The topic of AI is complex and nuanced. I believe our world introduces technologies too quickly and unfortunately, we are part of the first to experience this kind of shift where technology can participate in the creative process alongside us and the mass result is a collective monkey-mind. Largely unregulated, and massively shiny, this appeal can become a shortcut, rather than a journey. And so, while it can be a shortcut, or save time bridging gaps in skill, it can never replace the raw spontaneity of human emotion, and experience (for now). But when paired with an intentional human driver, the end result becomes an intentional collaboration. And so to me, the vast library that is AI, is more of a collaborator that needs a good-enough driver. With all this said, I would like to formally address the exact role that AI has in the Scafall pipeline.
The Driver’s Seat
• Core Concept: everything starts with one stubborn spark through a feeling, concept or question that forms in my mind. I then explore through feeling, letting the rest of the design reveal itself, piece by piece.
• Blocking Process: size guides are blocked out through basic SL prims to determine size and interaction with the avatar ie. architecture is blocked with prims and walked through until the scale and circulation feel right; decor is blocked to guide its proportion to the room, and its interactions with the avatar.
• Mesh Creation: Every piece of mesh is created by me, guided by my own felt design decisions.
• The Story: the story of each set unfolds through the design process. The name for each set is then carefully selected not only for its meaning, but also how it sounds off the tongue; further, the poetic About description in our products is not something that is forced, but is an emergence from the full journey of the design process.
• Material Translation: once the baked PBR & Legacy materials are brought into SL, I calibrate the roughness and metallic values, and occasionally recolour the ORM and Diffuse layer, relying on my memory of how materials are experienced in the real world.
• Land Impact Optimisation: through several playfully discovered techniques by my ex co-creator and me, land impact is always optimised without sacrificing the beauty of the design.
The Vast Library
• Bespoke Textures: When a specific texture doesn’t exist, I use AI to build the exact one needed to fulfil my vision.
• Scripting: AI writes the code required to execute a tool that I have designed.
• Technical Sensei: when I have a vision but lack the jargon, AI bridges that gap and teaches me the language of the craft ie. “windows that meet at its edges” I now know as “butt-joints”.
• Copy Editor: by the time I reach the writing phase of a project, I am often unable to achieve the impact that I want it to; AI helps me tighten the flow and correct errors while preserving my original voice and concept.
Taken together, this article is written to clarify that Scafall is very much human authored, born through feeling, play and the love of creation. While AI may expand the possibilities, it is never the one in the driver’s seat. Picasso once said, “computers are useless because they can only give you answers” and perhaps he realised much earlier on, that the question is always the driver, and is far more useful than the answer.
This article was written by Gianna, unedited by AI.
Click to go back to Part 1: The New Baseline & The Role of AI