Darkest Dungeon refuses to use Gen AI to recreate the voices of later narrators.

Darkest Dungeon developer Red Hook revealed in a recent discussion that it has no intention of using generative artificial intelligence (thanks, Rock Paper Shotgun) to recreate the iconic voice of the game's late narrator, Wayne June.

Red Hook will never attempt to replace Wayne June's human performance.

Darkest Dungeon 2 is a burning academic gothic building.

“In one of his last emails to me, Wayne gave us permission to train the AI with his voice, something he was steadfastly opposed to before the end. We never asked for it. I think he was trying to put the game/team/fans first and offered us a 'way forward'. I declined and we donated to his family anyway,” co-founder and creative director Chris Bourassa said in a Reddit comment. “I will never erode his amazing, timeless playing by teaching a machine to sound like him. His voice and expression were human, and I am forever grateful to have been able to write for him.”

The user responded to Bourassa, speculating that if the fictional Darkest Dungeon 3's narrator performed worse than June, the decision not to use her voice to train the AI model might have been a mistake, to which Bourassa responded:

“You can't make decisions based on fear. The right choice we can make at this moment is to avoid AI and preserve Wayne's legacy. Comparing hypothetical outcomes will drive you crazy, or worse, paralyze you in the present.”

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Troy Baker believes that AI should not be demonized as it can have good implications for real-world experiences.

Troy Baker believes Gen-AI could unintentionally benefit real-world experiences.

I have always believed that using technology to resurrect deceased performers is disgusting and inhumane. Even if express permission was given by the deceased or the estate. Often performers who lose control of their heritage for the purpose of profiting for a private company are very manipulative, even if their intentions are pure.

Over the past few years, we've seen technology used to 'resurrect' deceased actors such as Carrie Fisher and Val Kilmer. While there's an argument to be made that these actors are honoring their legacies by including them in their respective 'final' films, the idea of a company profiting from someone after their death is decidedly dystopian.

Life is finite. We should enjoy the works of our creators while they live and let them go when they are no longer of this world.