Today Raises $5 Million for Web3 Game with AI NPCs

Today is a Web3 company developing a game similar to Animal Crossing, featuring NPCs driven by generative AI and digital commodities.

A Web3 company named “Today” is developing a game that aims to be similar to Animal Crossings but with nonplayer characters (NPCs) driven by generative artificial intelligence (AI) and digital commodities that players can buy and sell. The company has acquired $5 million in early funding to launch its ambitious project. 

The digital properties of the SIM are key to today’s central assumption. To build their very own island, players can find “seeds” of varied rarity. The island’s features, personalities, and things will vary in rarity depending on the seed.

An ongoing series of development films unveils a gaming universe reminiscent of the “cozy games” genre, with a scheduled release in early 2025. Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, and Sun Haven are games in this category that stand out for simulating real-life social interactions.

In most games, this is achieved by incorporating interesting nonplayer characters who are there to advance the plot and either help or hinder the player characters that are controlled by actual humans. Using scripted dialogue trees, these characters can mimic player speech.

The company’s stated goal of using generative AI technology to power its nonplayer characters is at issue here.

Anthropic’s Claude models and OpenAI’s ChatGPT are two examples of well-known generative AI techniques. On a wide variety of topics, these algorithms can provide engaging discourse. Supposedly, they could grant NPCs the ability to carry on an infinite dialogue. It should nevertheless be noted that even the most advanced generative AI systems occasionally produce answers that are illogical or contain incorrect information.

Today, co-founder Michael O’Connor recently spoke with GamesBeat about the team’s goal of making the game feel more realistic in terms of social dynamics:

“Social simulation games lack deep, realistic NPC interactions which limit player immersion and reduce relationships to superficial exchanges. We’re transforming expectations by replicating the nuances of real-life dynamics using advanced AI that gives our NPCs unparalleled depth and responsiveness.”

If executed effectively, this might provide players with an enjoyable experience that is neither too chaotic nor too repetitive, allowing them to escape the monotony of NPCs that have used up all their programmed lines.