Pragmata's devs created human-made AI slop to mimic the 'uncanny feel' of LLM art

Pragmata’s devs created human-made AI slop to mimic the ‘uncanny feel’ of LLM art | PC Gamer Skip to main content Open menu Close main menu PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES US Edition UK US Canada Australia Subscribe Sign in View Profile Sign out Search Search PC Gamer Games Hardware News Reviews Guides Video Forum More PC Gaming Show PC Gamer Clips Software Codes Coupons Movies & TV Magazine Newsletter Affiliate links Meet the team Community guidelines About PC Gamer PC Gamer Magazine SubscriptionWhy subscribe?Subscribe to the world’s #1 PC gaming magTry a single issue or save on a subscriptionIssues delivered straight to your door or device From$1Subscribe now Don’t miss these Action AI is the villain in Pragmata, but director Cho Yonghee wants to stress that his evil AI is slightly different to our real-life evil AI thanks to ‘the presence of an AI character like Diana’ Sim Understandable AI paranoia has inspired a developer to change the handcrafted character art in its upcoming sim: ‘They look a bit AI’ Action Pragmata’s action is saved by its hacking, making it feel like a third-person shooter of old: ‘Finding the sweet spot has been one of the main focuses in development’ AI ‘I f**king hate gen AI art,’ Hooded Horse chief says: ‘If we’re publishing the game, no f**king AI assets’ Action Pragmata checks off a crucial element of Japanese sci-fi with giant robot kaiju boss battles AI Stellar Blade’s director says AI can see ‘one person can perform the work of 100 people’ but that won’t wind up in job losses, somehow Action Pragmata’s director appreciates all the comments likening it to an Xbox 360 game of old: ‘I’m someone who’s got a lot of happy experiences and memories from that generation’ RPG Clair Obscur’s narrative lead says while it’s ‘a painful process’ to write, AI has never tempted her: ‘The whole point of writing is to express what I have in my head’ Gaming Industry ‘We will f*ck up’: The publisher of Against the Storm and Manor Lords is committed to keeping generative AI out, but it’s easier said than done AI Company that makes generative AI-powered NPCs reports that 95% of players enjoy their generative AI-powered NPCs AI Software engineer creates classic SimCity-style map of NYC—and argues that AI will be good for creatives, actually Action Pragmata’s demo reaches 2 million downloads alongside its 2 million wishlists: ‘I can’t believe millions of people are excited for our game’ AI Google’s new AI ‘world model’ has seemingly spooked videogame investors, but it’s hard to know what it will actually lead to AI This space MMO was coded by AI, is played by AI, and all us meatbags can do is watch them AI A human software engineer rejected an AI agent’s code change request, only for the AI agent to retaliate by publishing an ‘angry’ blog about him PopularSpring SaleClipsCrimson DesertMarathonBest PC gearQuizzes Games Action Pragmata Pragmata’s devs created human-made AI slop to mimic the ‘uncanny feel’ of LLM art News By Elie Gould published 26 March 2026 Human-made AI slop. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Capcom) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter PC Gamer The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday GamesRadar+ Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you’re going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Signup + Every Thursday GTA 6 O’clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O’clock experts. Signup + Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what’s on the horizon. Signup + Every Thursday The Setup Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more. Signup + Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo’s new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play. Signup + Every Saturday The Watchlist Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we’ve got you covered. Signup + Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Signup + An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter The premise of Pragmata may seem utterly unfathomable right now so I’ll try and break it down for you: an evil AI takes over a lunar research station, and being evil, it tries to eradicate our human protagonist Hugh and his android companion Diana. Ok, that’s actually pretty fathomable right now.Funnily enough, the hardest part of bringing an evil AI to life was mimicking what the world it inhabited would actually look like. “It mirrors reality, but its unique appeal comes from the setting errors and how they feel out of place, such as taxis sinking into floors, or buses sprouting from walls,” producer Naoto Oyama says in an interview with 4Gamer (via Automaton). “Although the premise is that it generated by AI, actually, our human developers painstakingly worked to incorporate mechanisms that express this AI-like uncanny feel.” (Image credit: Capcom)The infected lunar base has all of the above. With glitching billboards showcasing generic advertisements for burger joints or cars, it all just looks a bit off, as it should. “For Pragmata, we set the premise as ‘a fake New York generated by AI,'” director Cho Yonghee adds. “When familiar locations appear, players can relate more easily. On top of that, to make it clear that this isn’t the real New York, we wanted something slightly distorted.”Article continues below You may like AI is the villain in Pragmata, but director Cho Yonghee wants to stress that his evil AI is slightly different to our real-life evil AI thanks to ‘the presence of an AI character like Diana’ Understandable AI paranoia has inspired a developer to change the handcrafted character art in its upcoming sim: ‘They look a bit AI’ Pragmata’s actio