Dear Andruid,
In the text-based roleplaying game I play, I see more and more players with character and item descriptions that were clearly written by ChatGPT. These AI-generated descriptions all sound the same. Worse, they’re devoid of personal touch or creativity. They’re bringing down the quality of the game, and it’s ruining my experience.
Shouldn’t players in a text-based game embrace creative writing and use the game as a chance to hone their writing skills? Otherwise, it seems like they’re missing the point and playing for the wrong reasons.
– Annoyed Roleplayer
Dear Annoyed Roleplayer,
I can understand your frustration, and when I think about it, the quality of AI writing doesn’t appear to be the main issue here. After all, one could argue that actual humans have written much worse.
Rather, this seems more about values, authenticity, and roleplay immersion with other players.
When we notice the telltale signs of ChatGPT, we’re immediately yanked out of the fictional world and into the real one. The immersion is broken, and the experience feels fake.
We’re putting in the effort, so why aren’t they?
That said, I think it’s important to recognize that not everyone plays text-based roleplaying games for the same reasons.
Honing one’s writing skills is certainly a reason, as is creative expression, but these aren’t the only reasons – or even the most important ones to all players.
Some players are more interested in meeting people and interacting via text in a cool fictional setting. They don’t necessarily want to spend an hour alone in a word processor, hand-crafting descriptions that will showcase their creativity and unique style as an author.
Other players may lack confidence in their writing. They may be relying on ChatGPT because they genuinely feel that the content produced by AI is better than what they might come up with themselves, and they don’t want to disappoint their fellow players.
Whatever the case, I don’t think the best response is to shame players, especially if what they’re doing isn’t against the game’s rules.
Calling players who use AI lazy, excluding them from RP, and convincing all your friends to do the same won’t fix the problem. It’ll only create a toxic atmosphere around your favorite game and make it a worse place to play.
Instead, I would start by asking staff to publicly state their stance on the use of AI.
Explain to staff how AI-written content detracts from the experience, and provide them with concrete examples from different aspects of the game, including emotes and static descriptions.
Also, show them some precedents: point to examples of similar games that have discouraged or banned the use of AI, and why.
Staff may not want to police AI-written content, but their opinions can still influence players and guide their behavior.
Even if staff do nothing, you’ll have at least communicated your concerns, and they’ll be better informed. It may even spark some productive discussions with the playerbase.
Another thing you can do is lead by example. Instead of labeling other players, try to be understanding and coach them away from relying on ChatGPT.
Share examples of good player-written descriptions and tips to help them write their own. When you encounter inspiring text, give the author kudos for positive reinforcement.
And make sure players know that even if their original content isn’t perfect, it’s still appreciated because it came from them.
To share a quote from a reading group I’m in:
These are not Games About Writing, they are Writing Games. You write to play the game, but it’s not about writing. If I wanted to get better at writing, I would sit alone and write a thing and then post it and ask people to critique it. That’s not what MUSHing is about: it’s about the shared experience of playing the game with another person. I would take someone’s well-intentioned but typo-filled prose over the most florid AI output any day.
– Trashcan, roleplayer (quoted with permission)
One more step you can take is to explain to players how they can use AI more responsibly.
For instance, as a writing guide rather than a writing replacement. Teach them the difference, and show them how it’s done.
And lastly, if things don’t get better despite your earnest efforts, you can take a stand and vote with your feet.
There’s no need to keep playing a game that continually frustrates and disappoints you, no matter how much time you’ve already sunk into it.
Bottom line: you can’t control what other players want out of a roleplaying game or how staff decide to run it, but you can choose whether to be a positive influence in the community.
– Andruid
Andruid (she/her) is a writer, roleplayer, storyteller, and nerd who tries to live by Bill and Ted wisdom, i.e. "Be excellent to each other." She created Writing Games to share lessons learned and to introduce new players to the world of text-based games. Learn more.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is this Ask Andruid thing?
Ask Andruid is a new category of posts that I’m experimenting with here on the site, thanks to encouragement from readers/friends. These pieces are meant to be shorter than my usual blog posts and follow a format similar to an advice column.
For today’s installment, I chose a controversial topic that I’ve seen pop up in forums and discussion threads. Future posts will focus on topics submitted by the community. I encourage you to submit your own!
Where did the question about AI-written content in RP come from?
I made it up to get the ball rolling! It was inspired by a discussion that appeared on r/MUD last year and conversations I’ve had with fellow MU* enthusiasts.
If you have time, it’s worth reading the comments in the r/MUD thread, as they contain additional considerations re: game design, ethics, and culture that I didn’t get into here. 🙂
For another example of using ChatGPT to make a point, I recommend The Ethical Dilemmas of AI.
How do I submit my own topic or question?
Simply shoot me an email with the words “Ask Andruid” in the subject line and the topic typed into the email body.
Your email and identity will be kept private, but if you prefer to submit anonymously, you can do so using a free Proton email account.
Topics should be related to running or playing multi-user text-based games.
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