I've written so many articles covering AI image generators recently, specifically super poignant things other people have generated, and it's compelled me to do a bit of testing. I decided to gauge the AI image generation prowess of Midjourney, an image generating discord bot, with something a little closer to the hearts of the PC Gamer crew, and of course PC gamers in general.
It's been a wild time checking out AI's interpretations of human text input. Whether that be asking it to predict the "last selfie ever taken"—and by extension the future of humanity—or what lies beyond Michelangelo's 'Creation of Adam,'' there have been some truly breathtaking examples; some that have genuinely caused me to consider the universe at large, and my place within it. But between existential crises, I've been wondering how we might somehow benchmark these AI image generation models.
Without access to the kind of immensely high-end hardware it takes to power AI models like these, I wasn't sure how to approach it. But then it dawned on me: "It's a graphical interpretation of words, so why not use words to test it?"
Using the same out of context PC game quotes we use to test the best microphones, which we also put on our PCG Soundcloud if you'd like to have a listen, I figured we could at least put the AI through its paces. And we even ended up with a cohesive art collection that we can call our own. What Midjourney has done with these out of context gaming quotes will forever be a part of the PC Gamer meta.
StarCraft
"You require more Vespene Gas."
This quote from StarCraft appears to have been interpreted with the idea of colonising space in mind, at least, which is highly appropriate. The bottom right corner image is truly a work of art, turning the quote into what looks like a 1920s poster ad. Behold the death of the graphic artist.
Resident Evil
"Jill, here’s a lockpick. It might come in handy if you, the master of unlocking, take it with you."
Regarded as one of probably one of the worst lines ever written in a game, this Resident Evil quote seems to have got the AI in an abstract mood. This interpretation involves no humans handing over lockpicks as anticipated. Instead we're presented with some slightly Dali-esque scenes of lockpicks and other metal instruments bent to form thresholds, glowing portals included. Very surreal.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
"What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets."
Something I was expecting a lot of great designs from was this Castlevania quote. Already it's pretty loaded, and while the noir images are all incredible the bottom left design is my favourite. Faceless AI generated entities give me the shivers, honestly.
Dragon Ninja
"The president has been kidnapped by ninjas. Are you bad enough dude to rescue the president?"
This quote from Dragon Ninja, or Bad Dudes as the English release is called, is a little more abstract. I can see obvious Trump references, and I'm pretty sure the AI is trying to tell us he's actually some kind of alien. Take from it what you will, but none of those look like ninjas to me.
