Oasis is an AI game simulator developed by Israeli AI company startup Decart in collaboration with Etched. This company produces custom chips that use hardware optimized to power transformer-based AI algorithms.

At first glance, Oasis looks like Minecraft, and one would probably assume that it works similarly to or just like Minecraft. However, Oasis does not use a game engine. Instead, it uses an AI model similar to those used for large language processing, except that Oasis AI was trained on endless examples of players playing Minecraft.

As Oasis is not a game (yet) that uses a game engine programmed to respond to the inputs of the gamer, there is no game map. Instead, Oasis generates the (so-called) Minecraft environment in real-time in response to the player's movements and actions (inputs). Because the frames are generated based on what the AI calculates with respect to what the player does, the game environment continually changes and morphs. The player ends up seeing what can only be termed as hallucinatory game madness as the morphs don't make sense and get weirder with bizarre effects, from disfigured livestock to stairs that go nowhere.

Beyond Gaming Conventions

As a game, Oasis is one giant reality of massive confusion because, as gamers, we are used to traversing game environments that present an alternate reality where we must achieve specific goals. The environment is there, and we must react and adjust to it in order to achieve our objectives. If obstacles are in our way, we must find means and ways to overcome them. Climbing, jumping over, and crawling under are just a few actions we may take to do just that. With Oasis, it's the reverse. The AI reacts to the player through movement, actions (clicking on items, objects, inventory, etc.), and decision-making.

As the AI was trained to predict what, where, or when a Minecraft player wants to get something or go somewhere, Oasis then interpolates and generates the appropriate environment. The AI game simulator is still in the testing stage and needs more input and data to learn. Current users (testers) continue to try to get the AI to generate more bizarre hallucinations, so to speak. It is best to remember when one tries out the simulation that it is not Minecraft, and it is not a game in the conventional sense. It is an AI that simply responds to the user in a way it knows best.

The Potential Future For Gaming

The ever-changing environment's bizarre hallucinatory weirdness can be viewed as a test run on the AI's performance and responses. The underlying reason for Oasis is to tap into the potential of generative AI in game development and design. In today's timeline, this may still be very early in its infancy. Still, one can imagine the near future of video games where completely AI-driven NPCs react and interact flawlessly with a human player.

The NPC would react to the player in a more realistic fashion compared to the programmed robotic game NPCs we have today. Using AI will dispense the need to store a gazillion pre-programmed responses just so the NPC sounds human.

For now, Minecraft Oasis is a peek into the future of AI-driven video games and should be enjoyed as such. As a conventional game, it will make no sense except probably as an exciting experience and even a form of horror gaming with an ever-changing landscape in the most psychedelic ways.

Regardless, the continual development of AI-generated video gaming will, in time, present solid results that will usher in a new generation of unique and immersive video games. Meanwhile, one can always visit Builders Fans for more on current and conventional building and open-world gaming today.