YouTube: AiMationA new AI reality series has launched on YouTube, delivering a four-part competition built entirely through generative tools. The project, titled Non Player Combat, is created by visual effects producer and AiMation Studios CEO Tom Paton.
The show debuted on Monday, December 8 on YouTube, introducing what the studio calls the first reality format where every contestant and moment on screen is digitally generated. Paton describes it as a crossover between The Hunger Games, Fortnite and Traitors, with AI directing every action in the competition.
Non Player Combat features six contestants built with AiMation’s in-house tool Omnigen-01, which the studio used to generate personalities, autonomous decision-making and backstories. Characters include former Navy Seal Travis Drake, wilderness coach Micah Gray and the guilt-ridden Eliza Cole.
How does Non Player Combat work?
Set in a dystopian world, the series follows its cast through extreme survival scenarios. Contestants face harsh environments and battles against polar bears, snakes and other threats, along with direct confrontations with one another.
“Non Player Combat represents the emergent entertainment coming from AI, and is proof that it’s already here,” Paton said in a press release. He added that the aim was to create characters who feel “more genuine than your average human reality TV contestant.”
Paton said the project targets viewers aged 18 to 35 and the gaming community. He noted that the series cost 90% less to produce than a traditional game show.
“The question is, do you actually care that it’s AI if you’re entertained? I doubt it, and that’s all that counts,” he said.
AiMation’s launch follows the studio’s 2024 feature-length AI film Where the Robots Grow. It also comes during ongoing industry conversations about artificial performers, including criticism surrounding AI actress Tilly Norwood earlier this year.
