A month ago, Deadlock promised that it will revamp its matchmaking system, and apparently, a developer working on Valve's upcoming MOBA-hero shooter found the perfect algorithm to use, thanks to a conversation with the AI chatbot ChatGPT.
Deadlock's New Matchmaking Found Using ChatGPT
Deadlock's MMR Matchmaking Criticized by Fans
The new matchmaking algorithm used for Valve's upcoming MOBA-hero shooter game, Deadlock, was discovered through ChatGPT—the generative AI chatbot developed by OpenAI—as revealed by Valve engineer Fletcher Dunn through a recent series of posts on Twitter (X). "A few days ago we switched Deadlock's matchmaking hero selection to the Hungarian algorithm. I found it using ChatGPT," Dunn shared along with screenshots of his conversation with the chatbot, wherein ChatGPT recommended an algorithm, called the Hungarian algorithm, to use for Deadlock.
A quick search on the Deadlock reddit will land you on players' negative criticism of the game's past MMR matchmaking system. "I have noticed that the more games i've beein playing, naturally i get harder games with better enemies. But i never had better/ equally skilled teamates," one player shared, with other players expressing their own disappointments over the matchmaking. Another wrote, " I know it's alpha but at the very least looking at how many games people have played would be nice, it felt both games like every one on my team was in their first/second game vs people who actually know what they are doing. Feels pretty bad."
- (c) r/DeadlockTheGame
The Deadlock team was swift to act following the criticism it received from its playerbase. Last month, a Deadlock dev wrote to fans on the game's Discord server, saying, "the hero based mmr one doesn't work very well [at the moment]. It'll be more effective once we finish a full rewrite of the [matchmaking] system we are working on." Per Dunn, they were able to find the most apt algorithm for the matchmaking, with the help of Generative AI.
"ChatGPT has achieved an important milestone in its level of usefulness for me: I have a tab in chrome that is reserved for it, always open," Dunn shared in a separate tweet (xeet). The Valve engineer does not shy away from making use of the utility that ChatGPT has offered him, expressing more recently that he's "gonna keep posting my ChatGPT wins, because this thing keeps blowing my mind, and I think there are some skeptics who don't get how amazing this tool is."
While Dunn celebrated this milestone he had achieved, he also acknowledged that the ease and speed that comes with using generative AI come with both bad and good. "I am kindof conflicted because it is often replacing asking the question to another human IRL, or at least tweeting it out to the virtual braintrust.I guess this is good (the whole point?), but it's just another way for computers to replace human interaction," he shared. Meanwhile, one social media user shared their thoughts in reply, saying, "I think the skepticism comes from the narrative some corporate people trying to push AI is going to replace programmers."
Algorithms help sort sets of data based on a set of parameters, rules, instructions, and/or conditions. This is most commonly illustrated when you look something up on Google, and the search engine returns pages of search results based on what you've typed out in the search box. The way this algorithm could work in a gaming situation, wherein there are maybe at least two parties involved (for example, A and B), is that it only takes into account A's preferences and helps A match with the most suited teammates and/or against enemies. As with Dunn, he had asked ChatGPT to find the most apt algorithm "where only one side has any preferences," that can solve certain problems, and find the most optimal or suiting "match" in a bipartite—meaning, involving two parties—matching setup.
Still, enclaves of fans remain dissatisfied and visibly angry with Deadlock's performance. "That explains why there has been a sudden increase of complaints about the matchmaking. It has been awful lately. All thanks to you f*cking around on chatGPT," one fan wrote in reply to Dunn's recent tweet, with another telling him to "Go work instead of publishing screenshot of chatGPT on Twitter you f*cking disgrace, milionare company can't fix a beta game in 1 year."
Meanwhile, we over here at Game8 think that Valve is cooking up something amazing with the upcoming release of Deadlock. You can read more about our thoughts on the game and experience with its playtest in the article at the link below!
Steam Sets Rules on AI Use in Games
Earlier in January, Steam revised its guidelines on AI content on its platforms, directing developers to describe and disclose how they use AI "in the development and execution" of their game. Steam separates AI usage into two general categories:
⚫︎ Pre-Generated: Any kind of content (art/code/sound/etc) created with the help of AI tools during development.
⚫︎ Live-Generated: Any kind of content created with the help of AI tools while the game is running.
Valve, owner of the Steam platform, uses the AI usage disclosure in their review of the game prior to it releasing. "We will also include much of your disclosure on the Steam store page for your game, so customers can also understand how the game uses AI," Valve stated in its revised guidelines. It seems as though Deadlock's usage falls into the Pre-Generated category, though this is not confirmed. Currently, Deadlock's Steam page does not explicitly describe AI usage, though it leaves a notice that reads: "Deadlock is in early development with lots of temporary art and experimental gameplay. Access is currently limited to friend invite via our playtesters." There may be clearer descriptions of AI usage in Deadlock on its Steam page as the game transitions more into "release" status as it is, as mentioned, still in early development with circumvented access.
Adding to his commentary on ChatGPT and generative AI, Dunn wrote in an older tweet about some of his concerns surrounding the tech, saying that "with ChatGPT there will be the additional challenge that, as 'bad' content increases, access to 'good' content will be shrinking due to legal / copyright challenges."
Dunn's worries aren't entirely unfounded as OpenAI is reportedly removing control of its operation from its non-profit board, as part of a broader plan to turn OpenAI into a for-profit benefit corporation. As reported by Reuters, the restructuring "could also have implications for how the company manages AI risks in a new governance structure." This could mean that certain guidelines may be enacted that could potentially affect games using AI content such as those owned by the company.
Source:
PC Gamer: A Valve engineer used ChatGPT to find a new matchmaking algorithm for Deadlock, and now it's in the game
The Verge: Valve opens the door to more Steam games developed with AI
Reuters Exclusive: OpenAI to remove non-profit control and give Sam Altman equity
Steam: AI Content on Steam
r/DeadlockTheGame 1, 2
