Modders are using AI to create chatty companions in Skyrim and Stardew

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3D illustration of a player talking to an NPC.
Image: Jack Bullard for The Verge
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In Stardew Valley, you can usually only speak to characters a few times per day. This limitation has led to a number of mods that add things for them to say so that players can spend more time with their virtual pals. But like many games, Stardew recently turned to AI, resulting in the addition of a mod with the ability to have theoretically endless conversations with your favorite farm companion.

“The reception has been a lot better than I initially thought [it would be],” says modder DualityOfSoul. In the comments on Nexus Mods, users have called it “brilliant” and “one of the best mods out this year.”

To function, the mod plugs into OpenAI’s API. The implementation is impressive but limited in its own way. Every character…

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