Weird AI disclosure:

store.steampowered.com/…/Rideshare_Stimulator/

AI Generated Content Disclosure:
The main Campaign story, characters, and dialogue are written by a team of human writers.

Why would you put in things that specifically are not AI in an AI disclosure?
Is that normal?

maybe because it’s not true, at least if what the ex-head writer said on bsky is to be believed.

It reeks of dishonesty. Very clearly they used AI, just not VERY SPECIFICALLY for the thing they were accused of firing a person over?

They’ve said they’re working on an “infinite” slop mode where the conversations are AI-generated.

They used to have no AI disclosure, and people had to learn about them using AI through that disgruntled writer’s story.

So now given the very mature CEO answer, I’m assuming they’re butthurt that some people want to know about their AI use, and they’re using the disclosure to claim that part of their game is not AI instead.

Also your comment made me briefly wonder why someone got Weird Al’s comment on the subject, and it was a bit funny.

Yes Weird Al Yankovic is now commenting on AI in computer games? 🤣
I hate stupid fonts where different letters look identical, but I can’t seem to get rid of them!? 😡

That CEO seems very shady IMO, I read his response previously, and it was just so obviously off. I think he is genuinely a sociopath with an inability to interact with people in a normal way, because he simply can’t tell the difference.
I also notice you call him “very mature”, so I think you may have had a similar vibe.

Glad I blocked them on Steam. The odds of me actually buying one of their games anyway was fairly low until a couple of days ago. Now it’s zero.

I read the article just to confirm this wasn’t a The Onion article. I understand there are games that simulate work like farming and even powerwashing. Even though I don’t play those, I can mildly see the appeal as you’re creating something (farming) or making something better than it was before (powerwashing). However, I see zero appeal for a game that simulates gig work like ridesharing. Can someone explain it to me, or have I reach a pivotal “too old” moment in my life?

Crazy Taxi.

Crazy Taxi (and Simpsons: Road Rage") were largely about driving poorly, crashing into things, and performing automobile jumps that would be considered suicidal if done for real. It was a fantasy driving game with the taxi business as the thinnest excuse to be driving. Unless I’ve drastically mistaken what Rideshare Simulator is, I don’t think Crazy Taxi example is applicable.

Fifteen years before Crazy Taxi, we had Space Taxi for the Commodore 64:

I’d say Space Taxi and Crazy Taxi had equal amounts of relevance to the taxi industry in the sense that they were an excuse to fly/drive in fantasy settings instead of an actual business simulator.

Fair enough. I admit, as someone who can't drive IRL, I like things like Slow Roads too, or other driving sims that are generally not fantasy - just 'cozy' experiences.

I wouldn't necessarily mind a ride-sharing or road trip simulator with decent dialogue or something like procedural generation for the passengers. But it's also something I would never pay money toward.

Fair enough. I admit, as someone who can’t drive IRL, I like things like Slow Roads too, or other driving sims that are generally not fantasy - just ‘cozy’ experiences.

When I was forming my original question, I did consider an audience this might appeal to for those that couldn’t drive (for whatever reason). I appreciate you sharing your POV on this.

I always considered Rideshare driving as the opposite of relaxing because of the physical dangers to drivers as well as the stress the drivers have from trying to make their money against rising fuel costs, insurance costs, and competion from platforms forcing down fare rates. Perhaps the Rideshare game masks all of these elements of the actual rideshare business and simply presents it as a task/goal game with a social aspect which would be far more appealing.