Is the Toy Industry Finally Ready to Embrace AI? Well, Toy Giants Like Mattel Sure Are...
For many years, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) has been debated among artists in and outside of the toy industry. However, as AI continues to evolve, major players in the industry are starting to see its potential.
AI's Tumultuous Relationship With Artists And Designers
Earlier this year, Hasbro faced a wave of scrutiny following their job listing on LinkedIn for a principal AI engineer. While this listing was for a role for future video game projects, as stated by a Wizards of the Coast representative, the miscommunication led back to heated debates in online communities regarding the use of AI in the toy industry.
In June 2024, Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks announced that Wizards of the Coast would leverage AI for tasks like "campaign development, character development, and story ideas" (Linward), but would limit its application to video game projects, excluding tabletop games. This cautious approach was evident when Hasbro launched Trivial Pursuit Infinite, a game enhanced by generative AI, following extensive research and prototyping. To play Trivial Pursuit Infinite today, click here.
Another major player in the industry, Mattel, revealed that they would be joining hands with Adobe's Firefly Generative AI to create packaging for their hit brand, Barbie. They had been working to make strides in AI, offering support to their designers in a more understated way before.
With toy industry giants like Mattel and Hasbro openly embracing AI in their toy development processes, is the toy industry finally ready to leap to embrace the tool?
Hasbro's Stand on AI
To elaborate on Hasbro’s relationship to AI, this project (Trivial Pursuit Infinite) highlighted their ongoing commitment—established in 2023—to balance AI's potential with ethical considerations in the toy industry. This is evident from their statements in the past where they require “artists, writers, and creative contributing to The Magic TCG to refrain from using AI generative tools to create final Magic products.” In fact, in June of 2024, they began to invest in a pilot program with the AI detection platform, Artistree, to prevent the unauthorized use of AI in art.
Hasbro also has gone on to address the multiple controversies regarding generative AI use and why they may not respond to online discourse all the time, highlighting a preference to handle the issue internally and make the appropriate changes, such as no longer working with certain artists or keeping quiet to protect artists’ privacy. To read more about Hasbro’s stand on AI, click here.
How Mattel Is Using AI
Mattel, on the other hand, is now embracing AI to elevate its package storytelling experience, capturing customers' imaginations right from the store shelf. Since Barbie's creation, the packaging of the toys has played an integral role in storytelling, setting the story or theme for play. With the surge in Barbie's popularity, Mattel has partnered with Adobe to utilize Adobe Firefly's generative AI to develop captivating packaging concepts in less time, freeing up time for higher-value tasks related to the toys.
“The power of Adobe Firefly generative AI is that it can take what we have in our heads and more accurately portray that vision on digital paper.” - Sal Velazquez, Barbie Staff Packaging Designer, Mattel.
While Mattel and Adobe have been partnering for the past decade through the utilization of Adobe's products, the initial design process at Mattel begins with hand-drawn sketches, or "bluelines," which go through multiple versions and iterations before they can be finalized for stakeholders. Now, with Adobe Firefly, designers can turn these initial sketches into refined images faster and with greater accuracy, generating a closer representation of their vision early in the process.
Ashley Still, Adobe Blog, https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2024/06/27/barbie-adobe-firefly-bringing-magic-to-mattels-packaging
Adobe Firefly’s text-to-image capabilities allow Mattel designers to quickly explore creative ideas, freeing them to refine final assets and experiment with unique concepts. This AI integration not only bridges creative and marketing teams but also keeps Barbie's packaging innovative, strengthening the brand's connection with generations of fans.
The Benefits Of AI In Toy Design
The rapid advancement of AI tools is transforming how toy and game designer can approach their craft. Specifically, these tools have made it possible to shave down the time required during the toy and game development processes, allowing toy and game designers the liberty to focus on the other aspects of making a successful toy.
Speeding Up the Design Process
AI can speed up the design process for toy and game developers in multiple ways including enhancing market research, ideation, product visualization, and can even help you prepare for your next big pitch.
1) Generating Toy Concepts: AI technology can help game and toy creators generate toy concepts quickly, all the way from a simple character design to game mechanics. This is done by putting in inputs, such as text prompts or images, and then receiving the output, or toy/game concept.
2) Product Visualization: AI tools can provide designers with rapid sketches, 3D models, or even suggest design variations that match specific target audiences. What once took weeks of brainstorming and sketching can now be done in days or even hours, giving designers a head start on their next big idea.
3) Prototyping and Testing: AI plays a pivotal role in streamlining the prototyping and testing phases of the toy and game development processes. AI can analyze user feedback and playtest data to identify potential improvements or issues that might otherwise take weeks to uncover manually. Additionally, AI tools can assist in creating detailed simulations of a toy or game’s performance, helping designers make more informed decisions about their designs early in the process.
Through these varying ways, AI technology has allowed companies to be more efficient when bringing products to the market, allowing them to stay ahead of trends and competitors. To learn more about these benefits of AI technology in toy and game development, check out "Episode 198: Speed Up Your Toy or Game Invention Process With AI - Part 1" of The Toy Coach by clicking here!
Practical Applications of AI
AI technology also provides some helpful practical applications in the toy and game industry, from helping create social media copies to automating processes.
Rewriting Your Copies: One example of an AI tool that rewrites your copies to make them easier to understand is WordTune. For toy and game inventors struggling with writing out their elevator pitches, putting them into WordTune can be a great way to see things from a different perspective and change how your idea is received by the people you are presenting to. A great tip is to go back and forth between using ChatGPT to draft your content and WordTune to analyze and adjust your phrasing. This allows you to explore different ways to express the same idea, ensuring your message resonates with your audience.
Design Tools: Tools such as Canva's Magic Design AI can help create presentations, designs, and even social media posts for users. Magic Design specifically also helps toy and game inventors speed up the process of video editing, making it easier than ever. Additionally, AI-driven tools can generate copy prompts for social media posts, enabling users to input ideas and receive ready-made captions, complete with hashtags and emojis. This saves time and enhances engagement on platforms where toy brands can connect with customers, making it easier to promote new products or initiatives.
Automation Tools: Automation Tools such as Zapier have incorporated AI to simplify the automation of workflows. Users can type their goals, and the AI suggests automation processes. This feature allows toy businesses to streamline repetitive tasks, such as sending follow-up emails or generating invoices, freeing up time for more strategic activities.
To hear more about the practical applications of AI in the toy and game industry, listen to "Episode #199: Speed Up Your Toy or Game Promotion Process With AI" of The Toy Coach podcast by clicking here!
Examples of AI Rendered Toys
Here are some examples of AI-rendered toys by The Toy Coach, using different software.
1. Children’s Book Spreads & Toy Designs Generated By The Toy Coach via DALLE-2
Make it stand out
Before You Choose Your AI Tool, Check The Terms and Conditions
Legal Considerations: Open and Closed Systems
Before ending the discussion of AI's benefits, it’s important to address a key consideration: the laws surrounding the use of AI-generated content for profit remain unclear. While AI tools can generate content, there are some legal concerns regarding copyright infringement, making it all the more imperative that toy and game inventors and companies are mindful when using AI-generated content.
Most AI tools operate on open systems, meaning they learn from the data you provide to generate new outputs. This can be a risk when using confidential or sensitive information, as it may become part of the broader AI training data.
Training refers to feeding an AI model with information or examples, allowing it to improve its ability to generate accurate responses or content. In an open system, all of your information and outside information will go into training the model, which is something end-users tend to be against.
According to one user on an online forum, "AI is inevitable. It's going to happen. What we can do now is guide the market so it uses it ethically and responsibly. It's important that we reward ethical use of it now, rather than trying to hold back the inevitable, succeed for a few years, then it comes back and without that ethical foundation. It's important that we don't overreact and just push back against unethical use rather than its use altogether in blind reactionaryism, or it'll be worse in the long term."
This is where the importance of closed systems comes back in; companies can train and power their AI tools with their own materials rather than gaining access to unlicensed material. One example of this is Adobe Firefly. Unlike other tools, Adobe Firefly is designed with a closed system, which means that the data you input stays within that environment, allowing users to have ownership over what they create with the tool.
Upcoming Talk on AI by Azhelle Wade at The People Of Play Innovation Conference
AI's presence in the toy industry will be pivotal for the future of the industry, something Azhelle Wade, aka The Toy Coach, will dive into further at her upcoming talk at the People of Play Innovation Conference in Chicago. AI offers invaluable tools that will help toy and game inventors streamline development in unique ways and thus, it’s essential for industry professionals to harness the power of AI, ensuring you can remain at the forefront of innovation. To learn more about this event, click here! To get an idea of what will be discussed during this event, prep by checking out all of The Toy Coach's podcast episodes on AI in the toy and game industry by clicking here!
