UK Games Expo criticized for promoting RPG with generative AI imagery
Gates of Krystalia’s creators insult commenters, struggle to explain provenance of LLM training material.
On October 28, UK Games Expo published a sponsored post to the tabletop convention’s Instagram account promoting an RPG called Gates of Krystalia. It immediately garnered criticism from players and creators who expressed disappointment that UKGE would promote a project that used generative AI imagery. The studio behind the project, Top Notch International, attempted to defend itself through a mixture of insults, dismissive language, and claims that Gates of Krystalia’s use of AI was ethical.
The situation deteriorated fast, and public comments started disappearing or being hidden below less confrontational messages. Writer and designer Kat the Lore Mistress commented on Bluesky: “Incredibly disappointing from UKGE, and I really hope they think about how many artists, writers, designers, and creators are against the use of AI in the industry, and WHY. Promoting games and products that use it is pretty poor, but deleting the comments of those pointing it out is insulting.”
Gates of Krystalia co-creator Alberto Dianin confirmed that the Instagram post, along with an accompanying article on the convention’s official website, were part of a paid promotional deal. Dianin reached out to UKGE and communicated with them as late as Spiel Essen in late October. He also claimed that the team stepped in to moderate comments because the UKGE team were not working on October 31. He characterized anti-generative AI sentiment on the Instagram post as toxic and spreading hate. “The best solution is always to ban the haters, but we couldn’t. We hope UKGE will take action next week when their team is back at work,” Dianin said.
Rascal reached out to UKGE for comment but received no response.
English-language introduction to Gates of Krystalia's Last Deux supplement. The creators proudly advertise the RPG's translation into six language.
Gates of Krystalia bills itself as a love letter to the isekai anime genre, which normally involves a regular person being shunted into a fantastical alternate world via magical means. The tabletop RPG uses a deck of standard playing cards to power combat, but it also includes features that allow players to manage their own kingdoms and something called the Hero’s Harem. Nearly all comments on the Instagram post accepted the RPG’s setting and mechanics but took umbrage with the way its imagery was created.
