GPT-4 rolled out on March 14, 2023, and one fan already has it running Pokemon Emerald via text command (thanks, Polygon). GPT-4 is supposed to be a more advanced version of the technology that runs ChatGPT, with improved problem-solving skills and more interactivity for users willing to pay the $20 subscription. OpenAI says GPT-4 is so capable that it scored in the top 10 percent on the bar exam, but Twitter user Dan Dangond had a different use in mind.
He asked GPT-4 to simulate what some regard as the
best Pokemon game as an experience playable by command-line input. You can do that with ChatGPT and watch the AI play the game for you, picking Torchic, automatically choosing a male protagonist, and sticking with canonical names for your hero and Pokemon. GPT-4 took it a step further, stopped at intervals and asked Dan what he wanted to do and where he wanted to go.
It propelled him into battle to save Professor Birch, let him choose Mudkip, generated wild Pokemon, and, after a little prompting, even let him nickname the Mudkip and used that name for the rest of the text game.