their views on the technology in the wake of Wise Wizard Games becoming the latest well-known board game publisher to begin using AI generated images in its projects. One of the most powerful and heartfelt replies came from Kyle Ferrin, whose singular work across games such as Root, Arcs and Oath has become one of the most recognisable styles in board game art.
Leder Games, the publisher of acclaimed strategy board games including Root and Arcs, is in talks over a video game set in the universe of one of its titles, less than two weeks after putting out a call on Twitter for ideas about getting its designs into other types of media.
Root and John Company designer Cole Wehrle has been nominated for the long-running Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming, for "some of the finest work that’s ever been done in board game design".
Plans are afoot for a movie based on woodland warfare board game Root, BoardGameWire can reveal - but the process is on hold amid the mass walk-out of Writers Guild of America members this week.
Star Realms maker Wise Wizard Games has become the latest well-known board game publisher to begin using AI generated images in its projects, despite widespread criticism from artists that the technology is built upon stolen work.
Veteran French board game publisher Matagot is pulling out of publishing heavier games such as Kemet and Inis, instead focusing the company's future on the family, beginner and children's games market.
US retailer Barnes & Noble has begun including the names of the designers of board games it sells through its online store after a successful approach by the recently-launched Tabletop Game Designers Association.
Crafting a game system so compelling that other designers want to create their own games using it is a rare beast in board gaming. Veteran wargame designer Volko Ruhnke has managed it twice - first with the COIN series, which saw its asymmetric counterinsurgency design influence games including Root, and his Levy and Campaign series, which currently runs to nine volumes of designs by various creators. The former CIA intelligence analyst spoke to BoardGameWire about his continuing drive towards accessibility with new design Hunt for Blackbeard, which is on Kickstarter now, how he's solving the hidden movement mechanics conundrum, and which games have been influencing his own design processes in recent years.
Paper Fort Games, a small UK board game design studio with a single game under its belt, could hardly have been more ambitious when it approached video game developer Re-logic with the pitch for its second game - adapting Terraria, one of the biggest-selling video games of all time, to the tabletop.
