Roblox launches its first generative AI game creation tools

Last month, Roblox outlined its vision for AI-assisted content creation, imagining a future where Generative AI could help users create code, 3D models and more with little more than text prompts. Now, it's taking its first steps toward allowing "every user on Roblox to be a creator" by launching its first AI tools: Code Assist and Material Generator, both in beta.

Although neither tool is anywhere close to generating a playable Roblox experience from a text description, Head of Roblox Studio Stef Corazza told an audience at GDC 2023 that they can "help automate basic coding tasks so you can focus on creative work." For now, that means being able to generate useful code snippets and object textures based on short prompts. Roblox's announcement for the tools offers a few examples, generating realistic textures for a "bright red rock canyon" and "stained glass," or producing several lines of functional code that will that make certain objects change color and self-destruct after a player interacts with them.

Both of those functions might sound familiar to you if you've experimented AI chatbots — GPT-3 can already create functional code snippets based on prompts.

Code Assist looks promising, but Roblox is careful to state it's imperfect, and may generate "incorrect" or "misleading" information. "It is still up to you to review, test, and determine if the code suggestion is contextually appropriate." Even so, Roblox's Corazza seems confident that this is the first step towards making every user on the platform a creator, suggesting it may only be a few years before these tools can generate fully playable, interactive 3D scenes from a simple prompt.