The Beiruter

Imagine booting up your favorite game and learning that the world, characters and story were all designed by AI. Welcome to the new era of game development.

In the last few months, artificial intelligence has gone from a futuristic idea to an everyday tool in the gaming industry. From generating lifelike characters to building entire 3D environments in seconds, AI is rapidly changing how games are created and who gets to create them.

But is this a game-changer or a game-ender?
In this weekly round-up of the gaming industry, I will tell you the latest talk of the town in terms of games and game design. Today, let’s take a closer look not at what AI can do for you, but at what you can do with AI.

Your new co-designer

AI tools like Scenario, Leonardo AI and Unity Muse are giving developers superpowers. Not that they didn’t have them before, but this is a whole new level. 

Want to create a medieval village with low-poly aesthetics in 15 minutes instead of 3 days? Done. 

Need unique enemies for each level? Just describe them and let the AI generate the models and behaviors.

Even Unreal Engine, the powerhouse behind Fortnite, now allows one to prompt a virtual assistant to build levels, animate characters, or test gameplay mechanics. No deep coding needed.

This doesn’t just make development faster; it opens the doors for new creators, especially from regions like ours, where resources are limited.

When AI thinks like a player

But AI isn’t just building assets. It's learning to think like a gamer.

New AI systems can study how players interact with a game and dynamically adjust challenges, offer tips, or even create personalized storylines. Imagine a horror game that knows exactly when you're about to feel safe and uses that moment to scare you.

This shift can help Arab game creators finally compete globally without needing huge teams or massive funding. If anything, now it’s the moment to seize that opportunity!

This level of real-time responsiveness has huge implications not just for fun, but also for education, mental health, and training simulations.

What this means for Lebanon and the region

Here’s the truth: We’ve always had creativity in this region. What we lacked were tools, access, and support. AI can now shrink the gap between an idea and a playable prototype.

I know indie developers in Lebanon using AI to create full vertical slices of games in days instead of months. One team in Tripoli is prototyping a historical game set in ancient Phoenicia using AI for world-building. Another group in Beirut is experimenting with AI-generated voiceovers for local storytelling games.

This shift can help Arab game creators finally compete globally without needing huge teams or massive funding. If anything, now it’s the moment to seize that opportunity!

Will AI replace human designers?

Let’s be honest: AI is not perfect. It still makes mistakes, lacks emotional depth, and depends heavily on human input. The best games are not just technically impressive; they are emotionally resonant, culturally grounded, and full of unexpected magic.

AI is a tool. A powerful one. But the heart of the game, the message, the emotion, the reason it matters still comes from us.

AI frees us to focus on what really matters – on ideas, impact, and storytelling.

So no, AI won’t replace game designers. But it will replace the ones who refuse to adapt.

Reine’s reality check

I started working on games two decades ago. Back then, just building a 2D sprite took many hours. Today, with AI, I can prototype a full scene with lighting, dialogue, and action in one afternoon.

But here’s the real trick: AI frees us to focus on what really matters – on ideas, impact, and storytelling.

This is a golden opportunity for Lebanon’s creators. If we act now, learn these tools, and apply them to our stories, our problems, and our audiences, we could lead, not follow.

Pixel quick bits

Game of the Week: Still Wakes the Deep. It’s a haunting narrative thriller where every choice matters. A psychological horror video game developed by The Chinese Room and published by Secret Mode. The story follows an electrician trapped on a damaged oil drilling platform in the North Sea in the 1970s, having no way to escape while being pursued by mysterious monsters under harsh weather conditions. It’s a first-person perspective, but not a shooter. It does not feature any combat system, and players must rely on stealth and solving simple puzzles to survive.

Tool to Try: Scenario.gg.  Generate game assets with your style. No coding needed.

Quote of the Week:

“AI will not take your job. But someone using AI probably will.” Adapted from futurist Gerd Leonhard.

Next week, I’ll dive into something closer to home: “How Arab Indie Devs Are Breaking Through on Roblox,” a look at the surprising success of Arab creators on one of the world’s biggest game platforms.

Until then, keep creating, keep questioning and never press pause on your imagination.