Palworld is either plagiarism, AI generated OR both

Question

It's about a lot more than the guns.

Answer 1

PalWorld is a new game in it's beta-testing phase and aside from bugs and in game glitches it has a fair share of other issues as well. One of these issues being claims the developer, Pocket Pair, both ripped off the designs of Pokemon and used generative AI to create the game. While many of the pals may look eerily similar if not inspired by many of their Pokemon lookalikes there has been no proof that the studio has used generative AI. It doesn't seem like too many large or refutable sources are covering the story, but all the articles I've found seem to come to the same consensus that PalWorld shows no use of GenAI. Forbes put out an article on the topic and they state, "First, ripping off bits and pieces of Pokémon to assemble their “Pals,” but second, an often simultaneous accusation that Palworld developer Pocket Pair has used GenAI in the game. The actual, hard evidence that this has happened, however, does not exist as of yet." www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/. Another article posted by TheGamer.com says, "First off, we have zero concrete proof that Palworld is made by AI. Its credits lists several human character designers and while they do bear a lot of similarities to Pokemon, so do many other games."www.thegamer.com/palworld-plagiarism-ai-pokemon/. One of the reasons many people might believe PalWorld is an AI made game is because the developer in an interview claimed to be a big fan of AI, and has used AI for other projects. While PalWorld may not use AI Pocket Pair as a company likely is pro AI due to multiple pro AI tweets by its founder. PalWorld is not an AI made game however its creator is pro AI so I could see how it would be believable.

Comments

I appreciate the pulling of quotes from the evidence. That just makes your thought process a lot more clear. Also the first quote included from Forbes really just debunks the AI claim entirely. Great choice of evidence.

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I really like the distinction in this fact check between USING AI and LIKING AI when it came to the developers. Forbes is a very reputable source for media like this so using quotes as an argument shuts down the claim as a whole.

Answer 2

It seems that a large amount of the characters in Palworld look similar to characters in Pokemon. When looking at the characters, it becomes clear that there was a least some inspiration drawn from the characters in Pokemon. It hasn't been made clear whether that it is grounds or not for plagiarism, and there hasn't been any legal action taken yet. But as far as generative AI, Palworld has none. There are apparently no traces of generative AI in Palworld, according to Does Palworld Use Generative AI Art? Explaining the Controversy (afkgaming.com). 

Comments

This is a good fact-check and I agree with your conclusion. I like that you included a source to address if Palworld uses generative AI. I question the credibility of the source though. What makes this website a reliable source?

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I stand by your conclusion that Palworld characters are inspired by Pokemon. I also believe that there is no generative AI, but the art style is still being replicated. No legal action has been taken yet, and I don't think any should be taken.  Pokemon fans are able to experience something similar with enough of a twist to make it completely different.

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Nowadays, it is difficult for games to constitute plagiarism. There has never been a fixed standard to judge whether it is plagiarism. Even in our opinion, Palworld and Pokémon (Zelda, ARK) have many similar gameplay or designs. Palworld's approach caused a lot of controversy, and even the founder of Palworld received many death threats from Nintendo fans. On the other hand, PC players really like to experience Pokémon-like gameplay on their computers.

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I think the claim that Palworld uses AI generative art is possibly a responses to the increase of ai art in more media. It seems to be used as a buzzword for shock in order to increase views or attention on a subject. There was a use of ai art in the background of a Netflix short film called "The Dog & The Boy," a while back which stirred up a lot of attention for the short which may have not seen as much attention.
Source: https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvmqkv/netflix-anime-dog-and-the-boy-ai-generated-art

Answer 3

This claim is false because Nintendo has been trying endlessly to say that the game is such, but have failed at every attempt. Pal World falls under fair use, which protects it from Nintendo's lawsuits, and because all attempts of suing have failed, it safe to say that Pal World is not a product of plagiarism. As for the AI claims, the article linked above uses a single Twitter post as evidence, which is no where near a trustworthy source, making this claim also not true.

Comments

Your answer here makes sense to why Palworld is neither plagiarism or AI generated, but you don't have much evidence to back it up. Where are your sources? You could've done a little more extensive research to come to this conclusion.

Answer 4

The claim here is that Palworld, a recently opened game in its beta-testing stage, used GenAI to create some of its assets and that another portion of its assets were stolen from the popular video game series Pokemon. As far as I am able to tell, this is a false claim, as there has been no conclusive legal action to find Palworld liable for plagiarism of Nintendo copyright, and there exists no conclusive evidence to support the claim that GenAI was used in creation of any of Palworld's assets. Forbes, a generally reputable technology and videogame news site, spoke some about a policy of Steam (the platform on which Palworld runs) where AI generated content must be declared. This is a relatively decent method of determining that this claim is false, as it is tricky to sneak content past Steam's regulations.

The Forbes article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2024/01/22/palworld-accused-of-using-genai-with-no-evidence-so-far/?sh=352ece684239

Comments

I like your answer but I am curious why you only used Forbes. They are not the most reliable source, especially for tech news. When I googled this issue they were the first to result on google. Generally, their audience is older so the tech news is not as good. Here is a better source https://www.wired.com/story/palworld-pokemon-with-guns-steam-success/

Answer 5

The article claims that Pocket Pair's new game, Palworld, used generative AI to construct their new game-- infringing on the intellectual property of Nintendo and their Pokemon.

The CEO of Pocket Pair, Takuro Mizobe, posted tweets in 2022 expressing fascination around the possibilities of AI in gaming development. A recent game released by Pocket Pair, AI: Art Imposter, contained Gen AI system. Given the company's history of interest in AI and AI implementation in a recent game, many people believe that AI has also been utilized in the new Palworld.

At present moment, there has been no legal action taken, or enough information available to the public at present to confirm the use of AI in the Palworld game. While the images between Palworld characters and Pokemon are strikingly similar, right now the use of AI is not confirmed and is speculatory/opinionated in nature.