The studio rebooting ZX Spectrum classic Manic Miner has confirmed it used generative AI on the game's announcement trailer, Film Stories reports. Munich-based BBG Entertainment, which is making the game with the approval of original 1983 designer Matthew Smith, unveiled it that week to a mixed response.
Retro fans picked apart the trailer: anime-style redrawn graphics, art upscaled from 1980s magazines, a grating synthetic voiceover and a "CRT filter" with a misshapen TV screen. Comments under the YouTube upload were switched off, though that did not stop enthusiasts complaining on social media, among them game preservationist Frank Cifaldi. Retro Gamer and Time Extension also flagged the AI use.
Asked by Film Stories, founder Stephan Berendsen confirmed it, saying the trailer was put together in a hurry for Gamescom and AI sped the job up.
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