Deadlock's New Matchmaking Found Using ChatGPTDeadlock's MMR Matchmaking Criticized by Fans
The new matchmaking algorithm used for Valve's upcoming MOBA-hero shooter game, Deadlock, was discovered through ChatGPT—the generative AI chatbot developed by OpenAI—as revealed by Valve engineer Fletcher Dunn through a recent series of posts on Twitter (X). "A few days ago we switched Deadlock's matchmaking hero selection to the Hungarian algorithm. I found it using ChatGPT," Dunn shared along with screenshots of his conversation with the chatbot, wherein ChatGPT recommended an algorithm, called the Hungarian algorithm, to use for Deadlock.
A quick search on the Deadlock reddit will land you on players' negative criticism of the game's past MMR matchmaking system. "I have noticed that the more games I've been playing, naturally I get harder games with better enemies. But I never had better/ equally skilled teammates," one player shared, with other players expressing their own disappointments over the matchmaking. Another wrote, "I know it's alpha but at the very least looking at how many games people have played would be nice, it felt both games like every one on my team was in their first/second game vs people who actually know what they are doing. Feels pretty bad."
The Deadlock team was quick to act after the feedback it received from its player base. Last month, a Deadlock dev messaged fans on the game's Discord server, saying, "the hero-based MMR one doesn't work very well [right now]. It'll be more effective once we finish a full rewrite of the [matchmaking] system we are working on." According to Dunn, they were able to discover the most suitable algorithm for the matchmaking, with the assistance of Generative AI.
"ChatGPT has reached an important milestone in its level of usefulness for me: I have a tab in Chrome that is reserved for it, always open," Dunn shared in a separate tweet (tweet). The Valve engineer doesn't hesitate to utilize the utility that ChatGPT has provided him, stating more recently that he's "going to continue posting my ChatGPT successes, because this thing continues to amaze me, and I believe there are some skeptics who don't understand how incredible this tool is."
While Dunn celebrated this milestone he had achieved, he also recognized that the convenience and speed that comes with using generative AI bring both advantages and disadvantages. "I am somewhat conflicted because it often replaces asking the question to another human in person, or at least tweeting it out to the virtual think tank. I suppose this is positive (the whole point?), but it's just another way for computers to replace human interaction," he shared. In the meantime, one social media user shared their thoughts in response, saying, "I believe the skepticism stems from the narrative that some corporate individuals are attempting to promote that AI will replace programmers."
Algorithms assist in organizing data sets based on a set of parameters, rules, instructions, and/or conditions. This is most commonly demonstrated when you search for something on Google, and the search engine returns pages of search results based on what you've entered in the search bar. The way this algorithm could function in a gaming scenario, where there are potentially at least two parties involved (for example, A and B), is that it only considers A's preferences and assists A in finding the most appropriate teammates and/or opponents. Dunn had requested that ChatGPT find the most suitable algorithm "where only one side has any preferences," that can solve specific problems and find the most optimal or suitable "match" in a bipartite—meaning, involving two parties—matching setup.
Still, enclaves of fans remain dissatisfied and visibly angry with Deadlock's performance. "That explains why there has been a sudden increase of complaints about the matchmaking. It has been awful lately. All thanks to you fcking around on ChatGPT," one fan wrote in reply to Dunn's recent tweet, with another telling him to "Go work instead of publishing screenshot of ChatGPT on Twitter you fcking disgrace, milionare company can't fix a beta game in 1 year."
Meanwhile, we over here at Game8 think that Valve is cooking up something amazing with the upcoming release of Deadlock. You can read more about our thoughts on the game and experience with its playtest in the article at the link below!
