The Starry Sky of AI Games, Cai Haoyu's Whispers | Game Trendsetter

Written by | Liu Chongjiang

Edited by | Liu Shiwu

On March 15, 2025, a user with the account @404Stella posted a thread on the X platform. It consisted of two short paragraphs of English and a one - minute video, all about a new game called "Whisper from the Star" (hereinafter translated as "Whispers of the Stars").

Game poster of "Whispers of the Stars"

This post had no pre - heating, no promotion, and was even posted on a Saturday when the media was off work. Apparently, this was a premeditated "deliberate low - key" move, and @404Stella achieved his expected result: ten days later, the post only had a popularity of about 20,000 on the X platform.

However, the situation in China was exactly the opposite. Since the post was published, "Whispers of the Stars" has become a hot topic in the gaming circle. People's discussions about it have even gone beyond the game itself, ranging from technical analysis to future prospects. Even the developer's biography once topped the headlines of various official accounts.

This is, of course, thanks to the man behind @404Stella - Cai Haoyu, known as the "Father of Genshin Impact".

The founder of miHoYo, the creator of the hit game "Genshin Impact", and a man who made it onto the Hurun Rich List with a net worth of 73 billion yuan... A young genius at the peak of his popularity. But on September 15, 2023, Cai Haoyu announced his resignation as the chairman of miHoYo and gradually faded out of the public eye - until September 2024, when Cai Haoyu founded Anuttacon in California, USA.

"Whispers of the Stars" is his world debut after stepping back from the limelight.

Cai Haoyu in the studio

From a business prophet to a technology seeker - Cai Haoyu's transformation not only reflects on his bold claim of "tech geeks changing the world" but also rings the first bell in the "post - metaverse era".

Whether it's the emergence of new AI tools like Deepseek and Manus, or the continuous upgrading of large - language models like ChatGPT and Claude - since the metaverse bubble created by Zuckerberg almost burst, a solution for "Web 3.0" seems to be gradually becoming clear.

In the rosy outlook, "After more than two years of explosion, accumulation, and leap, 2025 seems to have the opportunity to be the year when AI applications in the gaming industry shift from 'asking questions' to 'finding answers'."

Image from the Internet

While some questions have been answered, more remain unresolved.

"Technology implementation" and "business models" still seem to be like a pair of giant hands tightly choking the neck of the gaming industry. The emergence of "Whispers of the Stars" means that Cai Haoyu, the "Father of Genshin Impact", has ventured into the uncharted territory of AI.

The Starry Sky of AI Games: A Technical Drill of Generation Ability

From the post published by @404Stella, we can catch a glimpse of the general features of Cai Haoyu's new work: The story takes place on a planet called Gaia. The heroine, Stella, is an astronaut who made an accidental emergency landing there. Players, as the only person Stella can contact, will take on the role of her "guide" - guiding her to leave the planet Gaia through real - time voice communication.

In the video, in addition to presenting the above - mentioned plot, it also shows Stella's different actions in several scenarios on this planet, accompanied by different emotions of the character, including happiness, anger, confusion, and alertness.

Demonstration footage officially released for "Whispers of the Stars"

The most prominent tag for this game is "AI intelligent agent voice interaction". The role of AI will mainly be reflected in two aspects: On the one hand, AI will generate Stella's dialogue in real - time, providing different emotional and physical feedback based on the player's input. On the other hand, AI will also calculate the game screen in real - time at 100%, offering players a more immersive experience.

Friends who love playing games may recognize a familiar form. Yes, both the gameplay and the story of "Whispers of the Stars" basically follow the 2015 game "Lifeline".

Even under the title of the "Whispers of the Stars" trailer, there is a brief game description: "Your words seal her fate."

In the setting of "Lifeline", the protagonist is also an astronaut who made an emergency landing on an alien planet, and players also play the role of the character's "guide" - the only difference is that players in "Lifeline" communicate with the character through text, while "Whispers of the Stars" uses real - time voice.

Game screenshot of "Lifeline"

However, due to the addition of AI, "Whispers of the Stars" still attracts a lot of attention. Firstly, it lies in players' imagination of AI - driven plots. The involvement of AI will make Stella have diverse personalities and may even break through the "fate" written by the screenwriter.

However, there is a common paradox in games: "The more freedom, the more restrictions" - free plot means no plot. If a game plot wants to achieve a higher degree of freedom, even with the support of AI, there are only two ways of development:

The first is complete freedom, that is, there is no pre - written plot, and everything is for players to explore on their own; the second is complete non - freedom, where through the high - level participation of screenwriters, the plot is divided into countless small points, giving players an illusion of freedom.

Taking the game "AI Dungeon" as an example, players interact with the game by inputting text, and AI will generate corresponding storylines based on the players' input. The core of this game is its AI engine, which can generate storylines in real - time according to players' input and choices, making each game experience unique.

Game page of "AI Dungeon"

The second case is exemplified by the game "Invisible Guardian". Players seem to have the power of free choice, but in fact, they are just moving within the framework set by the developer (screenwriter). No matter how you choose, the final outcome is already predetermined.

However, whether "Whispers of the Stars" becomes a 3D version of "AI Dungeon" or an AI version of "Invisible Guardian", it may not meet players' imagination of "AI - driven plots". It seems that "Your words seal her fate" is just a play on words.

In short, it's old wine in new bottles. Isn't it particularly boring? Some netizens even call it the "AI version of Talking Tom". But is it that "Cai Haoyu is just so - so" or "Cai Haoyu has other intentions"?

Actually, the answer is right in front of us.

In the trailer of "Whispers of the Stars", although information about the game mechanism such as "heart rate, temperature, signal" can be seen in the upper - left corner of the screen, there is also the clever idea of using the "communication delay" setting to cover up the fact that the AI model is waiting for a response.

Screenshot of the "Whispers of the Stars" trailer

Compared with these minor details in the picture, the trailer clearly spends more effort on scene selection and emotion arrangement.

There are a total of six scenes in the trailer, namely: the spaceship cabin during the day, the wilderness at night, the canyon at night, the canyon during the day, the wilderness during the day, and the spaceship launch site during the day.

From the enclosed spaceship cabin to the open canyon, from the hesitant first encounter to the angry interrogation - rather than showing the game's gameplay and story, it's more like a demonstration of AI generation technology.

These scenes provide complex lighting and sound fields for "Whispers of the Stars". For example, in the spaceship cabin, there are constantly flashing orange warning lights on the left side of the screen, and blue lighting that gradually deepens on the right side. The sunlight in the background is also faintly visible, and the environmental sound has a very realistic indoor texture.

In the canyon, as Stella moves forward, not only does the spatial sound appropriately change to a broad echo, but the light and shadow on her face also change accordingly.

The character's movements are also quite smooth. In the daytime canyon scene, when Stella angrily says, "You finally decided to pick up seriously?", in addition to complex hand movements, even the subtle facial expressions are constantly changing.

Screenshot of the "Whispers of the Stars" trailer

In addition, Stella's voice is almost comparable to that of a real - life voice - over actor. There is hardly any trace of electronic sound, and when expressing anger, Stella's tone even trembles slightly; when seeing the rocket take off, her tone also appropriately rises a few notes.

It's so real that it doesn't seem like it's generated by AI, but this is not the first application of AI generation technology in the gaming industry. In a detective game called "Covert Protocol" in 2024, players can investigate cases by talking to NPCs played by AI.

However, the AI characters in the game are full of the uncanny valley effect: although the character models seem to have distinct features, in fact, the expressions are stiff, the voices are monotonous, and the final presentation is very much like a horror game.

Game screenshot of "Covert Protocol"

If the effects shown in the "Whispers of the Stars" trailer are unprocessed, then its AI generation ability will undoubtedly be a culmination in multiple aspects such as text, sound effects, scenes, lighting, and character movements.

Fundamentally, "Whispers of the Stars" is still a conservative product within the traditional game framework. Its goal is not to innovate the game itself; instead, it uses the game as a form to practice the latest AI technology.

Perhaps, as stated in "miHoYo's Cultural Handbook", "We have always believed that every significant upgrade in cultural and entertainment experiences relies on technological revolutions. Similarly, the current technology mastered by humans is not sufficient to achieve our ultimate goal, so we need to develop new technologies."

Back in the spring of 2015, Apple released the first - generation Apple Watch, and the birth of the game "Lifeline" was to adapt to this new medium and quickly became popular with its unique dialogue and push mechanisms.

Demonstration footage of "Lifeline" on Apple Watch

Ten years later, against the backdrop of the rise of AI technology and large - language models, the emergence of "Whispers of the Stars" is like a cycle of history.

Regardless of whether 2025 can be the year when AI applications in the gaming industry shift from "asking questions" to "finding answers", there is no doubt that Anuttacon and Cai Haoyu behind it will be among the first to charge forward.

Cai Haoyu's Whispers: Dual Constraints of Business and Technology

Regarding Cai Haoyu's resignation, miHoYo responded: "To meet the future development needs of the company, Cai Haoyu, the founder of miHoYo, will devote more energy to the research and application of cutting - edge technologies, the development of new projects, and the integration of domestic and overseas R & D resources."

After a year of silence, Anuttacon appeared in front of the world.

In the official website introduction, Anuttacon wrote: "Our mission is to create immersive and personalized experiences that