Steam players embrace ANLIFE, the AI game Miyazaki called 'an insult to life itself'

A 2016 clip from the documentary 10 Years with Hayao Miyazaki shows the filmmaker reacting with disgust to a demo of AI that animated a zombie to move with its head. Nobuo Kawakami, a Studio Ghibli producer, explained the zombie couldn't feel pain; Miyazaki said, "Whoever creates this stuff has no idea what pain is whatsoever," adding, "I am utterly disgusted.

If you really want to make creepy stuff, you can go ahead and do it. I would never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all. I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself." Nearly a decade later that technology has been repurposed to power ANLIFE: Motion-Learning Life Evolution, a game from Attructure Inc.

that launched on Steam on Feb. 11. It plays like a cutesy evolution simulator—think of it like a laid-back Spore—where creatures develop unique gaits and movement is central. The game's bright colors and playful art style, evocative of a toddler's toys, aim to show life persisting rather than mimic a person or make light of pain.

anlife, attructure, steam, hayao miyazaki, studio ghibli, ai animation, motion learning, evolution simulator, spore, creature movement