A team of unconventional AI enthusiasts is organizing a bot-vs-bot competition in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike. I sat down with the masterminds behind the event to uncover the motivation behind hosting a unique fighting game tournament and their objectives in the world of esports.
In May 2024, prominent figures in the independent AI community announced their plans to host ‘AI Prize Fight,’ a series of tournaments where technology enthusiasts and fighting game enthusiasts can join a dojo and develop an AI ‘agent’ to compete in Street Fighter matches on their behalf.
Despite the $15K in prizes up for grabs, the event has already generated significant buzz on social media. However, I remained skeptical and felt the need to gather more information, especially considering their ambitious goal of revolutionizing the esports industry through this new initiative.
Despite the fact that the fighting game community is built upon the concept of competitive play between human players, I was surprised by the efforts of AI leaders to drastically alter this lively community. I questioned whether the FGC would be receptive to whatever they were promoting.
During my conversation with Mike Anderson and Jesse Bryan, the masterminds behind the event and leaders of 6079, a self-sufficient AI community, we discussed their objectives for the competition and their aspirations for the world of esports.
Despite initial assumptions, the goal is not to replace fighting game professionals with AI-powered bots. However, the belief remains that this initiative has the potential to introduce a new genre of competitive gaming.
According to Bryan, most of these up-and-coming AI artists did not attend fine art schools. Despite this, they possess a unique ability to conceptualize and create impressive designs. This has created a new form of competition in the art world.
Just as people discuss AI art, I believe the same will be true for AI in esports. It’s similar to BattleBots, where you must strategize and construct your bot before it competes in the arena. In the future, businesses will require agile engineers, just as they previously needed software engineers, to keep up with the rapidly advancing technology.
Bryan envisions a future in which a novel form of gaming competition will arise, involving the creation of AI “agents”through a set of prompts. Instead of relying on quick reflexes and precise movements, this type of esport will value the ability to craft the most effective prompt… although it remains uncertain how challenging this skill will ultimately become.
Fighting games are rife with colorful combat between human players – but AI bot fights are becoming more popular, as seen when players began pitting SF6’s Level 8 CPUs against each other.
The individual asserts that there will come a time when players will utilize agents to compete in games on their behalf. They even suggest that professional esports players may develop their own personalized AI agents and potentially trademark and sell them as a means to enhance their earnings.
“Our aim is to demonstrate the possibility of using Street Fighter as a framework in this project. What’s exciting is that this concept can be applied to any game, creating a whole new category of gaming.”
In the past, when owning a small bakery, one would search for suitable software to manage their business. In the future, instead of purchasing software, there will likely be agents specifically designed for running small bakeries with all necessary information. These agents will essentially run the bakery on behalf of the owner. Similarly, in the world of gaming, players may bring their own agents into challenging or strategic games, essentially creating a squad of customized agents to assist them.
This presents an exciting opportunity for individuals to take charge of their own future by discovering their abilities to manage their own data, create their own intellectual property, and license it to others. I firmly believe that we are on the verge of seeing dedicated gamers replicate themselves and offer their skills to others through licensing. For instance, having someone like Ninja on your team would be a possibility. If desired, we are fully capable of building such a platform for individuals at this very moment.
Bryan argues that AI Prize Fight is not a significant competition within the esports industry, but rather a playful and engaging means of familiarizing individuals with the field of programming. He likens it to a “tech demo”of sorts.
This esport demonstrates the speed at which it can process information, as it requires players to strategize through written communication. The key skill is effectively conveying your intentions and strategy to the AI in a manner that enables it to execute on your behalf. Essentially, the game tests your ability to plan and communicate your moves beforehand.
“One can observe the events in real time, which is quite astonishing. It is similar to a game of chess, as the two AI fighters have to carefully strategize and analyze the previous fight’s footage in order to adjust their prompts before each subsequent fight.”
An Eddy Gordo bot is wreaking havoc in Tekken 8 and becoming quite the celebrity within the FGC – something that’s just the tip of the iceberg for what AI Prize Fight’s founders see for the future of esports.
Although bot vs bot fights have been a common occurrence in the fighting game scene, AI Prize Fight is taking the concept to a whole new level, and their plans to expand are unprecedented.
“According to Anderson, our future plans involve developing games that will grant even greater control to AI agents. This will also solidify the concept of decentralized AI, as the games will involve head-to-head competitions, demonstrating the potential for each network to achieve victory.”
Bryan and Anderson have made decentralizing artificial intelligence a crucial aspect of their mission. With major companies such as Apple partnering with OpenAI, this goal has become increasingly vital. The AI Prize Fight is merely the beginning of their efforts to empower individuals to take control of their own information.
According to Bryan, many gamers are not aware that their actions are essentially data collection. He compares this to using Wi-Fi to create a map of someone’s home. By analyzing this data, one can see how individuals play and gain insight into their psychological profile. Whether gamers are concerned about this is a separate matter. However, their distinct playing style is being recorded. The main question is: Who will ultimately have ownership of this data?
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