Missing an adorable pet in your life? While Niantic’s Peridot might have been the perfect way to fill that gap, things in its whimsical world are set to get more life-like, thanks to generative AI.
The popular real-world pet game based on augmented reality is set to receive a generative AI update and it’s expected to make the Dots more realistic than ever, Niantic announced on Nov. 15 via a short trailer on YouTube.
With this change, Peridot’s pets will be able to recognize and react to real-world objects in a “greater capacity,” much like a real dog, cat, or bunny would. “The update represents the first application of generative AI in an augmented reality game at scale,” Niantic said, in a press release. “AI will be critical for making digital characters come to life in AR and driving long-term engagement in games.”
Considering how popular the genre has become over the past few years, Niantic’s Peridot is nothing less than a benchmark in the virtual pet sim scene. Now, with the magic of generative AI, Peridot will be a boon for those who can’t experience the joy of pets in real life but don’t like the predictability of the usual virtual pet games either.
The Dots won’t just be more reactive; they’ll also adopt more “unexpected, surprising, and delightful ways” to keep you guessing. Say you have a dog and it sees a rabbit in your garden. You might expect the dog to chase around a rabbit, but some pups are highly affectionate towards other animals. So, it’s difficult to correctly guess how your dog would react. Peridot is embracing the same amount of suspense in its mechanics, so the Dots will react to real-world objects unpredictably, giving you the exact thrill of owning a pet in real life.
With Niantic taking the first step toward applying generative AI to make its first fully AR game more life-like, it looks like the adorable genre is getting the love it deserves.
