BAM will like it: in Russia, with the help of AI, they created a game about the construction of a highway

Russia has created a prototype game about the construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline, in which two people must work together to control one gamepad. It took only eight hours to develop the project using artificial intelligence. In the future, the authors plan to supplement it with educational elements dedicated to the history of BAM. Experts appreciated the unusual mechanics, however, they note that serious refinement will be required to turn the prototype into a full-fledged game.

A shovel for two

In B.A.M., players must work together to participate in the construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline. At the same time, the developers have made cooperation a part of not only the gameplay, but also the physical control: two people use one gamepad at the same time.

Each player has to be responsible for their own part of the management and coordinate actions with their partner. Therefore, it is not enough to simply press the necessary buttons to complete game tasks — participants need to agree on who is doing what and synchronize their movements.

Photo: presidential platform "Russia — the land of opportunities"

This approach distinguishes B.A.M. from regular cooperative games, where each user gets their own controller. Here, the interaction of two people becomes an independent part of the game mechanics. According to the authors, this should stimulate communication, coordination and joint problem solving.

The project is currently at the prototype stage. In the future, the developers plan to expand the game mechanics and add educational content about the construction of BAM to the game. Historical information should become part of the gameplay, not a separate reference section.

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What tasks do they solve using neural networks?

The project itself was created in eight hours as part of a special "Neurogames" competition organized by the Presidential platform "Russia is a Land of Opportunity." As part of it, participants were invited to use artificial intelligence to develop game prototypes. Neural networks were used, in particular, to create graphics, sound, and narrative elements.

According to Andrey Betin, CEO of Russia is a Land of Opportunity and rector of the Senezh Management Workshop, game projects of this type can be used not only for entertainment, but also for the development of cognitive skills.

— Neuro games are not fashion or entertainment. Technology takes over the routine, and the brain's ability to work at full capacity becomes the main resource — to keep focus, switch, and find non—standard solutions," he said.

According to Betin, in the future, game formats can be used in education, corporate training, rehabilitation and specialist training. For B.A.M., the educational component remains one of the areas of further development. In the allotted time, the teams had to go from an idea to a working version: define the concept and game mechanics, assign tasks, prepare the necessary materials and assemble a prototype.

Ten teams participated in the final. The first place was taken by the Ambidextrous project, in which the player simultaneously controls two mice, the second was given to B.A.M., and the third was the game "Stone from the Soul" by the Up team. The Gaz Gaz Six Seven Tm team received 500 thousand rubles for the further development of the prototype and the creation of a demo version for the VK Play platform. In total, young specialists from 65 regions of Russia, as well as from Kazakhstan, Spain, Mexico and South Africa, have registered to participate in the competition.

From prototype to game

Experts point out that the unusual mechanics alone do not make the project a full-fledged game. According to video game expert Igor Gusev, "B.A.M." is still at too early a stage to talk about its commercial or artistic prospects.

— In a few hours, you can assemble a concept, test individual mechanics and see if the basic idea works. But a full—fledged game requires much more — from working out the controls and balance to visual style, script, technical optimization and testing on players," the expert noted.

According to him, AI is able to accelerate the creation of individual elements and prototyping, but it does not replace subsequent work on the game.

Photo: presidential platform "Russia — the land of opportunities"

— A prototype made in eight hours is unlikely by itself to be able to interest a discerning general audience. An unusual idea or the fact of using AI is not enough for this. The game needs to be brought to a state in which the mechanics remain interesting after the first few minutes, and the content and technical implementation meet the expectations of the players, — says Igor Gusev.

On the contrary, Sergey Aleksashenko, co-founder of the REACTOR game development community, suggests evaluating such projects primarily as a platform for experimentation and learning.

— The resulting projects cannot be perceived as full-fledged games. But the competition gives young developers the opportunity to practice, work as a team, and quickly test game hypotheses. "B.A.M. is an example of an idea where novice developers can gain applied experience and test the capabilities of AI in development," he said.

IT expert Sergey Pomortsev also considers it promising to use game mechanics for educational tasks. According to him, the interactive format can help combine the study of historical material with gameplay.

Photo: presidential platform "Russia — the land of opportunities"

For B.A.M., the most important thing now is to check how well the idea works outside of a short competition. The developers will have to expand the mechanics of joint management, fill the game with content about BAM and understand whether the unusual way of interaction will be able to keep the interest of players throughout the full game. Only after that it will be clear whether the prototype will become an independent game project or remain an experiment with the possibilities of AI and cooperative mechanics.