In conversation with Natasha Montagu, Senior Solutions Architect, iMerit
The online video gaming industry is thriving at a great pace as the player base multiplies across different gaming formats. One of the reasons for the growth of the online video gaming industry is user experience which is backed by technologies like AI, ML and Data Annotation.
AI, ML and Data Annotation usually play a behind the scene role to build sophisticated systems that fine-tune content moderation models on contextual nuances.
To understand more about how AI, ML, and Data Annotation are shaping the online video gaming industry, The Gaming Reporter had an exclusive conversation with Natasha Montagu, Senior Solutions Architect, iMerit
The Gaming Reporter: The online gaming industry has flourished with the emergence of AI models. What changes have you witnessed in the video gaming industry over the recent years?
Natasha Montagu: The video game industry has seen some magnificent growth over the past few years, which is especially true when it comes to online gaming, which has become ubiquitous. As the online and mobile player base expands, we’re seeing some interesting trends, when it comes to AI. Savvy video game studios are using AI not only in gameplay mechanics, but also in managing the overall player experience as they interact with the game and other players.
Community is an important part of the gamer experience. Studios are using AI tools to monitor how players interact with one another within the community, flag problematic behavior, and even monitor player comments and feedback, that can be used to fix issues and make gameplay smoother or matchmaking more balanced.
Experience is more important than ever for gamers, and game studios have more technology at their disposal than ever before to ensure that players can maximize their enjoyment and stay engaged.
The Gaming Reporter: How can data annotation be used to create an immersive experience in the online video gaming industry?
Natasha Montagu: Data annotation is the process of labeling and organizing data in a way where it can be used to train AI models. Before an AI model is ready for a production environment,it must be trained and verified by human experts that essentially teach it how to behave under certain circumstances. That means a human is monitoring and flagging activity that happens within data generated in the game environment. When done correctly and enough times, the AI model learns how to flag certain activities and make decisions on how to act without the help of the human annotators. This entire process is the backbone of creating AI-driven systems that keep players safer, drive community engagement, and limit poor behavior by bad actors within the gaming environment.
The Gaming Reporter: The traffic on the internet has increased which has critically impacted the type of content in the video gaming industry. How can a data intelligence solution help video game industry creators build more effective AI-based content moderation and community management systems?
Natasha Montagu: There are many ways in which data intelligence can inform AI in gaming. Data intelligence informs many of the most important activities that game studios are using to ensure a more complete experience for players.
Here are a few:
Automated Speech Recognition (ASR) for content moderation is a popular way that studios are using to protect their communities. Many studios use ASR models to conduct sentiment analysis and improve both safety and player experience.
Natural Language Processing (NLP) models and chatbots can monitor player communication via text and flag and remove problematic content or engage with players to resolve issues. Savvy studios are also implementing AI to profile users and flag behavior that could prove problematic, whether that be cheating, harassment, or other unsavory activities.
The Gaming Reporter: How has data become an unignorable aspect of the online video gaming industry?
Natasha Montagu: Every video game developer in the world knows that data is the key to success. The ability to collect, analyze, organize, and use player data helps developers create new and better gameplay features, enable community engagement, fix in-game functionality that may not be working for the player base, and to create better systems that create safer environments for players. AI is being used to drive most of this, and quality data is essential in ensuring that an AI system will do what it’s supposed to.
The Gaming Reporter: What role does iMerit play in amplifying the user experience of games in the online video gaming industry?
Natasha Montagu: iMerit works with video game developers to make their AI-driven player experience systems more effective. Much of the work that iMerit does in this regard is behind the scenes. We help video game publishers manage and label their data to meet the parameters of what they need. This could mean helping to flag offensive or threatening language. It could mean conducting sentiment analysis to get real-time feedback on what is happening within the game experience. Without proper data annotation, the AI systems that ensure this type of functionality are ineffective and our video game studio customers find us to be an invaluable resource and partner in their AI development efforts.
The Gaming Reporter: Please highlight some AI trends that are ruling the online video gaming industry.
Natasha Montagu: AI is having a massive impact on the business of video games. As more players flock to online gaming, studios have to ensure that they can create secure, safe environments that welcome players and encourage positive and fun interactions. AI is playing a big part in the development of new innovations that do this. Take a look at a few that don’t have anything to do with gameplay AI mechanics. AI powered cheating detection is a massive development, especially for competitive online gaming. With the ability to detect and prevent cheating in real time, game studios can protect the game experience for more players and ensure competitive balance. Predictive analytics are helping studios forecast trends and behavior. This can lead to better work in future games, as studios are better equipped to anticipate players’ wants and needs. Player behavior analysis can analyze player behavior to identify patterns and preferences and enable studios to make updates faster. This is especially important for titles that have shorter development cycles or seasonal updates because it can help keep the experience fresh and new.
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