Lighting Automation and Why Too Many AI Solutions Are Built for the Wrong Reasons

Welcome to the May edition of Supercharged, where we cover the latest innovative ideas shaping the future of video games and entertainment.

This month, our R&D team shares how AI can serve as a force multiplier when it comes to creating effective lighting in a game world.

Plus, we reflect on why cool tech isn’t the main ingredient for successful AI solution – and what is. 

Happy reading!

Project KARA is our Research & Development initiative to remaster the game Detonation Racing by Electric Square, a Keywords Studio, using AI infused pipelines. This month’s pipeline spotlight:  

⚡ Generative AI-infused lighting automation  

From golden hour glows to flickering neon signs, lighting sets the mood of a game and helps define its visual identity. In Detonation Racing, it’s the difference between a track that feels flat and one that pulses with energy.  

But great lighting isn’t easy. It takes time, iteration, and a precise balance between technical parameters and artistic vision. That’s why our internal R&D team explored how AI could help. By combining ChatGPT’s analytical capabilities with Unity’s scripting API, we developed a system that reduces manual iteration cycles by automatically generating lighting configurations based on visual analysis, while adhering to project-specific technical constraints. 

👉 Download our PDF report for the pipeline breakdown and our team’s conclusion 

More than 80% of AI solutions fail     

By Stephen Peacock, Head of Games AI 

That’s not click-bait. It's a hard reality echoed across the latest research from McKinsey, Gartner, BCG, and others. Traditional software fails about half the time. AI? Four out of five.

Especially in creative industries—like games, media, or publishing—where adoption is rarely enforced, but must be earned. Creators have great autonomy in their workflows and tools. If they don't trust your solution, they won't touch it. If it feels like it threatens their voice or their job, it's dead on arrival. 

Too many AI solutions are built for the wrong reasons:

1. Because the tech is cool. The worst, and sadly most common reason.

2. Because someone is looking to boost productivity.  

Cool tech gets built because builders get excited about what’s possible. But creators don’t adopt tools for their cleverness, they adopt tools that solve actual problems.   

Return on investment (ROI) and productivity projects feel more legitimate, but they’re often more dangerous. They start with business goals, not user needs. When you promise to “save time” or “boost efficiency,” creators hear: We want more output with fewer people.  

That doesn't build trust. It builds resistance. 

In creative industries, adoption is everything.

If the team doesn't choose to use it, your solution, however good, has already failed.  

So, what should guide your build? Job satisfaction. 

Nothing matters more to a creator than creative momentum—that feeling of making high-quality work with confidence and control. If your tool helps them get closer to that feeling, they'll use it. They'll advocate for it. They'll help make it better.   

When teams trust that job satisfaction—not productivity or ROI—is your actual mission, they lean in. They help you spot real problems they want solving. They co-design, help you test, and give honest feedback. They make your solution theirs. 

A real example: We rolled out a secure chatbot. While few can quantify the time saved or improved output quality, they talk glowingly about both. It's clear from responses that our chatbot has become essential; they don’t want to do their job without it. We focused on delivering user benefit and improving job satisfaction. The result? Happier, more productive staff delivering higher quality service to clients. 

"But what about ROI?"

You should absolutely measure ROI. Track adoption, your solution’s impact on creative velocity, on output quality, and team retention. But remember, productivity and ROI are not the goal, or a strategy, but the byproduct of real adoption. And adoption comes from trust.   

If your solution makes the team feel more creative, more confident, and more in control, ROI will follow. If not, it's just another bad statistic.

💬 How do you build trust in your tools? Let’s talk about what actually earns adoption vs. what gets ignored. If this resonates, connect with Stephen and keep the conversation going.

How co-development companies are navigating a turbulent industry in 2025 

Co-development is evolving fast. Ashley Liu, Managing Director of Keywords’ Create division, shares valuable insights on how co-dev is shifting from team augmentation to full content ownership and why trust, flexibility, and innovation matter more than ever.

👉 Read the full article on gamesindustry.biz 

Behind every great unboxing video is a team who boxed it first 

Go behind the scenes with Laced, a Keywords Studio, for an exclusive peek at how the stunning Halo Original Trilogy vinyl box set came to life. 

We hope you found something you love in this month’s edition. If not, we’re here to listen: what other topics would you like to see covered in the coming months? Let us know in the comments below. Or contact us here to discuss your questions, suggestions, and future projects.  

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Please note that the inclusion of references to GAI tools in this newsletter is not an endorsement of the suitability of such GAI tools generally and all such GAI tools should be tested and approved on an individual basis prior to being used.