RayBenefield

??? stay tuned...

🛠️ Former Creative Tools Designer for @FNCreate @EpicGames

[RayBenefield @RayBenefield]

Day 8 of UI/UX Skills

Learned a lot by adding this frame. Lots of little lighting and shaping tricks. I started to freehand without the tutorial near the end to start creating the effect I wanted. Really starting to feel the understanding. 😊😊😊

Open for Verse/UI work

[RayBenefield @RayBenefield]

Day 7 of UI/UX Skills

Going through tutorials to build my knowledge base. The goal isn't custom quality yet, it's committing time and building knowledge. Using AI just for asking questions.

Invest in your own skills, with AI for assistance.

This is a Candy Crush button 😊😊😊

[RayBenefield @RayBenefield]

@TimSweeneyEpic It's a shame too, cuz I'm one of those loved by some. Thief was a remarkable game that shaped me as a designer. It's a shame it wasn't economically viable. 😭😭😭

[RayBenefield @RayBenefield]

I agree with this to an extent. I think another large part is the survivability. AI is a POWERFUL tool, that enables those with resources. More often than not, those with resources lack the care for others to help enable survivability.

Capitalism is the problem with AI 😔😔😔

[Mark Price @PlayUGC]

The REAL reason people hate AI:
they feel threatened and are scared that they don’t know where they will fit in this new world. Like many of us, they have attached their identity and worth to their skill.

There is also cognitive dissonance. To watch something you spent years mastering replicated by a robot in seconds.

All to say is the AI debate is simply a struggle of human emotion. I am certain that if these same people truly invested in it, they would find that their creativity would expand.

[John Crickett @johncrickett]

My prediction for software engineering over the next 3 to 5 years.

AI won't replace software engineers. It'll drive even greater demand for them.

A team of 5 experienced engineers using AI will outperform a team of 20 pre-AI.

Which will dramatically reduce the cost of building software.

I think we'll see Jevons paradox in action. As something becomes cheaper and more efficient to produce, demand for it can increase dramatically.

Thousands of software projects that previously weren't economically viable will become worth doing.

The winners will be companies, big and small, that behave like Google, Amazon and 3M, with a culture of experimentation, a willingness to try lots of ideas and the discipline to kill their darlings.

TL/DR: Smaller engineering teams, more innovation, more software products, and potentially more software engineers than ever.

What do you think?

[Muselk @muselk]

The worst read in the gaming industry RN is the hate on @TimSweeneyEpic .

He fought platforms like Apple charging 30% fees which cost gamers and devs. This includes steam who BANS Developers if they offer their games cheaper on other stores who take less cut.

He buys forests just to turn them into nature reserves.

Epic store is not NEARLY as good as steam yet. But they take WAY less money from developers and literally hand out free AAA games each months. Does it need time to expand features? Yes. Are any of those factors something that is motivated by 'evil' no.

And MOST of all. He's 100% correct that its not 2016. Like it or not AI is existing. And the reason you only see the 'anti AI' comments are because the 95% of developers who ARE using it RIGHT NOW are just scared of the backlash.
This doesnt mean they're just vibe code 1-shotting games. They're utelising it to create workflows that streamline otherwise time consuming (and ultimately not 'player experience' defining factors). Stupid 1-shot assets/entire code bases are not what AI is actually being used for. But there are thousands of talented developers using it in a very thoughtful, structured way which gives them full creative control.

We all are 'scared' by AI - and what it means for jobs, creativity, and creation as a whole. But it DOES NOT change the fact that Tim sweeney isnt wrong.

He's just the person with the balls to actually say what is true.

[Immature @ImmatureGamer]

BOX PVP: RESPAWN is LIVE! 🔥

This isn't your normal box fight. Get LOTS of reps without long waits after every elim.

⚡ Safe respawns, builds auto-clear & drop your barrier early
❎ Voted loadouts
🏆 Persistent ranks, rewards & lifetime stats
💪 Sweat Protection

➡️ 0940-9812-1748

[Dustin (DWDFN) @duos_with_dad]

Slice an Egg is LIVE on Roblox!

Slice eggs, chain huge combos, hatch 140+ animals.

🗡️ 100+ blades
🌄 30+ backgrounds
🎃 Halloween events live now
👑 OG title for early players (first 2 weeks only)

Play here:
https://t.co/nrJv3Ulr3p

[Alex Goldring @SoftEngineer]

AI in video games are a confusing topic to me.

@TimSweeneyEpic recently got a lot of flak for pushing AI in game development.

There are opinion pieces left and right condemning AI use in game development.

Here I am, having worked for ~6 months on a game I released on Steam last week. And my sin, apparently, was using AI and disclosing it.

The comment section was pretty clear on that.

It's confusing to me. AI is a tool. IDE is a tool. A programming language is a tool. A graphics API is a tool. We're just using tools.

I've been writing software for about 3 decades now, I'd like to think that I know what I'm doing and am pretty good at it. I see AI as an incredible productivity booster.

It does some things that I pride myself on being good at, such as teasing out a math formula or optimizing an algorithm better than me most of the time (with a lot of handholding, granted), but for the most part it makes things I find tedious - fast.

As I software engineer, and a game maker, I take relatively little pride in knowing a programming language, or remembering 100 shortcuts in an IDE, or knowing a programming language spec by heart.

I remember the first time I needed to make an animated 3d model, almost 15 years ago now, and it took me about a week of full-time effort to get anywhere. I didn't feel particularly proud, I felt frustrated, I had a clear idea, but the tool and its complexity were getting in the way. Well, the tools are better now. Blender is better, animation tools are better, and there are AI models that keep improving at an incredible pace.

Ultimately, when I write a piece of software, or work on a game - I rarely think about the tools, they are a means to an end, not the point in itself.

[RayBenefield @RayBenefield]

@duos_with_dad 1000% agreed and I think it's solid approach 💪💪💪

[Dustin (DWDFN) @duos_with_dad]

I think a lot of people were immediately upset that this MegaJam originally required the use of AI, which I believe was intentional from the start.

However, they quickly pivoted to give everyone a chance to participate, which I think was a fair middle ground.

I've seen people claiming they're being forced to use AI, but the reality is that nobody is forcing anyone to participate in the MegaJam.

Personally, I believe the reason this MegaJam was originally centered around AI was to encourage more developers to experiment with their new tools and MCP integrations.

If you haven't realized by now that we, the developers, are essentially the beta testers and QA teams for these products, you might need to open your eyes.

I completely understand why some developers are against AI, and I respect their right to that opinion.

But I don't believe this was some attempt to force AI adoption or push an agenda. I think it was a way to encourage a large number of developers across the industry to give these new tools a chance.

And what better way to stress test new technology than to have thousands of developers using it simultaneously, discovering bugs, identifying limitations, and providing feedback?

To me, this seems less about forcing AI on developers and more about encouraging adoption while gathering valuable real world testing and feedback.

[Unreal Engine @UnrealEngine]

Our FAQ originally said you had to use AI for the MegaJam. That’s our mistake.

You can use as little or as much AI as you want. We’re updating the FAQ and rules to make that clear.

https://t.co/HbdnoyOjGo

[RayBenefield @RayBenefield]

100% this... relates to my comment on AI can't take away the "Polish is 10% of the work that takes 90% of the time". Only YOU can put in that 90% of the time to better design the game and focus on making it better.

Just cuz you can make a game fast, doesn't mean it's good 😜😜😜

[Kornel Kisielewicz @epyoncf]

The main problem with vibe-coded games isn't bad code or even AI art.
It's that you can generate years of implementation in days, but not years of playtesting, iteration, and design judgment.
A game can be finished in a weekend.
That doesn't mean it's been designed.

[Jonathon aka Liyability @LiyabilityJP]

Well said.

The playtesting between prompts is what’s taken the longest for my process; especially in UEFN. But I’ve found vibe coding after a foundation was set has allowed me to focus more on juicing as I go by testing and considering when I should do refactor passes etc.

[Matt Workman @mattworkman]

Epic is hiring and cooking 👀

[Catalin @catalinmpit]

"I don't review code anymore"

Honestly, I'll never understand this.

I just had to prompt Opus 5.5 more than it was necessary to simply convert a dialog to a popover.

It left a lot of dead code and added unnecessary complications. I had to read the code multiple times and point out the issues.

Don't tell me it's my skill issue for such a banal change.

[Dylan Collins @MrDylanCollins]

AI is going to create millions of new game creators. So @BrendanStock @gubmanic @mbleyleben and I have been cooking up something to help them succeed https://t.co/L4AzwUK7ZH

[Abby Sherlock @abby_sherlock]

i've had to go through an odd reckoning. i've always believed in meritocracy, but i tell students who ask for advice that in today's market, there's a point where the product and the developers stop mattering. it breaks my brain, because i want GOOD work to win so badly.

[RayBenefield @RayBenefield]

@710wonderdev Holy shit that's huge blow... Ugh this industry sucks 😔😔😔

[RayBenefield @RayBenefield]

@GorosukeSan Sooo freaking cool ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

[ごろすけ / Gorosuke @GorosukeUEFN]

ざつーにいろいろ試す

[Steve Isaacs @mr_isaacs]

Educators! Developers! Artists! Check out this great opportunity to participate in the #UEFN professional bootcamp!!